Our family of 5 is spending a week at an apartment in Lauterbrunnen. We plan to shop at the local Coop, butcher, camp store and restaurants. Will I need to use Swiss Francs for Lauterbrunnen shopping or are credit cards accepted?
If you have used credit cards in Lauterbrunnen which did you have the best luck with.
Thanks!
My credit card was accepted at the Lauterbrunnen restaurants and the Coop store. I mostly used a Nordstom Visa, no PIN. The only place I had to use cash was a place about 1/2 way between Lauterbrunnen town and the gondola to Gimmelwald/Murren, a very small farm which sold fresh milk. The other additional piece of info on where it is located would be that it is somewhat close to a bus stop. The process to get the milk was automated. The milk was wonderful and I highly recommend.
Standard US based Visa or Mastercard branded credit cards are generally accepted everywhere. Some automated sites may required a chip and pin card but if there is a live person present then the Am chip and signature card most likely will be accepted. Am Express is very limited and Discover card is out. The key is the networks available - Cirrus and Plus. And the same for debit cards at bank ATMs. Personally I would also have Swiss francs for smaller purchases.
And one of the ATMs in town is at the Bank of the Mountain Goat, so getting money there has a certain whimsy to it.
I gave up trying to figure out which bank or credit union or whatever to use for traveling, and stick with the cards I use daily at home with my regular bank. I think the best advice for a group of five is to have cards from multiple banks within the group, so as to switch to another card if having a problem with one.
Like many, I prefer to have some local currency wherever I am, because to makes small transactions easier. You never know when you're going to need coins for a pay toilet, and I just can't bring myself to use a card to buy an apple.
You can use cash or credit card, as you prefer. As said, there is an ATM in town if you want to get more cash.
However, at almost all credit card transactions and ATM withdrawals in Switzerland, you will be asked at the machine if you want your transaction to be processed in CHF or USD. Be sure to always choose CHF! Otherwise, you've inadvertently chosen "dynamic currency conversion." There's nothing dynamic about it - it's a rip-off. It can be phrased in sneaky ways, such as the ATM that asks "would you like to lock in a rate of $XXX.xx?" Any time you see USD or the dollar sign, Just Say No.
