stripe credit & debit cards/Fance

All ATMs will accept our magnetic strip cards. There is a increasing trend from some merchants in Brussels and Holland for a pin # in order to finalize the transaction. When I've done this it went through as a regular charge not a cash advance. When you use your CC at an ATM machine it will go through as a cash advance...perhaps this is what your bank is talking about.
The magnetic/chip&pin issue really isn't a big deal, most all merchants that deal with tourists have the hardware to accept magnetic strip cards.

We had no problem using our stripe debit card in the ATMs or our stripe credit card in France in October. Enjoy your trip.

Thank you both for responding. Our local newspaper, travel section, has been running stories of travelers who cannot withdraw $ from France's ATMs and restaurants that wouldn't accept non-chip&pin cred. cards. Relief to know you had no problems with you non-chip&pin cards. Thanks!

"Our local newspaper" quite possibly written by people who have never been there personally but only HEARD about others having problems ;-)

How interesting would the story be if it focus on the fact that most credit and debit cards are accepted? Were in Strasbourg two weeks ago and had no problem with ATMs. But our credit card would not work in the automated tickets machine and that is fairly common. However, cash worked fine. Over the past few trips we have drifted to nearly total use of cash for everything. So much easier and generally convenient.

Just to add one more voice to the choir, we were in Paris and all over Provence in September and not once did we have any problem getting cash from an ATM with our magnetic stripe debit card. And our magnetic stripe credit cards were accepted everytime we used them and no one even batted an eye. I agree with Tim. Whoever writes the San Jose travel section needs to get out and do some actual traveling.

We were in France in March and also had no trouble using our stripe debit card at ATMs. However, we did have problems using it in some stores and restaurants. Not sure if it's due to different machines or what. We just were sure to carry enough cash as backup in case the card did not work and there are so many ATMs around we had no problem accessing cash. We used our credit card only for rental car and it went through as a credit and not cash advance.

The only places I've had our US cards refused in France were at an auto route toll booth (stressful) and a self serve gas station. I know they aren't accepted at automatic ticket machines for the trains. Otherwise, no problems in shops, restaurants, ATMs, or hotels and no cash advance treatment from CC issuers. Let your issuers know you'll be out of the country.

babs, You should have no problems obtaining cash at ATM's using a magnetic stripe ATM Card. That's the method I use, and no problems. However, it's a good idea to have a "backup" ATM card in case there are any issues with the primary card. I wouldn't use credit cards to withdraw cash, as that will be treated as a "cash advance", and interest will accrue immediately (unless you have a credit balance of course). Magnetic stripe credit cards shouldn't be a problem if making purchases at a "staffed" location. Where you may run into problems with older magnetic stripe credit cards is with automated ticket Kiosks (such as those at CDG), Fuel Pumps, etc. as these will increasingly only accept "chip & PIN" cards. Happy travels!

We were in France a month and a half ago and had NO trouble with our stripe debit/check/credit cards, at stores, cafes, ticket machines, or ATMs. In fact, it is kind of amazing to be handed a little hand-held device to enter your pin into while you are sitting at a cafe overlooking the Seine, finishing a delightful Croque Monsieur! We have been using plastic exclusively in France for the past 5 or 6 years and have had only one single solitary problem - when I was stupid enough not to call and inform the bank that we were traveling. (Apparently seeing airline tickets did not clue the bank in to the fact that we might be overseas, and they stopped our account! Grrrr....) So remember to tell your bank you'll be in France, and you should have no problems! Sorry that I can't speak to the chip issue in other countries....

Kira & Ken, thank you for your responses. In the past, we had no problems with ATM & credit cards, even in small villages w/ATMs, but given the new travel info being published about chip & pin, I was concerned. KIRA, question: you said you had to enter a pin # when paying for your meal. Was that using your ATM or using your credit card? I ask because we do not have/use pin #s for cred. card purchases and the last time we were in France, they did not ask for pin # when we charged our meals or at stores. When I called our cred. card co., I was told I can get a pin #, but the merchant may put it through as a cash advance when I use the pin. I don't want that and I don't speak French so cannot explain that they should run it thru as a charge.
Any thoughts from you guys? Thanks!

We live in France 4 or 5 months out of the year and have no trouble using our U.S. credit cards at ATMs, retail stores, restaurants, etc. The only time you may have trouble is at automated ticket kiosks and self service gas stations. You should carry a reasonable amount of cash for these situations. We once had to wait at a gas station after hours for a friendly French woman to put 20 Euros worth of petrol in our tank so we could continue our trip by car. Thank heavens we had the cash at that point.

Self-service gas stations are a problem only if there's no attendant. If there's an attendant, they'll happily accept your magnetic stripe card. But your card won't work at the pump itself.

Babs, if you want to use your credit card and the merchant accepts 'chip-and-PIN' cards and will run your credit card as a 'magnetic' card (slide the stripe in the machine like in the USA), then yes, you'll need a 4-digit PIN for your credit card. Numbers only. You can still use your credit card without a PIN in most places...The merchants are supposed to swipe cards without 'chips', and are repeatedly reminded of this requirement (by VISA, etc.), but they often don't understand or just don't want to...some say they don't think the USA cards have ANY fraud protection (false) without the 'chip', so they refuse to abide by the rules. Seems fairly rare, though. They can also call them in, but that pretty much never seems to happen from what I've read. Always have some cash on you. You say your bank was concerned the merchant might run your credit card purchase as a cash advance instead; is this even possible, guys?!? In the past, the ONLY way to get a cash advance was to go to a bank... And in general, bank customer service employees can come up with some doozies...always double-check any info with another call on another day, whatever the topic.