Another feature to consider is the theft protection some credit cards have built in. My credit card was turned off by my credit card company because they had never received a charge from Europe from me before. It was not my spending pattern .They thought my card had been stolen. They told me I should have warned them before my trip to make them aware of the trip so they could be expecting charges from Europe. I had forgotten to do this. On another credit card I didn't realize the card automatically shut off after 5 purchases per day. Some cards have strange procedures. It might not be a bad idea to call the credt card companies you are planning to use. We had no trouble with the ATM checking account debit card marked with the VISA logo.. <BR>

Yes, on my last trip to Europe I took two bank ATM cards (4-digit numeric PIN), two VISA cards, and two Master-Card cards. I generally charged all hotel and restaurnat expenses to the credit cards and used the ATM cards to get local cash. However, one of my bank ATM cards was turned-off by the bank after it's first use because of the unusual overseas cash withdrawal. On all future trips, I'll notify all my card holders before leaving home.

Agree with the two posts above on credit card companies putting holds on your card. I hadn't used mine in a while, and as I prepared for my last European trip, Visa cut me off because of multiple charges in one day! It wasn't even for very much money. The card companies are much more careful than they used to be, because they have to eat the fraudlent charges -- if they are fraud. After encountering a couple of problems with my expiration date of 2000 (in the US), I did two things before my last trip. I requested a new card from Visa with an expiration date other than "00" and I notified them that I would be in France during October and not to cut me off! The thing with the 00 exp. date is that sometimes small/out of the way businesses may not have card scanners with updated software than can read 00.

Thanks for all the excellent advice. I'm bringing this back up for more discussion.

To John's question: The Visa or MC Debit card is linked to your checking account. You use it as a Point of Sale card or you withdraw cash from an ATM. Both transactions come out of your checking account but you have the convenience of using it at Visa and/or MC merchants. <BR>To Anna's comments: I agree..last month we had more success using/finding ATM's than credit card merchants. I was very surprised to find ATM's strategically placed in the small Cinque Terre villages. I also agree with leaving all excess baggage at home, including paranoia about being ripped off. It gives you fewer things to keep up with and less to pack.

Though not from the USA I will add my 2c to this posting re my experience last year with Mastercard. I thought it would be a good idea to use my card and take fewer travellers cheques and cash. However, on seeing my statement when I got home I found my bank had added 1% to every single transaction I made as a "fx conversion fee", adding over $100 to the total due for the month. I was NOT happy and complained that I had not been informed of this new fee. The bank responded by a once only refund of the charges. Beware in case your bank includes this fee.

Joann-The 1% fee is a currency conversion fee that is charged and allowed by Visa & MC rules. It is passed on to issuers/banks and then to the consumer. It is a good rate compared to conversion fees that we experience when we use a foreign bank or change office. You are fortunate that your issuer chose to credit your account.

Mustangs81 - on top of that all transactions are converted into US Dollars first before being converted into Aussie Dollars - so we Aussies lose out with the conversion.

Joann-I can see where that can add up and have an impact on one's travel budget! <BR>