best credit cards
 

We have a credit card that does not charge for use in Europe but we constantly see ads for other cards with supposed benefits with miles traveled or purchases made ..... anyone have strong recommendations for best cards to use in Europe? Should we take two different ones, in case one gets turned down? And should we get Norway money and Euros before we go? Thanks!! Jeanne

The cheapest and most convenient way to obtain local currency is a debit card at a bank owned ATM so that two Debit cards.

So take two debit cards

I was in Poland last summer and my debit card was NOT a cheap way to get money. They charged a withdrawal fee and the 3% foreign transaction fee. I looked into it and Charles Schwabb has a no fee checking account that reimburses for any ATM fees and charges no foreign transaction fee. I applied for that card and will use that.

For credit cards, look for one that doesn't have a foreign transaction fee. I found that Capital One does not ever charge foreign transaction fees. The one I applied for gives 1.5% cash back.

To be clear: most ATMs in Europe will not charge you ANY fee per use. (Sometimes a non-bank ATM will charge you, but I've NEVER been charged a fee at any ATM in Europe, in a dozen countries.

YOUR financial institution may charge you a per-use fee, plus a currency conversion fee (1% to 3% perhaps). I have a credit union ATM card that charges 0% and no per-use fee, so it costs me nothing to use an ATM at most places in Europe. I get the best daily exchange rate an ATM, better than I'd get buying currency in the US before I leave.

As for the "best credit card:" that depends what you would do with the rewards. It's pretty easy to get an airline credit card with no foreign transaction fees - but some airline programs are better than others. I've found that Southwest's program is terrific (obviously not to fly to Europe though) and so is Alaska's (which I do use to fly to Europe, on partner airlines). I've found AA miles less useful myself, but that may depend where you fly out of. Some people like to use hotel points. It's really up to you.

Where are you going? You mentioned Norway and Euro, so I presume you are going to Norway and one or more Euro country. In another thread you mentioned Amsterdam, so that it at least one Euro country you are visiting.

While you are concerned with reward and being turned down, there are several other considerations, especially the Netherlands.

<u>One or multiple cards</u> Besides turned down, which is usually your bank triggering fraud alarm, you can lose a card or have it stolen. You can reduce the change of false fraud alarm by doing "travel notice" on your cards at your bank. In case of loss or theft, it does NOT help if you carry all your cards on one place. Many people do this. This TOTALLY defeats having back up cards.

<u>Useability</u> Even if your bank authorizes foreign transactions, if you don't have a chip and pin card and the merchants only take chip and pin card, you are stuck. This is most noticeable in the Netherlands. You cannot buy train or public transit tickets at machines unless you have a chip and pin card.

If you are from the U.S., there are really only a a few chip and pin cards. Many banks obscure this by a round about way of saying their cards are not chip and pin by something like "enjoy greater security when making purchases at a chip-enabled terminal" What this almost always means is that the chip on card is only for providing the card info but totally incapable of performing PIN based authorization required by vending machines especially in the Netherlands.

I was in Norway last year. While I had some local money, I saw that most transactions, even for trivial amounts (an oxymoron in Norway, I know) were done using a card.

I wouldn't worry about not having a chip and PIN credit card in Europe. I do have one, but my chip and signature Chase Visa card worked almost everywhere on my last trip to Europe, including in many automated machines, without a PIN. The Chase visa did not work at one machine for train tickets in Amsterdam (I had to use the chip and PIN card there), but it worked to buy a public transit ticket (trams) from a machine at Amsterdam Central Station. I later used euro coins to buy train tickets from machines in the Netherlands, anyway, because the machine charged a 50 euro center surcharge to use a credit card.

Not knowing where you are from makes it difficult, but generally, VISA cards are the most popular, at least in southern Europe, Amex not so much. There are dozens of companies offering cards without foreigh transaction fees, and most American and Canadian banks switched to Pin and signature cards in 2015.

ATM cash/debit cards are best for obtaining cash, and yes, most banks in Europe will not charge you a fee, but most US banks, Bank of America being one of the worse offenders, do charge a fee.

And yes, you should always carry a backup ATM or credit card should your card be denied.

Your best bet is to join a credit union like Andrews or Penn Federal, which charge nothing. If you are eligible for the World Bank or UN credit unions, same thing, but likely you are not. We are charged zero as members of the World Bank credit union. Most banks in the USA charge you 1-3% for any transaction, and it's pure usury, plus many charge you a per-transaction fee of up to US$5.00, again pure usury. The bottom line for me is I do not give away money to banks.

You do not need to get money before you go. That will be costly and unnecessary. Use an ATM once you get there. But in the end it all hinges on your own home bank and how much it charges you. You need to dig down deep and read the fine print and find out what it does charge.

I am not one who cares about gathering miles and points - IMO, unless you are a frequent/business traveler, that counts for very little and is hard to accrue. I just want a bank/credit union that doesn't penalize me, even a penny, for using foreign currency. I have one and am glad for that, as I live in Europe but mostly live off US money, and I do not want to pay some US bank for that privilege.

StCirq: <i>I am not one who cares about gathering miles and points - IMO, unless you are a frequent/business traveler, that counts for very little and is hard to accrue.</i>

I'll be flying from the US to Europe this year on an Alaska award ticket (flying on partner airlines) for the 4th year in a row, and I'm not a business traveler nor do I earn my awards from frequent travel. I get them through credit card promotions. And I've gotten great flights, at decent times of the year. Seems worth saving several hundred dollars every year (plus some flexibility - these tickets can be changed for free up to 60 days before departure). As I said above, some airline programs are better than others. Alaska's is pretty good.

But Andrew, my situation is different. I live in Europe and don't ever plan to re-visit the USA. I travel extensively in Europe and use mainly cheap flights and trains and know well how to use those systems. For U.S. travelers, I imagine gathering points on airlines is a good deal. Not for me.

Same here. I lose my AF or Luft points because I travel via low cos mostly. And last time I checked it was cheaper to pay a low cost carrier than to use my miles and pay airports taxes.
But I got several trips for free on SNCF !

I get free trips on SNCF too, and that counts for a LOT for me, as I am constantly on trains here.

I have a no fee, no foriegn transaction charge Mastercard which has cash back and which works fine in Mexico, multiple countries in Western Europe and Japan. I also use an Amex card anywhere they take one with no problem. Its not a big deal anymore. Just shop around a little.

If you have a no fee credit card, it doesn't make any difference which one, one company brand isn't going to work any difference from any other (ie, Visa or Mastercard, whatever logo or loyalty you get). Both Visa and MC are widely accepted throughout Europe. AMex less so, but it's actually accepted fairly well in most places I've been, I take it because I like having one of each just in case. In fact, I have had two situations where the Amex was the only one that would work. Once in France when the MC and Visa networks were both down for hours (at least in the store where I was), but Amex was not.

So your original question about whihc one works best in Europe implies you think one brand of Visa works better than some other brand of Visa and it doesn't. Visa is the same network. So choose based on the perks you want, based on the fees you will accept (ie, all airline cards charge a fee, I believe, if you get miles/pointes on them).

I don't travel anywhere, even to work, without more than one credit card on me, yes, you should take more than one.