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Ok now that I know neither of the CC in my wallet are good for Europe purchases, what one do I want to take? Not going for 5 months so have plenty of time to get new. Any suggestions? Thanks Victoria

I have always taken Visa which seems to be the preferred card in France and Spain. I usually go to France and find that many places do not take American Express.

I have both Visa and Mastercard and checked with each of them regarding fees for charges made outside the U.S. Visa charges 2% and Mastercard charges 1%. I plan to use my MC for most purchases overseas and take my Visa as a back up card.

Do those charges also apply to Visa or Mastercard debit cards? Can these debit cards be used where credit cards are used?

You might look into getting a Visa card through MBNA. MBNA does not add that silly 1-2% foreign transaction fee to your purchases.

Another possibility, Victoria, is Capital One. I just got an application from them that touts in big print "no foreign exchange fees." You see, banks snuck those fees in and now that we are wising up and switching cards, those who don't charge fees recognize it as a selling point.

Sue, I get Capitol One stuff all the time. Always throw it away. Will start looking over the information more carefully. Thanks for the information. Vicki

Beverly, best bet is to call the issuer of your debit card directly. There should be an 800 number on the back of the card. That way you'll know for sure.

I studied in Germany last year, and I used a Visa debit card all the time. It is perfect. You can use it at almost ANY ATM in Europe, and there was very little charge. Visa is the most widely accepted credit card in Europe, although you should beware; more stores and restaurants in Europe do not accept credit cards than in the United States. Don't get stuck in a restaurant without cash!

Beware the dreaded AARP First USA card--charges 2%.

>more stores and restaurants in Europe >do not accept credit cards than in the >United States. Don't get stuck in a >restaurant without cash! If they do accept cards there'll be posters on the door as you go in.

Message: >more stores and restaurants in Europe >do not accept credit cards than in the >United States. Don't get stuck in a >restaurant without cash! Not true at all in some countries. Britain seems to use credit cards as much if not more than does the US. Germany does have more places that don't take CC's' especially in the East. A couple of things about CC's. 1. MC/Visa are almost always the same. You hardly ever see any place that one and doesn't take the other. 2. Amex while widely accepted is far behind MC/Visa. Put it this way, I have yet to see any merchant who takes Amex but doesn't take MC/Visa but there are lots of merchants who take MC/Visa and do not take Amex. 3. Law in several of the countries allow merchants to impose the reprehensible minimum to charge on a CC. Many establishments in Britain do not take CC's for charges under £5 while some in France don't take CC's for charges under ?10. A silly rule if you ask me and really unfair as my philosophy is that any merchant that takes CC's has raised prices to cover the transaction fees and if they take CC's, I'm paying for that service anywa.

As someone else suggested, look into an MBNA card. They don't charge the conversion fees that other cards do. I got their Barne's and Noble card so I also earn 1% in store certificates - helps pay for the travel books! We also bring another credit card just in case along with our debit card.

Mastercard and Visa always add a 1% fee to all of the credit cards bearing their logo for handling foreign currency exchanges. It is built into the exchange rate they use. For the convenience of using a credit card, it is well worth it. However, some Mastercharge and Visa card issuers (for instance First USA)add an additional 1-2% fee for foreign currency exchanges. This is a rip off. Find a credit card that doesn't charge these additional fees. Most credit unions that issue credit cards do not add these charges. As far as debit cards are concerned, they are great for getting foreign currency. Much easier and cheaper to use than trying to cash traveler's checks. Make sure the debit card has a four digit pin. You will be charged a small fee each time use the debit card to obtain foreign currency. Most times, its around 75 cents per transaction. However, some banks in some countries add an additional charge when you use a debit card that is not from their bank. This also happens in the U.S.

Is this an explicit fee of 1% or 2%? Or, are we talking about an exchange rate (i.e. the spread between buy and sell)? With the way exchange rate change, how can you tell unless it's a separate fee? If I go change cash at the bank (ie. CAN$ to US$) the buy and sell rate are different by about $0.04;

yes, the 1 pct VISA/MC fee is an explicit fee, it's well-known (not to avg consumer probably) and stated in the cardholder agreement. It's not just speculation. I don't know about the addon fee, I think issuing banks are duplicitous about that as they maybe don't tell you. I think I had to call up my cards to find out, but it's been a while so maybe I'm forgetting. What your bank charges is a different story as banks add on their own fees for foreign currency transactions to consumers when they function as currency exchanges, and they are often higer than any credit card fee. Also, CC users should get the bank wholesale rate not consumer rate, so even 1-3 pct fee is not really that bad compared to alternatives. I suppose you could call it an exchange rate difference if you want to use that broad term to cover all fees during any foreign currency transaction, but most people do not think a foreign currency transaction fee for card purchases of products or services is warranted. I don't. When you buy cash from your bank to spend, that is the product, and they have to make money for their time/effort some way, so I can see a fee for selling cash. However, when products or services are charged, they are already getting a fee for the card use and the conversion is done by computer so the extra fee is just a way to make easy money without delivering any service. It's been a real profit center for those cards. There have been some federal lawsuits filed over these charges, in fact. One case in California was scheduled to come to trial in early 2002 (suing VISA and/or MC over the additional addon fees), so I'll be interested in hearing about that case. I would think a bank could charge any fee they want for a service if they tell people, so the suit may be over not disclosing it openly enough. I don't know the details.