I wonder how many Americans have Contactless or “Tap n Go” cards? My British debit and credit cards are Contactless, but the cards I have from a US bank and a credit union are not. That’s not a problem for me, because I use Apple Pay, which does the same thing. I haven’t had to reach for my wallet in ages.

So how do you pay for tips?

This past September, we were in a small bakery near Chablis, France. Their machine would not accept swipe or chip. We had to get out our tap card & use it. They took cash also.

Stu Dudley

Exactly what we did last week in the Netherlands. If you decide to add something, just ask the server to input a different amount into the POS device. Then tap or use ApplePay. Pretty seamless.

I am surprised Heimdall's American CCs are not tap and go, every single one of mine is. So is my debit card but I never used my debit card to pay for purchases at home or abroad. it doesn't really make fiscal sense when you can get points or perks using a credit card, and one nice bill at the end of the month to see all your purchases and complaint if you have fraud. There are no fees whatsoever if you pay the bill in full monthly, which I always do. I woudln't use it even if I didn't get points on my credit card for other reasons.

I have numerous credit cards, some free, that do not have any foreign transaction fee, but that goes for debit cards, also, you have to make sure yours does not.

Easy! I ask for the tip to be added to the bill before I pay. If you prefer paying tips by cash you can do that separately.

Recently my bank notified card holders that tap & pay is now available, but I have become so accustomed to Apple Pay that there doesn’t seem any point to exchange my cards. Perhaps when they expire the new cards will have the NFC symbol.

Christina, I do like you and pay by credit card, saving my debit cards for ATM cash withdrawals. I seldom pay by cash these days except for my cleaner and my window washer. My credit cards are no fee, and the bank cards have 1.5% cash back.

Yes, but deposits can still be required in cash. We recently traveled to Italy, and the homeowner (through a rental agent) insisted on a 500 euro cash deposit upon arrival, that was returned upon inspection on departure day. I questioned this, but the rental agent insisted that it was legitimate. But it's a pain because we had to leave early in the morning and the rental agent was late...

These days, I touch my watch to the reader.

KTtravel, We had the same experience of having our credit card eaten by a bank ATM machine. That taught us to use such machines only during banking hours so that an authorized person can retrieve the card for us. Check with your bank to find out whether it has reciprocal agreements with a French bank so that the fees are at least partially waived.

Makes complete sense. I have not worn a watch for 12 years but if I did I would do the same.

​​​​​This happened to me once in Switzerland. The personnel in the bank told me they were not allowed to retrieve the card, in case it had been retained for a valid reason. I had to report the card as lost, and was one card short for the rest of the trip. The reason actually seemed valid to me, in spite of the inconvenience.

That seems more likely than a helpful bank employee returning the card to you. It’s always good to have a backup card, and another reason for buying a few euros before the trip.

The helpful bank employee who retrieved our card for us was the branch manager.

I'm sure the rules aren't universal, and may even vary from bank to bank.

** AND when you do use local ATMs -- be sure to read the screen carefully and pick the correct option. You want the withdrawal calculated in € (local currency) NOT in $**

And know your bank's daily withdrawal amount converted to euro. Some credit unions have very small withdrawal limits per day. My credit union is $400 per day so if you were choosing 400€, the ATM would reject it because at current exchange that would be $424 making you over. Do the math before selecting.

Not all ATM cards are created equal. Most of Canada's big banks impose a foreign exchange fee for withdrawals abroad. Same with credit card charges. Those machines are very convenient but the fees can add up. Withdrawing a large amount at one time may be cheaper (depending on how the fee is calculated.) Strange to think of an old-fashioned approach saving money. And to repeat, banks may differ in their policies.

Our new credit cards have the tap function which I use.