Is Mastercard ok to use?
 

Hello everyone,

I will be traveling to Zurich, Paris, London, and Rome this summer and plan to use my Credit Card as much as possible. I currently have a Visa from Bank of America, but from doing some research I have decided to apply for a Capital One card for my travels.

Is it better for me to get a Visa or Mastercard? I was thinking it would make since to get the Mastercard, as I already have a Visa. But... is Mastercard accepted as widely in these places as the Visa?

Thank you,
Ryan

MC and Visa are about equally accepted in Europe. AmEx less so (and had higher foreign transaction fees than Cap One).

Hi Ryan. Two years ago I did exactly what you are contemplating: Get a Capital One card for overseas use.

Last year in Germany and Switzerland I had absolutely no trouble with my Capital One Master Card.

I carried a AAA Visa card as backup, but the only time I used it was to rent a car because of the discount I received from Hertz for being a AAA member.

I would go ahead and get the Capital One card and use it as my primary card to avoid the ridiculous 3% extra BOA tacks on for no value or service added.

I would also consider opening a Capital One Money Market account and acquiring its ATM card for cash withdrawals.

If you have a BOA ATM card be aware that you can clipped $5.00 per usage if you don't use your card at a partner bank like Barclays or Deutsche Bank.

Therefore I suggest opening a money market account with Capital One and also having one of its ATM cards.

Thanks for the great information, I will look into this. Are Barclays or Deutsche Bank hard to find over there? Or are they pretty standard.

In France BofA's partner bank is BNP Parabis.

Bankrate.com gives you a good idea of the foreign transaction fees some of the U.S. banks charge for foreign credit card, debit card and ATM transactions:

www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20050624b1.asp

hi- whichever card you decide on - call and let them know that you will be using it in multiple countries.

I'm trying to find a credit card which will not charge this extra 3% fee on top of the exchange rate for using it in a foreign country.

I'm a canadian and I could not find any card that do not charge at least 2.5% extra.

Would anybody know which card from which bank gives you the best deal?

Taking one of each is a good idea. ....and you can call around and get the lowest fee. Some are "0%" for the bank, but there is always the %1 by MC and Visa (or it use to be).
USAA use to have 0%.
Just be sure and tell them what dates you will be traveling overseas.....as they have a department that keeps track of 'unusual" purchases in "not at home" places. This is to possibly catch any theft. Duh, I guess that is common sense (:>)

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