money
 

I have been reading topics re: changing money or bringing cash to Europe. Many say use an ATM with a debit card ( putting the money in your U.S. bank ). What is wrong with using a Master or Visa credit card for all of your purchases ? Ex. food, lodging ,gifts etc.

Nothing wrong with it except you start incurring interest charges the moment you use it. I'd rather not do that.

Nothing if you pay on time, otherwise you're carrying big interest payments.

Some places don't take CCs. Cash is not a loan, so no interest charge.

Just like I rarely use CC at home, similar to my travels. Taking cahs out of ATM is not a big task for me. See a machine, get enough for next couple of days.


Hotel and flights are paid, all I do is buy meals and entertainment

fin - you might find some places that don't take cards, so you will need some cash.

also, just occasionally places that advertise that they take c/cards have machines that don't work - and only tell you when you've had your meal.

being able to access cash is very important even in this day and age.

People are discussing two different situations using credit cards.

1- Charging expenses like hotels, purchases, and food is a good idea, especially if you are a person who will pay your bill and incur no additional fees beyond those incurred for international use.

2- Using your credit card to get money from an ATM is a bad idea, because it is considered a loan and has no 25-day grace period for payment. You incur interest at a very high rate from the moment the money leaves the machine.

It is handy to have some cash for small purchases and instances where credit cards cannot be used. Some hotels also offer discounts if you pay in cash. Getting money from your own checking account via an ATM is usually the easiest, most economical way to get cash.

Depends the arrangements on your home credit card. Many add a 3% international fee on the entire amount you spend, which would really add up over the course of a trip.

Also depends where you are going to be. In smaller towns or more isolated place not every business is going to accept plastic.

What if I want a hot dog from a street vendor that doesn't take credit cards? Or a small souvenir? Or an ice-cream? Or shop at a farmers market?

You do not incur interest for purchases from the usage date, which is what the OP asked about. Nothing wrong with it, I doubt if anyone recommended you never use a credit card in Europe, that would be bizarre. Just don't use it to get cash out of an ATM. I use a CC for any purchase in Europe when I can if it's over about 10 euro.

Day: I guess you'll just have to go hungry.

Seriously, I always use the CC when I can. It's a free loan; it automatically keeps a record of my expenditures for me; it's a godsend when you have a dispute with a vendor.

The saying that applies here is: Don't carry more cash than you can afford to lose. Hit the ATM when you have to, but try to be sure there are a few near you that you can access, in case one is down.

thanks for the quick responses !! All good info...

Use a debit card that draws directly from your checking for both purchases and cash from the ATM. There's a transaction fee for overseas usage, usually - I'd find out about that before I make a lot of small purchases.

Carry TWO debit cards, each linked to a different checking account, in case one is eaten by an ATM/lost/invalidated by your bank's fraud department/whatever.

finandcoach,

Also important to be aware that most of the places in Italy that have entrance fees DON'T take credit cards! And, you better have exact change too - they are not prepared to handle all the 100E & 50E notes that all the tourists get out of those ATMs!

Credit cards are fine for larger expenses (don;t know if you usually carry a balance or not - that's your basic financial philosophy - but obviously if you don;t pay the bill as soon as you get home the interest charges will be enormous),

but- you will still need cash for a lot of smaller purchases. That's where pulling cash from your checking account with an ATM card comes in. We usually pull about $300 at a time - and when it runs low just get more.