You're right of course but using a credit card for a cash advance should be an absolutely last resort emergency only for the reasons you indicate...

Luckily, credit card usage has increased by leaps and bounds especially in both London and Paris and many merchants have dropped this inane minimum purchase required for use of a credit card. The French metro discovered during the strike of armed car drivers several years ago (incidentally, this was not just a problem for ATM's as is commonly thought but a countrywide shortage of bank notes) that using credit cards on the metro worked, even for a fare as low as a single ride (1,20&euro...many fast food places in London take cc's without any minimums including some McD's (ugh), BK's (ugh ugh), some of the Pret a Manger's (yummy)...I can get by withalmost no cash except for an occasional pint at a pub and a couple of coins to pay for the internet surfing I do! Best way to travel, credit card everywhere they are taken as the prices of good reflect the cost of taking credit cards (indirectly of course) so my attitude has always been if there's a credit card decal, you are paying for the merchant taking credit cards so you should use them. The bill at the end of the trip makes an interesting journal of just where I was at and what I did!

Patrick and others,
Getting a bit further into this issue re: Belgium Banks not allowing "plain ATM Cards" to be used in their ATM machines...what about branches of French Banks, such as BNP Paribas and other banks which have a presence in Belgium and France, such as Société Générale? Is it ALL ATM's LOCATED IN BELGIUM, or just Belgium Banks?

With all of the cooperation, security and governmental oversight of pretty much everything these days, it is astounding that the U.S. banks have not found a tiny place on their regularly altered "rules for credit and atm cards", to advise Americans of this change to certain European Bank ATM's...nothing surprises me anymore.

There is no excuse for the oversight by banks...they send me "checks" every week "for my use"...which could easily get "lost"...wonder what that court suit would look like, the giant bank with its well paid lawyers versus the individual account holder represented by a charitable legal group..."my client never asked you to send checks to him every week for several years...obviously it is possible for one of the mailings to find its way into the wrong hands..." The banking establishment is out of control...

Of course the government is right there doing its thing too...still waiting for the FCC to stop the commercials on TV from jacking up the volume in my home...they seem to be involved with every other aspect of television production and control...wonder why the assembly of media saints never throws that question towards the government?...ahhh, it is nice to be represented though.....hm

Hmmm. Regarding the question about other banks in Belgium. . . I don't know. I do know that BNP Paribas is a partner of Bank of America, and if I ever saw one in Belgium I certainly would have tried it. I would estimate than my partner and I both tried our cards in at least 20 different bank ATMs in Belgium and NONE worked. Meanwhile fortunately we were traveling with friends whose regular ATM/debit cards worked every time.

But while we're on that subject, I do know that my ATM only card worked fine at Deutsche Banks in Germany, but it was one in Italy where it didn't work (although because since it was in a new transitional period, I'm not sure at ATM only card would NOW work at a DB even in Germany). And as I mentioned on another thread, our ATM only cards failed to work at an ATM in Rome and also one in Venice, where the exact same card had worked perfectly the summer before -- so obviously the rules were in a state of change this past summer and I assume continue to be changing.

Don't count on the government to make any effort to reign in the banks...too much lobbying money for them to try to do right by the little guy...same is true with the FCC and the cable networks...they allow cable networks to be both a provider of programming and also to provide cable television service and if you don't understand what that means, read up on the folks in the NYC area who are stuck with a near criminal organization iknown as cablevision and nobody can do anything about it as it is protected by the FCC.

I've been all around the world using my bank issued ATM/debit cards and never had a problem.They tie in to the Plus, Cirrus, NYCE, and Maestro systems. However, my sister encountered problems with her credit union ATM card, who subscribe to the Cirrus and NYCE. Check with your bank.

This will continue as an issue if someone actually succeeds in using an ATM card anywhere in Belgium. It was news to me, and I travel there every year, including this summer, and I will report my findings. I have a
Bank of America plain ATM card with Plus and Interlink symbols on the back. As mentioned, Bank of America has a relationship with BNP Paribas to not charge transaction fees at their banks... and they have one in Italy with Deutsche Bank, I believe. Now to find a BNP Paribas ATM in Belgium...I googled BNP Paribas and got hits for their presence in Ghent, Bruxelles and Antwerp, however it was mostly securites, corporate and credit card issuance branches. There are two "BNP Paribas Private Banks", one in Bruxelles, one in Kortrijk, and both are for investments by individuals. It appears from the BNP Paribas web site that they do not have any ATM machines with their name on them in Belgium. I could be missing something of course.