We're travelling thru Brussels,Germany,and Vienna in late May and early June. Is it better to charge all expenses on our Visa card or use our ATM card to get Euros?

Do NOT use your Visa credit card to get €s. When you use a credit card at an ATM you will pay ridiculous fees. This should only be done in an emergency.

If you have a Visa DEBIT card (which doubles as an ATM card) then that's a different story. In fact, you might have trouble using a regular ATM card in Belguim, as I did, but the Visa debit card will work perfectly.

I recommend using your ATM card (or Visa debit card) to get cash from the ATM, then charge large purchases to your Visa, Master Card, or AmEx credit cards. Be sure to notify your bank and your credit card company that you will be using your cards overseas, otherwise they might be flagged for irregular activity.

Both. However!!!!!!!!!!

IF you charge, check how much add-on your card issuer charges you.

Some places like Bank of America and Citibank sock you with an extra 3% of the charged amount.

Capital One is a credit card issuer that does NOT sock you with extra fees.

Also, make sure how much your bank charges you for using an ATM out of the country. Bank of America for example socks you with $5.00 per usage unless you are at one the affiliate banks.

Check and see if your bank has an agreement with an overseas bank before plunging ahead.

I plan on using a credit union that allows me 5 transactions at a nominal charge while I am Europe. As I recall the charge is 50¢ per transaction for each of the first 5 usages rather than $5.00 per usage which is absurd.

I have crunched the numbers for the effective rate when all things are considered and found that for my bank and Visa it makes no difference. When the points I get on my Visa are factored in the Visa wins. Essentially I do nothing differently when I travel with respect to what I use cash for and what I use my credit card for.

Hi brookwood. Please see my response to you on the other thread about ATM cards, and thanks for the heads up about the extra 1% fee from BOA.

I have my reasons for using BOA as my primary bank, but obviously it's not the best for using the ATM while travelling. But there's nothing to stop us from opening a second account at a credit union like I did. From now on the credit union will by my primary account for ATM w/d's overseas.

Gavin - all the banks & other institutions I have credit (not debit) cards from, treat a cash withdrawl as a cash advance, and start charging me their huge 18% or so interest as soon as I make the transaction. I think there is a good sized transaction fee too. I have not checked this in years, however, so things may have changed (I doubt it).

What bank/institution issued you the credit card (not debit) that charges the same fees & interest structure for cash & non-cash transactions, and also offers "points". I withdraw cash & charge thousands of dollars in Europe each year - and I'de like to find a better deal!!

Stu Dudley

What exactly is B of A's ATM transaction fee? I couldn't find it on their website...

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

Stu: To me an ATM card is a card linked to a bank account not a credit card. The OP distinguishes between a Visa card and an ATM so I assumed that s/he is using the term in the same way. I am not advocating the use of credit cards for cash advances...which as you point out are charged very high interest rates.

Be sure to check with your bank to insure that your card will work, sometimes banks get fidgety when their ATM/Debit cards are used in other countries. You also should ask about fees, usually about 1% for international purchases/cash at ATM's.
Credit cards, good for purchases, bad for cash advances.