Will we be able to use our credit cards most of the time?..need feedback
 

Just saw a board on withdrawal fees for ATM. Our bank charges 3 dollars PLUS whatever the bank we withdraw from in France charges...(we just called them)

So the question we have is....will we be able to use our credit card in most places?.. We will be all over France. Trying to figure out what kind of cash we will need. (7 week trip) using car.

1. You will not be charged anything by a France ATM.
2. Do not us a "charge" card at a France ATM - use your debit or ATM card
3. Call your bank and see how much they charge you for a currency conversion fee. Visa/MC charges 1%, and most banks add on an additional 2-3 %. My brokerage debit card does not add on anything. A few banks also do not add on anything to a charge/debit card. The "miles" you might earn on a FF card are not worth the extra cost if you incurr this 2-3% charge.
4. If you rent a car, pay your entire amount before you leave on your FF card. If you choose to pay 1/2 before departure & 1/2 upon return, you'll pay the final bill in Euros, & get the 3% added in.
5. Make sure you PIN is numbers, not letters

Stu Dudley

We've used our credit cards all over France..there are very few places that don't accept some kind of a card. American Express is probably the one that has least acceptance. Some hotels might no take any credit card so check first. About the only thing I use cash for is taxis and at newstands and a few cafes when I'm only having a coffee or a glass of wine.

DO NOT use your credit card to get cash from an ATM...unless you want to pay a huge cash advance fee!

I've never seen the Discover card accepted in Europe.

You can take out more money with fewer transactions to keep the costs down.

It drives me nuts here in the US to watch co-workers use an ATM that isn't in their network and pay $1 to get $10 out of the machine.

Most places in the tourist centers take credit cards. Get away from the tourist centers and the acceptance rate drops rapidly.

We even encountered gas stations that did not take any major credit cards.

If a place accepts credit cards 99% of the time it will accept Visa or MC.
Am Ex often, but not nearly as assured, Discover or Diners are unlikely.
Some small establishments don't accept them--if you're booking restaurants or B&Bs or small hotels, you should inquire in advance.

Hi lois,

There have been reports here about having to have a credit card with a "smart chip" in order to use some unattended gas pumps.

I got an AMEX Blue card with a chip.

You might wish to consider this.

It's free.

((I))

>>Most places in the tourist centers take credit cards. Get away from the tourist centers and the acceptance rate drops rapidly.<<<

How far away from the tourist centers in France do you get? Could you be more specific? I spend a lot of time in France & have never encountered an area where they were generally un-accepted.

Stu Dudley

I agree that most places in France take credit cards. Some small hotels or B&Bs prefer cash, small cafes, grocery stores, etc. Most other places take cards. Visa and MC are the most widely accepted. I don't ever recall not being able to charge gas, even in rural areas. Capital one and MBNA america are two card companies that don't add extra percentage fees so you might want to consider one of them if the bank through which you have your credit card charges alot. Same for getting cash advances from an ATM with your checking account's ATM or debit card. When I realized my bank charged $5 for a withdrawal in Europe, I called around and found another local bank which only charged $1 and opened an account there.

as already mentioned -- the French Bank will not charge you anything. So you are just loking at the $3 charged by your own bank. $3 is high -- my bank charges $1.50 and some charge even less. But even at $3 that is much less than a cash advance fee on your credit card.

The best bet is a combination of CCs and debit/ATM cards, because you will want some cash along the way.

Few US-issued credit cards will work in automated card readers like at gas stations, etc. But anyplace you give your card to an attendant/waiter/clerk will be fine.

Visa or MC are the most widely accepted by far. Amex a little less and Diners/Carte Blanche even less.

Discover is not good anywhere outside of North America.

Normally in Europe I withdraw 300 euro at a time, and we split it between the two of us. Even paying $3 for that transaction is less than 1%. Not enough to worry about.

I too question where people find all these places that don't take credit cards. I've been all over Europe and spent a lot of time in out of the way places and I rarely find those places that won't take credit cards -- Visa and usually Master Card, although several times they have told me "no" to Master Card.

I think a lot of people here need better banks. Mine doesn;t charge me anything - after all - it's my own money. The only charge is that by the owner of the machine - if I need to do a withdrawal from a commercial ATM - rather than the bank or supermarket or drugstore - which are all free.

Don't forget to let your CC company know that you are going abroad so they don't think your card has been stolen.

The only fee is the one from your home bank. I have never been charged by a European bank when using an ATM. If you take out your daily maximum limit each transaction, you get a good rate of exchange, so the $3 fee is a resonable way to go IMO.

When using your credit cards, beware of dynamic currency conversions. This is where the business decides what rate to use to covert their currency (euros here) into dollars and then charge you that amount in dollars. The rate is always unfavorable to you. You can ask that they charge in their currency. They may say they cannot, but that isn't true. (After all, it's THEIR currency!)

Stu--we get well off the beaten path at times. There are many villages were most businesses not only don't take credit cards, but the village doesn't have ATMs either. Same in Germany and Italy.

Other than the 1% conversion fee, neither my credit card nor my ATM bank charge me any fee when I use an ATM or charge on my credit card in Europe.

Having said that, I recommend everyone check with his/her bank/credit card company and and find out what additional fees they may charge.

If you are comfortable with the fees, go for it.

If you are not comfortable with the fees, change banks. It's your money. ((b))