10 rules for using your Debit and Credit Cards in Europe

[Olde Hornet]

This article is old, but its worth the read if you do international travel.

10 Simplest Rules For Using Debit And Credit Cards In Europe | TouristBee

10 must-know rules for using your debit and credit cards in Europe. Use your cards safely to get cash and make purchases while enjoying your trips.

www.touristbee.com

Simple checklist for using your debit and credit cards in Europe
RULE 1: Call your bank before leaving on your international trip. This rule applies both to your Debit Card and Credit Card issuing banks. This one rule will save you lots of headache. It is the most important rule! If you don’t inform your bank, your card may be rejected when you try to purchase things abroad. This is the only way financial companies can protect you against fraud…so help them out. Also ask about what fees they charge for foreign transactions and compare them with the best travel credit cards.
RULE 2: Your ATM card’s pin number must have 4 digits. In Europe pin numbers still have only 4 digits allowed. In the US most banks allow for 5 digits as well. Before you travel abroad, make sure you go to a local branch and change your pin to 4 digits. Don’t forget to test the new pin! Europe has been moving to 5 digit pin numbers lately but there are still many older ATM machines that only work with 4 digit pin numbers.

 

[Olde Hornet]

Another good article to read

Better to charge in Euros or dollars? - Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Europe - Better to charge in Euros or dollars? - We just returned from Ireland and most places offered to put charges through in Euros or dollars. I choose dollars thinking I wouldn't be charged an additional fee on my credit card but then later I read in my Fodors guide that it would be better...

www.fodors.com

Better to charge in Euros or dollars?

You were the victim of a gigantic scam called dynamic currency conversion (dcc) that begain about 15 years ago in Ireland and has metastasized throughout the travel world.

To explain it...both mastercard and visa used what is called the interbank rate for currency conversions; this is the rate banks apply to each other for millions of dollars of foreign exchange each day. This rate is published daily in the papers. Mastercard and visa add a fee of 1% for doing this conversion and assuming the risks of currency fluctuations on a daily basis. Unfortunately, since this is a cash cow, many banks, who have nothing to do with the exchange (the charge reaches them already converted to your currency, I assume in this case US$, these fees are totally a rip off. Some good guy banks, only pass along the 1% mc/visa fee to their customers. There are a couple of US banks (Capital One, Charles Schwab) that eat the 1% fee....but you still do much better by using your credit cards than exchanging cash (where the mark up can be as much as 10% or more)...ok.

Now many local credit card processors have come up with a scheme called dynamic currency conversion. In this scam, where you were victimized, the merchant sets whatever rate he or she wants for the exchange, invariably more than the interbank rate + 1% used by mc/visa. You are presented with a sales slip which has both the amount in the local currency (in this case euro) and a converted amount in your currency US$. You sign a statement agreeing to the conversion and the credit card processor now has the charge enter the international credit card system in your country converted to that amount! The payment processor touts this as a service conveneint for the customer (what a laugh)....and to add insult to injury, mc/visa now add the 1% fee anyway to any transaction incurred outside your country even if done in your currency. And of course, the near criminal banks also add on their 2% fee. So it's a losing situation, big time.