Question about credit cards

[CrusinNana]

I will be going on a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest this fall. All of my credit cards use the magnetic strip to do a transaction. Will most of the towns along the river accept this type of credit card ? Someone told me that Europe uses cards with chips instead of magnetic strips. Any information or suggestions would be helpful.

[franski]

I will be going on a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest this fall. All of my credit cards use the magnetic strip to do a transaction. Will most of the towns along the river accept this type of credit card ? Someone told me that Europe uses cards with chips instead of magnetic strips. Any information or suggestions would be helpful.

 

I do know that ALL merchants we encountered had chip card technology. All of our cards are pin & chip... so had no issues. However, they they might accept both as there are still a few countries that haven't completely switched over.

 

Hopefully someone will post who has recently used the regular swipe cards.

 

Fran

[CrusinNana]

Thanks for the info Franksi :)

[Kamloops50]

I will be going on a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest this fall. All of my credit cards use the magnetic strip to do a transaction. Will most of the towns along the river accept this type of credit card ? Someone told me that Europe uses cards with chips instead of magnetic strips. Any information or suggestions would be helpful.

 

I would ask your bank to see if you can get chip & pin technology credit card. If what I've heard all CC in the US are already supposed to chip & pin.

[nana541]

Was in the Med this April (Italy, Spain, Greece and Turkey) our Visa with strip (B of A and Chase) worked most places and in every ATM we tried. Where our cards did not work was in Gas Stations, ticket machines like train stations etc. we always made sure we had about 200 Euros in our pocket for an unexpected hick up with a Credit Card especially in restarants.

I went to alot of trouble to get the only Chip card (available last winter) from Morgan Stanley/Chase but it ended up being useless as it was Chipped but did not use a Pin.... You need Chip & pin which is not happening in the US as it would require changing out machines with ALL our merchants.

 

Our Canadian friends do have access to these cards and even thru US banks operating in Canada but as US customers we can NOT get access to those cards yet.... Maybe time will fix this annoying issue!

 

Hoped this helped!

[CrusinNana]

Thank you for the suggestions and information. I called some of my credit card companies and they said the cards I have do not use pin and chip technology. They said if a merchant can't swipe the card to have them key it in. I guess I'll carry extra cash just in case.

[jpsykes]

We just got back from Viking Amsterdam to Basel.

 

We only have magnetic strip cards and never had an issue with any merchant.(and we used them often :D )

[CrusinNana]

Thanks John and Pam---- that puts my mind at ease ! :rolleyes:

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

They will work fine there ..

[MarkBearSF]

This gets a bit complicated. As I understand it:

- Most European retailers and banks (ATMs) have switched to "chip and PIN" technology which uses a special chip with a PIN code which is stored on the card. However, their card agreements require them to also accept magnetic strip cards (from the US)

- The chips (called EMV chips) are different from the swipe or wave technology (NFS) seen on some cards and android phones.

- There are 2 modes of verification with EMV chips - PIN and singnature. European cards have a PIN and many people like waitresses may not even be aware how to handle a signature verification - even though the device may print out a receipt and clearly say that a signature is required. For low-value transactions, chip-and-signature cards may not require a signature, but many train kiosks etc will accept ONLY chip-and-PIN

- Most banks are providing chip-and-signature cards for many (but no mans all) of their products/versions on request. When I checked a few months ago, Citi and Chase seemed to be leading, with limited BofA and Amex was lagging.

- In any event, because of the agreements, all cards with a mag strip should still be usable, and a chip-and-signature card won't guarantee that there won't be a problem.

 

In our case, especially because we have pre and post-cruise arrangements in AMS and Paris, I decided to get chip-and-signature cards for a greater level of convenience (and the Chase BA card wound up giving me enough miles for a free ticket right off the bat to boot) - but a chip card isn't required.

 

So now, in addition to card rates, foreign transaction fees - now chip (and WHICH type) or not is another consideration. ...and this is changing quickly!

 

Mark

[nana541]

We had issues a couple of times when employees in various counties just did not know how to run our card manually... Between that and a language barrier we paid cash or did not Purchase. For the most part it was not an issue.

[CrusinNana]

Mark, thanks for the explanation. Nothing is simple any more ! :eek:

[bphman]

I have never had an issue with magnetic strip cards in Europe yet. I, too, inquired about Pin and Chip cards and was told that it was not available in the U.S yet. We even used the cards in the machine in the London Tubes without difficulty. I don't think you have to worry.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

I was in Europe last month (Holland, Russia, England and France). I do not have a chip card. I didn't have any problems with the ATM's. Most places I was fine. However, there were a couple of small cafe's in Amsterdam and Haarlem, and a souvenir shop where they wouldn't/couldn't take my card. In one place I had cash. In the other, I just had to leave. After that I showed them my card first thing and asked. I believe it was also Paris where we had trouble in one place. I tried to make sure I always had cash for the necessities. It wasn't a huge problem, but it was occasionally a nuisance at the smaller, less touristy places.

[CrusinNana]

Thanks to ALL who responded --- you've been very helpful.:p

[caviargal]

We were unable to use our VISA card to purchase train tickets at Central Station in Amsterdam last fall as we do not have a chip. We had to run to ATM and then return and pay in cash. No AMEX either.

[GerryW80]

You should take traveller's checks or a chip card issued from the bank because the magnetic cards are outdated and taking much cash with you in travelling is not such a great idea

[Paulinda]

I disagree with using traveler checks. Traveler checks are expensive, difficult to cash and simply a pain. And do get yourself some euros before you go. If you take a cab from the airport you will need them.

 

Check with your bank before going and explain to them where you are going. They will need to know that anyways for security reasons. If you don't tell them and they see funds being withdrawn from overseas they may put a hold on your cards. The bank wil also l be able to assist you if you need to get a new ATM card.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

But there ARE ATM's at Centraal Station in Amsterdam. That's what we did too! We didn't have any problems with ATM's and they are everywhere- except the small villages of a Russian River Cruise. :D

[nana541]

ATM's attached to an acct at home are key!! We travel with two sets of cards from totally differant banks. DH has a Visa and ATM card as do I only from differant banks that way if (god forbid) he gets his wallet "stolen" or something happens to mine, we won't be stuck with no cards while over seas....

 

And of course the ATM cards are with differant banks and I load each of those accts with emergency cash....does not mean I have to spend the cash but at least it's there for an emergency!!

 

Final important thing is to call each CC and ATM card company let them know the dates you'll be out of the country with their cards and my companies want to know which dates I'll be in what country.

 

Get at least 200 euros - order from your bank about a week and a half before leaving as it will take a fees days for bank to get the Euros!!

 

Now enjoy your trip!!

[caviargal]

IMO Traveler's Checks are archaic and the worst form of currency for travel. ATM is the way to go for convenience, exchange rates and flexibility. I would never opt for Traveler's Checks these days.

[caviargal]

But there ARE ATM's at Centraal Station in Amsterdam. That's what we did too!

 

Yes but we did not know our Visa would not work so we stood in a long line for tickets only to learn our credit card was not accepted. Then we had to leave and find an ATM and get back in line. It was a hassle.

[mj_holiday]

Several times in restaurants when we gave our magnetic strip credit cards the server needed to take our card away to get to a machine where it could be swiped. Sometimes they would ask my DH or I to go with them so that the card was not out of our site. Some of the credit card machine many servers carry with them only take chip and pin cards. (But then in other places their machine worked) In summary we had no problem recently in Germany, Hungary or Prague.

[nana541]

Travelers checks are very hard to cash without going to a bank with your passport.... Banks are open limited hours, at least ATM's are open any tim you find one...small shops and restaurants rarely accept Tr Cks these days.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

My friend spent hours trying to find a place to cash her travelers checks in Germany~ and that was several years ago. We dealt all in cash or CC in Europe this summer with no regrets. Like everybody else said, make sure your bank and CC people are informed of your travel dates and locations, and order some local currency before you go. If you live outside of a city, give your bank at least 2 weeks to order it. Many cabs only accept cash. If you need one, try to arrange it online before you go- it'll be much much cheaper- perhaps even by half! You;ll be amazed at what you can pre-pay for online, lessening your need for cash on hand.