On 1 apr 2010, at 2:56, Phillip Hallam-Baker wrote:
In theory it is possible to use a US issued credit card in Europe.
In practice, forget it unless you are willing to face the
embarrassment of 50% of places declining your card.
:-)
What you have to remember is that in many European countries, including the
Netherlands, there is no tradition of credit card use. Rather, people use debit
cards. Of course restaurants, hotels etc that cater to tourists accept them,
and these days more places that sell expensive items do as well. But I would be
very surprised to find a super market in the Netherlands that accepts credit
cards. And credit cards are also not universally accepted in restaurants (the
bigger / more expensive, the more likely they accept credit cards). So you
really need to carry enough cash to at least pay for a meal and a train ticket
or taxi ride. You can find ATMs with the Maestro and Cirrus logos all over the
place, so this shouldn't be a problem. (Although because of lack of regulations
that forbid this, you're likely to pay a hefty commision for cash withdrawals
and of course your bank has to allow them.)
My experience in the UK is that outside London you are very likely to
find that the only cards they accept are chip and pin cards.
I don't think places in the Netherlands that accept credit cards require a
chip, mine didn't have one until last year. Without having been able to test
this, I'd say that in any place that accepts credit cards in the Netherlands
(logos on the window) you should be ok: since Dutch don't use them much and
rarely if ever depend on them, places that accept them do so mainly for the
convenience of international travelers. Also note that the most widely accepted
credit card type is Mastercard, followed by Visa. With other cards, your milage
may vary even more.
I have a UK card just so I can spend money in the UK.
Even when traveling in the EU with a card from a different EU country you can
encounter refusals in non-tourist places, but at least when it works the
charges (if any) are reasonable. (In fact I can withdraw money for free from
all Spanish ATMs with my Dutch debit card but with the Spanish one, ATMs from
banks other than my own cost me 50 cents.)
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