Money when traveling and RFID

[Deleted]

When I lived in France 12 years ago, I just got money from the ATM but I knew which one had the lowest fees and gave decent conversion rates. We'll be travelling such that I won't have that luxury.

What's the best way to handle money when in Europe now? Are traveller's checks still a thing? I know directly paying with a card doesn't always get you a good conversion rate as the restaurants will charge what ever. Plus, there's also the problem that Europe all uses RFID chips and I know none of the cards we have do.

[alleinesein]

You can still use regular credit cards in Europe. Mine worked just fine last november in Croatia, the UK and Slovenia. Take money out of the ATM for the best conversion rate; travelers cheques need to be cashed in and you will get hit with a fee plus a lower rate on the exchange.

Do you have a Capital One card? They don't charge a foreign transaction fee.

[origami]

Call your bank about ATM fees. Mine charges a flat $5 for some foreign ATMs (plus any fee the local ATM charges) but for others it's $5 + 3%. If I'm going to a +3% area I try to get cash at home before I go and use CCs. Actually I always try to use CCs, where possible, unless there's a cash discount.

[Deleted]

You can still use swipe cards, just be prepared to tell the person running your card that it's not chip and pin. I still use my US chip (no pin) cards when we travel and it's never a problem. Chase sapphire preferred doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee if you want to get a new card before you go.

When we went to New Zealand BOA told us that if we exchanged $x (I think it might have been $1000USD) then they would give us the bank rate and they wouldn't charge us any fees. Check with your bank because they may run something like that for Euros and you can just bring it with you.

You might be able to call your bank to request a chip and sign card. A friend of mine has the Alaska Airlines card and he just called his bank and they sent a chip card, even though he lives in the US.

[GilliC]

I've never seen anyone with an RFID credit card, and I haven't noticed any places that accept them. Most contact -free purchases are done via SMS. And most card purchases are done using normal chip-and-pin smart cards.

As others have mentioned, most places should be able to accept magnetic strip cards with a signature. Occasionally a new employee may not really know how to do it, but it can usually be done. The exception is unstaffed purchase points like gas stations or vending machines.

As for cash, I've always just used my ATM at a major local bank (to minimize the chance of fraudulent machines or card skimming. Both are fairly uncommon in Europe compared to other places). I take a large amount at once, so the service fees end up comparable or often better than the commission on converting travelers cheques. My parents brought some to Norway and couldn't even cash them at the bank! They had to go to Western Union and the fee was nearly 10%!

[gt7301b]

My credit union lets me use other ATMs for free.  When I got charged I just took out money in fewer transactions and tried to use my credit card as much as possible.

I love my Barclayarrival credit card.  It has chip and pin and no foreign transaction fees.

[EmilieMadison]

You can use a regular credit card almost anywhere in Europe (just tell them to swipe it), with the exception of some automated terminals in train stations, etc, where they require a pin and dont take a signature. There are US credit cards, however, that do have chip and pin (some are just chip and signature). My Barclay Arrival+ card is chip and pin, and I believe my Capital One card is chip and signature. Both of these cards have no foreign transaction fees. For cash, I use ATMs in major banks. I dont know of any RFID cards, and have never seen anywhere that accepts them anyway. And no, travelers cheques are not a thing anymore

[EmilieMadison]

Oh, and we bank with Wells Fargo were just issued new debit cards that are chip enabled!

[jennybee1018]

I wanted to mention that I have a Chase Sapphire and Capital One, and they are both now chip enabled. The US is slowly coming around to the chip and pin cards. That being said, I've used my Capital One without a chip in Europe without any issues. The only place I had problems were automated machines (buying an Oyster card, tickets for a boat ride, etc). Otherwise, your regular card will still work!

I always take money out from ATMs, and  but we are lucky enough that our bank offers an account type that reimburses all foreign ATM transaction fees. If you don't have that option, I think I'd just withdraw a large amount once and hopefully it'd be enough!

Agreed about no travelers cheques - I'm not sure how common those are anymore!

[Cicero]

Slightly unrelated, but expect most if not all US credit cards to be switched over to chip cards by October. That is when liability for fraud switches from the cc company to the merchant if the CC company is using chip cards and the merchant doesn't use a chip reader. Depending on when you're traveling the question about swipe v. Chip might be moot.

[neonpink]

I just got a my Amex replaced from Fraud and it has a chip in it, I also have a Bank of America and wells Fargo cards with chips in them.

Everywhere I've traveled I've been able to find an ATM that will take my card with minimum fees. Italy and Spain were the only two countries in my recent travels that didn't say anything with my old cards not having a chip.
Germany, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands could take my card without a chip but always asked if I had one with it. In Amsterdam the public transit machines required them.

[frlcb]

Also if your card just has chip and signature and not chip and pin go ahead and put your card in the chip reader, and it will automatically print out a signature slip. This will keep the employee from making a comment about not being able to accept a non chip and pin card, because they totally can (train station kiosks and other similar things excepted of course).

[Deleted]

Great, thanks everyone! We bank with a CU so I'll have to check with them. I'll check with my Amex, too (although I just see in the news today their deal with Costco ends next year, just an interesting aside).

I got stung on my last day in France as a student when I withdrew about 150 Francs to give to my host dad to mail my boxes as I had run out of time...and when I got home I had over $100 fee for that withdrawal! Hence my nervousness now.

[Deleted]

Mar 2, 2015 14:20:23 GMT -5 @ksta said:

Great, thanks everyone! We bank with a CU so I'll have to check with them. I'll check with my Amex, too (although I just see in the news today their deal with Costco ends next year, just an interesting aside).

I got stung on my last day in France as a student when I withdrew about 150 Francs to give to my host dad to mail my boxes as I had run out of time...and when I got home I had over $100 fee for that withdrawal! Hence my nervousness now.

At least in London, there aren't as many places that take Amex. Every time we go out with friends that try to pay with Amex they always get told that it's visa or MC only. 

Not sure if it's like this in France too, but just a heads up. 

[Deleted]

Mar 2, 2015 14:27:27 GMT -5 @uwhuskygirl said:

Mar 2, 2015 14:20:23 GMT -5 @ksta said:

Great, thanks everyone! We bank with a CU so I'll have to check with them. I'll check with my Amex, too (although I just see in the news today their deal with Costco ends next year, just an interesting aside).

I got stung on my last day in France as a student when I withdrew about 150 Francs to give to my host dad to mail my boxes as I had run out of time...and when I got home I had over $100 fee for that withdrawal! Hence my nervousness now.

At least in London, there aren't as many places that take Amex. Every time we go out with friends that try to pay with Amex they always get told that it's visa or MC only. 

Not sure if it's like this in France too, but just a heads up. 

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I remember when I first got the Costco Amex and was surprised as more places started taking it   We have an Amazon Visa as well...but I'm considering maybe we need to get a mileage card.