Using a credit card in London

[ohgillian]

This board is so much savvier than I am. I'm going to London - what do I need to be googling to figure out which credit card I can use there w/o extra fees? If it's relevant I have a Chase Southwest, a Chase Freedom Unlimited, a Citi Double Cash Back, a Hilton Amex and a Blue Cash Everyday Amex. Maybe another I'm forgetting. 

I think the Chase Freedom is probably the best one but I'm not sure what I"m looking for online to figure out if i will pay huge fees for using it in another country. 

Thanks in advance. 

[wanderingback]

Yes you just need to look at your credit card to see if they charge foreign transaction fees and pick one that doesn’t. It doesn’t look like you have an Amex but although my Amex doesn’t charge fees it’s less likely to be accepted worldwide so I make sure I also have a visa credit card with me when traveling.

Eta: clearly I read too fast and you do have an Amex, so fyi to you as well

[midwestmama]

Capital One Quicksilver has no foreign transaction fees! I got that card last year and it worked great when I was in Poland in December.

ETA:  Sharing that if you are open to getting another credit card.  If not, I would check out Nerd Wallet, because I think they provide a lot of the high-level info, including which fees there are.

[wildrice]

The Chase Freedom card DOES charge foreign transaction fees, so definitely don't use that one. I forget what the percentage is, maybe 2-3% so not HUGE but will definitely add up over the course of a bunch of transactions. I have three Chase cards and that's the only one that does - maybe check on the Chase Southwest?

I would think your Hilton Amex probably does not - my Chase branded hotel card is one that doesn't have foreign transaction fees. But Amex may not be accepted. However, just in London I would expect most places to take it, just maybe not smaller vendors.

[ohgillian]

Mar 1, 2023 9:51:53 GMT -5 midwestmama said:

Capital One Quicksilver has no foreign transaction fees! I got that card last year and it worked great when I was in Poland in December.

ETA:  Sharing that if you are open to getting another credit card.  If not, I would check out Nerd Wallet, because I think they provide a lot of the high-level info, including which fees there are.

We have a quicksilver!! Thank you!

[steamboat185]

The Chase Southwest has transaction fees too.

I know I was charged fees a few years ago on a Hilton Amex, but it looks like they no longer charge transaction fees.

[agnes]

If you have an iPhone, I recommend setting up your Quicksilver in your wallet. When we were in Europe in the Fall, I used Apple Pay pretty much everywhere. I only used my credit card a few times at restaurants.

[just]

I'm Irish, and most places at home are very heavily PIN oriented rather than signature oriented. While you can usually ask for a signature, it's usually a whole additional thing. So be better than me and either know your pin number before you travel or order a replacement now.

[RockNVoll]

Each card's website should have info on their foreign transaction fees. Your bank website should also tell you which in-country ATMs they might partner with so you minimize fees on cash withdrawals.

[puppyluv]

My Chase Freedom has a 2% fee but my Chase Southwest card does not have a fee. I use the Southwest card while traveling in Mexico.

[Pibs]

Mar 1, 2023 13:44:47 GMT -5 just said:

I'm Irish, and most places at home are very heavily PIN oriented rather than signature oriented. While you can usually ask for a signature, it's usually a whole additional thing. So be better than me and either know your pin number before you travel or order a replacement now.

So we spent 8? 9? weeks in the UK and Ireland a few years ago. We wanted a travel focused credit card and specifcially got a chip & PIN card from Barclay. I was worried we'd have issues and be out of luck since were going to be gone for so long if we didn't have one. And we didn't have (get) to use the PIN once the entire time. TBH, I was a little bummed because I felt so proactive and planning ahead-ey. We literally signed for everything without having to ask. It still seems like the weirdest thing that it didn't matter at all. 

[just]

Weird! I went home last year and has forgotten to get a PIN number and couldn’t pay for anything!!! I had to borrow money from my sisters and transfer money back to them!

I will say that it spurred me to get Revolut - a Venmo like service that’s very popular in Ireland (and growing internationally)

It allows quick and very competitive virtual currency exchange and payment transfers. So I can load up my account with $ from my IS bank account and cheaply convert them virtually to euro (or other currencies) to transfer to my family to pay for gifts etc. there’s also a physical card that I plan to use in Portugal next week that I can Los up with euro.

[wanderingback]

I’ve never been to Ireland, but to London several times and have never has to use a pin, but I haven’t been since before the pandemic. just was it more recently that pins were required in London for you?

[Pibs]

Mar 5, 2023 17:30:27 GMT -5 liteningme said:

How do you know what your credit card PIN is? Or do you contact your bank to get one? just,Pibs,

Our card was a true chip and PIN card, so we had to set the PIN when we got and activated it. I'm not sure about the ones that aren't true chip and PIN, but I would assume you could do it through customer service.

[lightbulbsun]

Mar 6, 2023 12:44:10 GMT -5 liteningme said:

Mar 6, 2023 0:59:18 GMT -5 Pibs said:

Our card was a true chip and PIN card, so we had to set the PIN when we got and activated it. I'm not sure about the ones that aren't true chip and PIN, but I would assume you could do it through customer service.

Thanks. I called my credit card this morning (Capital One Savor) and they said only European cards need a PIN (we’re US), and that my card has a chip, so no PIN. The only kind of PIN capital one has for credit cards is for cash advances. Hope that’s accurate. 

This sounds right. I was in London last week and I used my credit card everywhere without having to sign or use a PIN. Most places had tap payment, so it was tap the card and that was it.