First things first: before you travel, call the bank that
issued your credit cards!
That’s rule number one and will make your trip so much
easier. If you are not a frequent
traveler, your bank knows your travel history and may believe the foreign
charges are fake. If so, they will block
the card and deny the charges. Also,
some banks will not allow their credit cards to be used in countries where
fraud is a known problem. It’s best to know if your bank has these restrictions
in place before you travel. Example,
you can’t use a credit card in Cuba.
One of our credit cards was issued by our credit union. When we notified our credit union we were
traveling to Southeast Asia, we were told any charges in China, Viet Nam, and
Cambodia would be denied. While on the
trip, we attempted to use this card in China and the charge was denied -- I
wanted to “test” their system. Fortunately,
we had other credit cards with us on our trip.
When we travel, we carry a minimum amount of cash. We use our credit cards for hotel,
transportation charges, food, and souvenirs.
We do carry a debit card so we can withdraw local currency from ATMs.
When you use a credit card, the merchant may try to charge
your purchase in US currency. If so, ask
them to charge the purchase in local currency.
You will get a much better exchange rate from your bank. Caveat: you may be charged an international
transaction fee.
Many credit cards will charge an international transaction
fee when their cards are used in another country. The transaction fee is normally 2% or 3% of
the cost of the purchase. Before you
travel, check other credit card offers, some credit cards are “foreign
transaction fee” free. We have one of
these cards and use it as our primary card when we travel.
There are three types of credit cards in use:
- Swipe & Sign
- Chip & Sign
- Chip & Pin
The swipe & sign cards are old technology cards that are
being replaced in the US. The cards were swiped thru a card reader and you
signed the billing slip. You can still
use these cards, but it’s getting more difficult in Europe.
If your card was replaced within the past year, the new card
is probably a “chip & sign” card.
These cards have computer chips, but still require a signature. The newer cards in the US are this type.
Most of the world is using the “chip & pin” technology. This works like our debit card. Since all our credit cards are chip &
sign, we have had some issues when we tried to use the cards at a kiosk and in
a taxi. No way to collect a signature
and we don’t have a pin. We are hopeful US banks will begin issuing pins for
credit cards.
If you plan, you can use your credit card when you travel
just as you can in your neighborhood.
