I hate paying too much in credit card fees and am going to Sapin in May. So what is the best credit card to us for meals, gasoline and travel. Also where to get the best money conversion. When we went to France 3 years ago we converted Us doolars into about 500 euros and came home after 2 weeks with change

Jane, I don't think this is a game that the consumer can really win. A good approach is to take some Euro cash from your friendly banker at home and withdraw money from ATMs as you go along.

Personally, I used the debit card to withdraw cash and whatever credit card to pay hotels, restaurants, etc. Some people tell that hotels would give you a break for cash. Never happened to me.

We have a very good article on the subject on our web site on the same subject.

Sometimes I have a hard time finding a cash machine to use with my AMEX card (we have an AMEX card that works as a debit card on one of our accounts). In general it seems like Visa or Mastercard are more accepted than AMEX.

Jane (from another Jane)--pretty much agree with the patriarch except that we no longer even bring euros from here as the rate to get them here is outrageous. If we don't have any left from our last trip, we just head for the airport ATM. This has never not worked. The nice things about euros is that since they are good in so many countries, you can just bring them home for the next trip. We now avoid charging as much as possible since most credit card companies have started the extra 1-3% surcharge for out of country tansactions--a major ripoff. We do still charge but not as much as we used to. If you believe the dollar is going to gain, then charging might make sense as sometimes charges are not recorded for several days--although this isn't so true anymore, either. As Doru says,this is no longer a game that the consumer can play with thoughts of winning.

Dont' bother to get Euros before departing; the rate of exchange will in no way be to your advantage. Use ATM's once there...they are pretty much as 'everywhere' as in the USA, and are at airports. You can use a debit card or a credit card in them just as at home...I find Master Card and Visa accepted 100% by the ATM's. The only time I've ever had a problem is if it's in the middle of the night in the US and machines are being updated in some way.

I do let my my bank and credit card company know that I will be withdrawing cash from abroad, so it won't be thought to be fraud and get cut off.

And it is terrific to now be able to just bring leftover Euros home and save them for the next trip.

Best wishes,

EXCELLENT idea to notify your card company. We do not use our credit card much and then we had two significant charges for a car rental (1 through the booking agency and 1 through the car rental for a deposit). The fraud unit of our credit card company called us. Fortunately we checked our messages at home to find it and notified them the charges were corrrect. So it might be a good idea to let your company know you are going to be charging approximately $x in (insert country names) so they will not block the charges.

Just to reinforce Sally's advice. We never travel internationally without notifying credit card companies and our bank. It is also a good idea to alert your bank to the internationa withdrawals you will make. This really is a travel must.

I can confirm a lot of what these other posters have been saying:

1. Notify your company... My ATM called us at home when Imoved to Germany and they were very very concerned about my charges, until I told them it was OKAY! You don't want to get stuck without cash.

2. The ATMS are all pretty good and Cirrus is pretty common--so VISA?MC work the best. If, for soem reason, as I have experienced from time to time in Munich, your card is not accepted by a bank ATM even though your symbols match up, try it a thte next bacnk and so on. Often you will have to find an ATM that is an "international' one--it will often have that on teh sign... The EC card is not exactly the same and is not with the same chip... So, for example, my Postbank in Munich (Post Office BAnk--a top 5 bank in Germany), would never take my ATM from here or a Visa. It was EC only.

I mostly used my ATM card to charge things---it acted like a VISA, but had great conversion rates, from what I can tell. I don't think I had any problems with my MC or VISA card and charges, either. It beats having too mcuh cash, getting your cash lifted from your pocket or wallet, and makes it easier to see what you spent at the end of everything....

I never take currency out beforehand. Airport ATMs are universal and although they charge a few dollars, its probably cheaper than the service excahgne rate you pay when dealing with cash.

Visa should see you thru just about everywhere.
have fun in Europe, Dieterlue

Hello,

Another piece of advice:

Call your CC companies and find out what their fees for use overseas are. We recently spent a month in France, and here's what we did (our usual M.O.):

1. Call your CC companies about a week before the trip and let them know you'll be overseas. THey'll put a note in your account so it won't get frozen due to "suspicious activity."

2. Ask about all fees for overseas charges. We have 3 credit cards. 2 (a Target Visa card and a Capital One Visa) didn't add anything to the standard 1% fee that Visa charges. 1 (a Citibank Mastercard) charged an additional 2%! Guess which card we didn't use?

3. Call your bank and ensure that your ATM card will work in Europe.

When we travel, we use our credit card as much as possible, and hit the ATM on arrival and a few times after that (withdraw as much as you're comfortable carrying around when you use the ATM, remember there's a fee associated with each transaction from your bank as well as from the bank whose machine you are using).

I do think it's reassuring to take a small amount in euros with you, despite the unfavorable exchange rates outside Europe. Recent posts on other message boards suggest that U.S. banks are increasingly adding, or raising fees when credit cards are used abroad, but cards do usually provide the most favorable exchange rates. If you are comfortable doing it (from the standpoint of security around the ATM and carrying cash) it may be best to make fewer, fairly large ATM withdrawals -- if your card provider charges a per-transaction fee. and then pay in cash.