We will rent a car and plan on using our credit card(s) for buying fuel, getting cash at ATMs, paying for the odd expensive meal, etc.

What cards are liable to be the most widely-accepted?

Yes, I know some folks on the Board are wary of using credit cards overmuch, but we are not.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,

Visa is all I've used so I can't comment on the others. I seem to remember (I might be wrong) that not a lot of gas stations take credit cards.

One bit of advice, take more than one card. On several occasions when using my Visa in Italy, the card wouldn't go thru. My wife would then use her card (same exact account) and it would go thru. A couple of times my wife or I would use our Visa and it wouldn't go thru and then 10 minutes later at a different "merchant", the card would go thru. This time my wife and I are taking two cards each from two different accounts. One Visa and one Mastercard. I had heard about this prior to leaving so I wasn't all that surprised.

Mark from Arizona

I take one Visa and one Mastercard with me for charge purchases. Then I take a debit card for cash withdrawals from ATMs.
In the last three years I can't remember any gas station that didn't take a credit card. Most of them had the automatic swiper at the pump. For, those who didn't the attendants took the cards. (This experience is for travels in areas from Milan to Sorrento. It may be less common in other areas.)

Deborah Horn

In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I'd like to do a past life regression and stay there.
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Marketing Solutions for Health Care

I am a cash kind of person, particularly for gas stations, little stores, etc.

When I leave for the day's drive, while I still hide away documents and money, I keep a reasonable amount of cash readily available.

Oh, yes! We will carry cash, as well.

My message was not entirely clear.

Thanks to all who replied.

quote:

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Originally posted by Smitty:
What cards are liable to be the most widely-accepted?

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To respond to this, Discover is unknown in Italy, and American Express cards are not as widely accepted as Visa and Mastercard. Our best discovery was a Visa that is also a debit card,tied to our checking account, so that we can get cash from the ATM without having to pay a credit card company fee for a cash advance.

There is also the issue of your pin number. European pins are typically 4 digits and many banks here have 6 digit pins. Be sure to have a 4 digit pin assigned your account. Check with your bank.

Also, make sure you inform your credit card company of your travel plans. It may prevent your having your card turned off by the automatic fraud protection. The systems are automated but if there is a note attached, it is possible that you will avoid problems. Call you bank and inform them of your travel plans and they will not it on your ATM account. The more countries you travel to in a short period of time the more likely you will be to have problems (another good argument for slow travel).

Be sure to have issuing banks telephone number (not the 800 number but the local number with area code- they will accept collect calls). Make sure you have a card with a 24 hour service center.

If life is an opera by Puccini... I want to be Calaf!

And be sure to check with the bank issuing your credit card to see if it adds to the 1% currency exchange fee automatically charged by Visa and Mastercard. Some banks add 1%, some 2% -- there are a few which don't add anything.

I have used my American Express card in the Friuli and Veneto regions including Venice for shopping, hotels and gas without problems. I prefer Am Ex because I can check my account and pay my bill on the internet very easily. When I run across a place that does not take Am Ex I use Mastercard. I have both a Mastercard debit card and a Mastercard credit card from my credit union. I have been using the debit card to get local currencies from ATMs in Italy and many other countries with great success. The exchange rate is good and there are never any extra charges. Occassionally, an ATM has realized that the debit card is indeed a debit card and not a credit card and choked forcing me to find a different ATM. I use the credit card for other than ATM use as I don't feel comfortable having a waiter or sales person wandering off with a card that gives direct access to my checking accounting. I believe my liability is the same with both debit and credit cards but have read that fraudulent use of a debit card can be more problematic since you have to get the money back into your checking account. As number of posters have noted, you can't rely on one card or even one type of card when you are traveling. For security reasons, my wife and I take only one of each type of card and we each carry different cards increasing the chances that we will have something that works.

Dmosim

As previously complained of by travelers, there's been an industry of swiping and thus stealing credit card numbers in a second swiper designed just for the purpose. A ring was recently busted for this which had stolen millions that way. They manufacture cards with your number and sell them. This particular ring included a bank officer.
The clue is never surrender the card to anyone. Get up and pay at the counter, or go into the gas station office or at worst, have the portable swiper set in front of you on the table if they insist on doing it remotely, although I think after the news reports no one would mind your insisting on paying at the desk.
This was international, not just Italy, although the bank involved was Italian.

Gee, I learn something new everyday.

It never even dawned on me about using something like a VISA/Mastercard debit card. Never heard of them. I do not have a checking account. I only have a savings account that I have an ATM card to take money out, and a VISA card.

Questions, questions:

In Italy, can't I just use my ATM card to take money out of my savings account?

Does this currency exchange fee apply to my savings account?

Are the rates different from taking money out of my savings account and from a VISA debit card account?

I know I have to ask my bank about charges and fees but do your banks have these charges and fees? This is just a general question so I can expect my bank to give me an answer similar to yours. I'm thinking about getting a Mastercard credit card but maybe it should be a Mastercard debit card.

This topic is very informative. Thanks.

^*^*^*^*^*^*Cynde^*^*^*^*^*^*
Amo Italia

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Originally posted by dean:
European pins are typically 4 digits

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Italian pins are FIVE (5) digits. I keep reading about these 4 digit pins, but every pin I ever had to deal with (my own banck accounts and bank accounts of my business and of the varios members of my family) in all different banks I have been "quarrelling" with (can you avoid having some deep and well funded grudge against any bank you happen to have to deal with?) have always had 5 digits pins.

Alice Twain
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Sciur capitan, questa che l’è la verità, adess ghe n’hoo piee i ball, Giovanni el turna a cà. Se te voret scriv te regali la mia pena, se te voret sparam questa l’è la mia schena.

Mr capitain, this is the truth Now I am sick of it, Giovanni goes back home If you want to write to me, I’ll give you my pencil If you want to shoot me, here’s my back.

          Davide Van De Sfroos, Sciur capitan

I always use a 4-digit number in Italy, and have never had any problems.

Always have a cash backup, I nearly missed a train in Florence yesterday because none of the automatic machines were accepting cards. So I queued at the ticket desks. They weren't accepting cards either (a scribbled note referring to yet another sciopero???). So I had to queue at a cashpoint - luckily that was working - collect cash, queue again at a ticket machine. Luckily I caught the train, but I'm not letting my cash run low again.

quote:

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Originally posted by Smitty:
We will rent a car and plan on using our credit card(s) for buying fuel, getting cash at ATMs, paying for the odd expensive meal, etc.
What cards are liable to be the most widely-accepted?

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The most ommon credit card in Italy is Carta sì, which is connected to the Master Card circuit, but Visa are widely accepted and all top shops and restaurants and shops also accept American Express (which may not be accepted in lower cathegory businesses and in non touristy areas, half of which accept only Master and Visa). Yet, Credit cards are widely accepted only in the big cities and the tourist areas (my fiance's bookshop in an UGLY Tuscan village, there are some, an survive without accepting credit cards and ATM as means of payment... This would be impossibile in Milano). ATM cards are more often used than credit cards, and often enough you will find a business that does not accept credit cards (or debit cards) but it does accept an ATM card (I am talking, for instance, about gas stations). Also, drawing from your bank account is far cheaper through an ATM card than with a credit card (1-1,50 euro against 5-10 euro).

Alice Twain
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Sciur capitan, questa che l’è la verità, adess ghe n’hoo piee i ball, Giovanni el turna a cà. Se te voret scriv te regali la mia pena, se te voret sparam questa l’è la mia schena.

Mr capitain, this is the truth Now I am sick of it, Giovanni goes back home If you want to write to me, I’ll give you my pencil If you want to shoot me, here’s my back.

          Davide Van De Sfroos, Sciur capitan

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Originally posted by Luke:
Luckily I caught the train, but I'm not letting my cash run low again.

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If you are extremely late, you can buy the ticket on the train, although this costs a bvit more. As you board the train, do not start looking for a seat, insetad start looking for a conductor (you can usually find their on-board office in the first or in the last carriage) and say that you have no ticket. The ticket will be issued on the train with a 10 euro surcharge. Obviously, being caught with no ticket would ost you much more ^_^. This does not apply (I think) on Eurostar trains. Obviously (as this is Italy), conductors do neither accept credit cards nor ATM cards.

Alice Twain
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Sciur capitan, questa che l’è la verità, adess ghe n’hoo piee i ball, Giovanni el turna a cà. Se te voret scriv te regali la mia pena, se te voret sparam questa l’è la mia schena.

Mr capitain, this is the truth Now I am sick of it, Giovanni goes back home If you want to write to me, I’ll give you my pencil If you want to shoot me, here’s my back.

          Davide Van De Sfroos, Sciur capitan

quote:

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Originally posted by Cynde:
I do not have a checking account. I only have a savings account that I have an ATM card to take money out, and a VISA card.

In Italy, can't I just use my ATM card to take money out of my savings account?

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My account is with a credit union, and I just had a meeting last week with the head of the ATM department to discuss these issues. He says that my ATM card will work fine, but most ATMs will only allow you to withdraw funds from the primary account (they don't have a feature that says "Savings or checking?). In the case of a credit union, the primary account is the savings account, so ATMs will give me access only to my savings account. He says that if I try to do a purchase with my card, using it as a debit card, that will go against my checking account. So I need to pay attention to the distribution of funds in my accounts before I go. You will need to be sure whether your bank treats the savings account as your primary account.

quote:

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Does this currency exchange fee apply to my savings account?

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Yes.

quote:

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Are the rates different from taking money out of my savings account and from a VISA debit card account?

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As my debit card is in fact a VISA debit card, I've been asking this. What I've heard so far is, if the cards are from the same bank, probably no difference. If you get a VISA debit card from a different bank, probably. And although I haven't been able to get a definitive answer from anyone on this, it appears that you may have less fees using your Visa debit card from a Visa ATM than from a competitor's ATM.

Bill Turner

Thanks Bill, you're a peach!

^*^*^*^*^*^*Cynde^*^*^*^*^*^*
Amo Italia

"He says that my ATM card will work fine, but most ATMs will only allow you to withdraw funds from the primary account"

As Bill says, it is best to check with your institution as contrary to his situation, our credit union accesses our checking account when we use our debit/ATM card abroad. Also,whether or not a fee is charged when using your debit card depends on your bank or credit union. Our CU charges no fee.
The last time we were in Italy there were two charges for $99 for calling cards-neither of which was our bill. Simply called the card company who identified it as fraud and there was no problem--except they needed to issue a new card which was inconvenient as we have several automatic billings and so those companies had to be notified of new account.

Jane
http://www.janeandken.com