I’m going to Germany and U.K. in May. Many articles I’ve read advise not to take too much cash but rather use ATMs or credit cards. My question is whether members have had any problems using their credit cards internationally without advising the credit card prior to their trip (ie having charges blocked)Thank you for any advice…greatly appreciated

Lincoln
Europe is very cash-oriented. Carry coins to go to the bathroom - you get this from the change you get back at a restaurant as there's no tipping culture, or you round up to the nearest Euro. Dining-in usually includes a service charge.
I would actually take more cash because why would you spend your time looking for a bank or ATM instead of enjoying the sights and sounds (not to mention the fees every time you stop to get cash). If you end up with too much, you can always exchange it back but IMO the time is something you'll never get back.
If you use the same credit card that you used to purchase your flights and hotels, they would already know you're travelling with their advanced screening, but definitely let the company know if it's not the same card, or if you're planning on extending your stay. I almost missed my flight because I extended my stay in New York by a day and the credit card company locked me out as they thought it was stolen, and I couldn't buy a bus ticket to the airport, and the airport taxi between terminals. Luckily a good Samaritan paid for me. Also why cash is king as I used it to pay for the airport taxi (albeit it was Canadian bills).
If you forget to contact the credit card company (if it's a card you didn't make travel bookings on), buy something at the airport before you leave.
For tap cards like Google Wallet or Apple Pay, since you have to unlock it, you don't need to notify. If you are primarily using a credit card, find one that gives you extra cashback so you save on transaction fees. Note also that your mobile tap uses a rotating virtual number different from your actual number in case of fraud. This means your mobile tap and card tap are different systems and mobile tap may not always work. For the longest time after the Rogers outage (for months), the Shoppers self checkouts would not accept Google Pay, but would work at the manned till.
And do NOT pay in Canadian if the restaurant machine offers for credit card payment. ALWAYS pay in the local currency (ie Euro/Pound).

Not Germany or the U.K. but I used an ATM in Spain and was horrified at the price I paid. The fee was OK but the exchange rate for CAD to Euro was off the scale. I will use my card next time.

I just returned from the UK a couple weeks ago...unless you go for groceries or the odd coffee shop, everything else is cashless!!! Even some public bathrooms you needed to tap a card to go in to use it...there was no where to accept cash!!
I called my credit card company before I left to let them know a basic outline of my trip and the lady on the other line giggled as she said it is not required anymore...how can you tell I hadn't travelled in YEARS!! I did discover after the first time tapping my credit card for payment but afterwards realized because it was over $100 (in my own country) I had to insert and use my PIN. Frustrating at first!
CORRECTION: some train stations in London had a machine to buy an Oyster card and it took cash but you have to pay €7 FOR the card/set up then you just tap to get into and tap when you leave the train.
Have a blast!!!

I think the following things are true:
- in general, advising your bank or credit card company that you'll be travelling is becoming a thing of the past. But certain banks and institutions do still recommend it. It just depends on the card.
- some banks/institutions offer a way to notify that you'll be travelling through their website or app. Others don't.
Some quotes from those involved in the credit card fraud industry:
"It is kind of becoming a thing of the past thanks to EMV implementation and Mobile Wallet integration (Apple Pay, ect). Most still have a vacation strategy, or a bypass of some sort. The naked truth is less than 15% of people call in before a trip which is not necessarily a bad thing because if everyone called it would break the contact centers. Some financial institutions have a way to declare through mobile or OLB. It is still recommended you call if you try to attempt a transaction that is really close or exceeds your daily limit."
"With the advent of chip cards, card-present fraud has dropped significantly since the chip is very difficult to clone. This has led to several banks to no longer bother with travel notifications. It is much rarer for a card to be blocked during travel than it was in the past."

I just spoke to my credit card company about this and they said to make sure the first purchase in each country you insert the chip and use your pin.
Hope that helps

Renee yes, I've had my tap locked out even when taking a day trip to Medicine Hat or Saskatoon. But once you insert the chip, then it works. But some places (like backwards US) don't have a chip function and still swipe.
And they have no idea what you mean when you ask for a "machine" at a restaurant. Just tell them how you're paying and they'll bring it if they have one lol.

Do not use your debit card. The bank fees are ridiculous, unless you can check with your bank and get on a decent plan before you leave. Best choice is credit card. When making a charge don’t let them convert it to Canadian. Your credit card will give you a better conversion rate then their machine will.

Chris M. Is correct in that some cards do and some do not require a travel alert. In the past, I was able to indicate right in the app and when I called the other credit card institution, they stated there is fraud detection embedded so no need to set a travel alert. If I have to assume, if a card was used in one country and then charged electronically from a device with an IP address on another faraway continent that would trigger such an alert.

We r in Berlin right now and have had no problems at all. We did not notify our cc company that seems to be a thing from the past. Tap away in Europe!!!

Also I would add that they do ask you now a lot if you would like to leave a tip. This was never the case pre Covid! And many say they prefer CC not cash. Interesting and do carry some 50 cent or 1 euro coins for the bathroom fees.

Fortunately I’m staying with friends, so language and customs are no worry, however, I haven’t been in a few years and was hearing conflicting info. My gf doesn’t use cc so she couldn’t answer my question so I thought I’d ask the pros!

Sue sorry, what is cc

Katharine Weinmann
I've discovered some cards simply don't work in some countries...like Home Trust Visa in Iceland a few years ago...so always bring a backup. American Express isn't as popular as they promote due to their high charges to vendors. Visa and MC are the safest bets.Too, atms are the best for cash when using reputable bank affiliated ones and never approving conversion to your CANADIAN currency.

MANY places in the UK won’t even take cash. All public transit is tap, if youre in London make sure you have a card that can tap for every person, you can’t tap one credit card twice in a row for transit. Busses don’t take cash.
I’d take maybe 15£/day Youll be in the Uk as back up, but no more. It’s easy to withdraw there.
Continental Europe is pretty similar to Canada, most places take tap, you could choose to use cash, but if youre in a smaller place they might not have tap or May prefer cash.

I’ve travelled to the Uk, France and the Netherlands over the last year. And have only ever used credit cards and Apple Pay on my phone. Not once have had to use cash (except for washroom attendants). It’s good to have some cash on hand just in case but cc use in Europe is not an issue.

I have travelled in and around Europe for the last ten years and I used debit. It’s about $5. Per transaction. Not a problem. Larger fees attached to credit cards.

Has anyone used their Home Trust Visa CC in Europe? Thinking specifically Hungry, Austria, Germany, Holland?

Barbara I’ve always used Home Trust visa when abroad as there is no foreign transaction fee and exchange rate was reasonable

Kathy thank you found to hear!

We found lots of Germany really preferred or ONLY took Euros so I think you better have some
We don’t have to let our credit cards know we are travelling they got rid of that a few yrs back at the big banks in Canada

Lots of places in Europe don't take cash. In the UK my bank card worked, everywhere else it did not, had to use my credit card.

We were unable to use our credit card a few times in Europe because of the two factor verification. We didn’t have a SIM card to receive the verification texts.

We experienced this as well. Purchased an orange SIM card and hit a roadblock with the two factor authentication when we tried to use our travel Mastercard on our first day (Norway). It took a full travel day and a big headache to resolve but then we were fine the rest of the trip. MasterCard was advised of our trip prior to and said we wouldn’t have any issues.
Ambriel we used credit card for everything in Munich. The smaller towns in the Blackforest area were hit and miss—sometimes we could use cc and sometimes we had to use cash.

My son was just in Greece/Italy for 2 weeks over Easter. No issue with debit or cc but some places don’t take tap so he had to remember his pin. He took about $300 in Euros. We checked his banking service plan before he left to make sure we understood the ATM fees he would have if he used the ATM frequently because the costs of that definitely varied at BMO, depending on what plan someone is on.

Just as a heads up i've noticed that visa is more widely accepted than Mastercard. I ran into it a few times where places internationally only accept visa.

I travel to Europe almost every year at least once and when I started in the 80’s it was AE traveller cheques. Then, it was ATMs which were/are everywhere and I had to pay attention to which were Plus or Cirrus network. Interac eliminated that problem. But every country having their own currency was still an issue until the Euro. ATMs are as ubiquitous in Europe as they are in Canada. However, there will be a service charge for every debit withdrawal so plan carefully to save money. For the last several years I’ve used the Home Trust Visa (even in Reykjavik) because there is no card fee and no foreign transaction fee and included tap n pay a few years ago. The UK is totally in on tap and pay - in pubs you hand the bartender your card, they tap it and hand it back. In London a few years ago I managed the entire week without ever using cash. The cheapest fare on the Tube is tap and pay - the Oyster Card is a thing of the past. One advantage of a credit card, like the Home Trust Visa, is the security - you lose it and you’re not out any money as is the case when you lose cash. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to find a free public washroom anywhere in Europe so you’ll need coins for that. I have never advised RBC or BofM that I am travelling and have never had an issue with using several different cards. (BTW - take 2 or more cards and never keep them together when travelling in case of loss or theft). I do remember getting a text several years ago with a “Did you make this charge?” query but that’s it. So, I take out enough cash from an ATM for occasional payments and I use a credit card for everything else. At the end of the trip I get a detailed statement from the credit card company about how much I spent and where.

We were in Amsterdam, Belgium, Paris, London and Dublin last summer and used both our debit and occasionally our credit cards with ease. We had some Euros and Pounds but if we needed to we use the debit card.

I’m also going to UK this summer and a friend who was just there said their debit cards didn’t work there. They used MC and Visa.

What's wrong with taking the time and notifying your financial providers?

Athena with the security pin you don’t have to let your credit card co. Know, that was in the past. It was the cc that told me.

Jenny tbh, I would still take the time to notify them, regardless of their policies and Frontline/call centre worker's opinion of "safe" practices.

Athena

Don’t have a debit.

Do let your credit card company know

Susan We asked at BMO about this before my son went to Greece/Italy over Easter and they said they don’t need notification (nor did they even record it when we were asking). I think it really depends on the financial institution but it sounds like most no longer require it.

No problems at all.