Good info for all of us travel junkies

[rodi]

Capital One. No foreign fees. Has chip and pin.

For ATMs: Schwab High Yield checking. No fees at all.

I'm currently travelling abroad. My favs are

ATM: Charles Schwab Bank - no fees, refunds atm charges.
Credit: Capital One Venture - which is chip and SIGNATURE (not chip and pin). It works for most transactions (restaurants, shops) but not at automated vendors like train ticket machines, where you need to enter the pin. I specifically called Cap One to see if they had chip and signature, in April... they did not at that time... so AFAIK - Cap One does not offer Chip and PIN.

PenFed Visa - it is Chip and PIN, it defaults to chip and signature if it is a manned vending situation (restaurants, shops) but will prompt for the pin at automated machines.

I agree completely with selecting the local currency for transactions when offered - I've seen some really crappy exchange rates offered - including last night at the ATM.

 

[Travelwanted]

Cap One does not offer Chip and PIN.
.

Rodi - Capital One does offer a chip and pin card...I have one. American Express does not offer this yet.

 

[Danmar]

We have many Canadian friends in our Florida community, who are seriously rethinking their 6 and 6 snowbird plans. Looking at the exchange rates, as recently as 2013, the Canadian dollar was worth more than a U.S. dollar.
As of now, it costs $1.31+ to buy a US dollar.

Putting it into perspective... the 6 months in Florida which might have had a plus cost $10,000 a few years back, will now cost $13,000. The longer term effect of this disparity cannot help but affect the housing and economic stability of Florida business. The age factor... (more senior citizens) poses an even more serious problem, as most are looking at a shorter timeline compared to younger people.

In our Florida community, Canadians represent about 25% of the snowbirds.

Yes, this is starting to bite. Although we bought our place in Arizona when CDN dollar at slight premium, it is now only about $.77. The house is expensive to maintain even more so now. I have heard that some CDN snowbirds are selling their U.S. places, pocketing the rate differential, and doing something else every winter. We have no such plans as in the overall scheme of things, not material.

 

[rodi]

Rodi - Capital One does offer a chip and pin card...I have one. American Express does not offer this yet.

Perhaps it's new since April or perhaps their customer service folks are not properly trained. I specifically asked about chip and pin and was told they only offered chip and signature.

 

[kcowan]

PayPal tries to pull this stunt too - if you're invoiced by a foreign vendor.

In Paypal, there are two places where you have to select to pay in local dollars. Select just one of those and they will bill you in the currency of your home country.

(I have a Chase no FX Visa from amazon.ca and learned that one the hard way.)

 

[kcowan]

Yes, this is starting to bite. Although we bought our place in Arizona when CDN dollar at slight premium, it is now only about $.77. The house is expensive to maintain even more so now. I have heard that some CDN snowbirds are selling their U.S. places, pocketing the rate differential, and doing something else every winter. We have no such plans as in the overall scheme of things, not material.

Just after we retired, we spent a month in Florida for 2 successive years. We also spent a couple of months in San Diego after that. The following year, we purchased a snowbird property in Mexico. The prices were attractive and our exchange was 1.06. But we also did not like the idea of being Resident Aliens in the US and exposed to taxation without representation. Yearly filings and estate taxes were the main deterrent.

Since 2007 when we bought, the C$ has declined to 0.76 US while the Peso has improved from 10.93 to 12.31 P/C$. Lower costs have also been significant. And we use our No FX Chase Visa all the time, even in Costco.

 

[sengsational]

Never considered trying to get a decent exchange rate except for using a credit card. Here's a thing I made yesterday (less smudges).

Back from France. The Barclay AAdvantage credit card, which has a chip and a pin, did not work in kiosks, and when used in restaurants, it ran as a signature card. The Credit Union ATM card got spot plus 1%, as expected. The Barclay Arrival got spot and no foreign transaction fee. I used this one mostly because of the great deal on travel expenses (double miles, meaning 2% statement credit for travel expenses).

 

[audreyh1]

Back from France. The Barclay AAdvantage credit card, which has a chip and a pin, did not work in kiosks, and when used in restaurants, it ran as a signature card. The Credit Union ATM card got spot plus 1%, as expected. The Barclay Arrival got spot and no foreign transaction fee. I used this one mostly because of the great deal on travel expenses (double miles, meaning 2% statement credit for travel expenses).

Which kiosks did you try?

 

[flyingaway]

Just got back from Mexico. We used Chase United card and Chase British Airways card. Both have annual fees after first year, so we'll be using some other card next year.

I saw a few places that let you pay in dollars or Mexican pesos, especially in Cancun. In fact most places that spoke English quoted prices in USD, and you had to ask "no, in pesos?" to get the good local prices. Almost universally, the rates were horrible if you pay in USD. The only place I saw that had great exchange rates was a tourist knick knack mega mart in Cancun that had better than spot exchange rates for some crazy reason. I unfortunately had to pay using Mexican pesos since we were leaving the country and I needed to blow out the pesos before departure.[/QUOTEip]

The side trips are listed in dollars in Cancun. If you want to pay in pesos, they just exchange the dollar amounts back to pesos. I did not check the exchange rates exactly. However, at restaurants when the prices are listed in pesos, they charge in pesos.

 

[walkinwood]

And another gold nugget of information from this forum!

I just got bitten by this exchange racket by airbnb while getting a place to stay in Vancouver. They charged me 3% fee and I'm sure gave me a crappy exchange rate too!

On the bottom of the airbnb page, you can set you currency. I think if you set it to the local currency, that's what you'll be charged in.

And to think that I would have been wiser had I read this when it was first posted
Live and learn!

 

[flyingaway]

Last time when I was in Paris, I booked the hotel at booking.com in dollars. The hotel surcharged 7% for dollars, and the American Express charged another 3% for foreign transaction fees.

 

[audreyh1]

Last time when I was in Paris, I booked the hotel at booking.com in dollars. The hotel surcharged 7% for dollars, and the American Express charged another 3% for foreign transaction fees.

Ouch!!!

 

[rodi]

Back from France. The Barclay AAdvantage credit card, which has a chip and a pin, did not work in kiosks, and when used in restaurants, it ran as a signature card. The Credit Union ATM card got spot plus 1%, as expected. The Barclay Arrival got spot and no foreign transaction fee. I used this one mostly because of the great deal on travel expenses (double miles, meaning 2% statement credit for travel expenses).

The PenFed Chip and Pin worked for us (with Pin) in kiosks for metro tickets (we were buying 10 packs and bought tix to Versailles.) I'm not sure if we used any other kiosks in Paris.

Here in Barcelona it worked (with pin) for the barcelona metro tix, as well.

Schwab ATM and CapOne venture are both being consistent on exchange rate spot price. I am very careful to pick euro denominations when offered the choice.

 

[sengsational]

Which kiosks did you try?

Only at the Metro station. But tried to run it as chip and pin in a restaurant, and it flipped over to chip and signature.

 

[audreyh1]

Only at the Metro station. But tried to run it as chip and pin in a restaurant, and it flipped over to chip and signature.

Most US issued chip and PIN cards will never work with PIN in a restaurant or any attended site. They always revert to signature.

In Paris, I've read that US cards are accepted to buy metro tickets at the airport kiosks, but nowhere else in Paris.

I had no problem using Chip and PIN at Vienna Metro kiosks. Others have succeeded with Amsterdam metro kiosks. Deutsch Bahn, on the other hand did not accept my card at the Munich train station, and it was probably that they don't accept foreign issued cards there. This is a common problem and really depends on location and company.

 

[rodi]

Most US issued chip and PIN cards will never work with PIN in a restaurant or any attended site. They always revert to signature.

In Paris, I've read that US cards are accepted to buy metro tickets at the airport kiosks, but nowhere else in Paris.

I had no problem using Chip and PIN at Vienna Metro kiosks. Others have succeeded with Amsterdam metro kiosks. Deutsch Bahn, on the other hand did not accept my card at the Munich train station, and it was probably that they don't accept foreign issued cards there. This is a common problem and really depends on location and company.

We used the chip/pin card at Gare du Nord upon arrival in Paris. It worked.

Our apartment was near the Jussseu station in Paris - we defiitely purchased 10 packs of metro tickets as well as r/t tickets to Versailles at that station... not at the airport.

I think the key is chip and pin, vs signature.

And I totally agree - if there is an attendant (such as at a restaurant or grocery store) it will default to signature. The only places it asked for pins have been non-attended machines like buying transpo tickets at a machine or buying tickets from the machine at the Berlin Dome.

 

[explanade]

There are several factors to consider. How your card was coded. As noted, in most cases, US cards use signature when possible.

Some kiosks won't allow any foreign cards.

And other kiosks will let you use non chip and PIN below a certain amount. Pretty sure I was able to buy Mobilis day tickets on the metro at kiosks with my chip and signature repeatedly.

Where the Barclay's Arrival Plus card worked for me was at an unattended gas station in Avignon, France. The bill was over €50 so offline chip and PIN really had to work and it did.

 

[audreyh1]

We used the chip/pin card at Gare du Nord upon arrival in Paris. It worked.

Our apartment was near the Jussseu station in Paris - we defiitely purchased 10 packs of metro tickets as well as r/t tickets to Versailles at that station... not at the airport.

I think the key is chip and pin, vs signature.

And I totally agree - if there is an attendant (such as at a restaurant or grocery store) it will default to signature. The only places it asked for pins have been non-attended machines like buying transpo tickets at a machine or buying tickets from the machine at the Berlin Dome.

That was just something I read. Maybe the metro kiosks at the airport take non-chip US/foreign cards and that was the difference compared to the rest of the metro kiosks. We just bought a karnet at CDG airport at the tourist info desk.

I'm not sure which metro kiosk Sengsational tried using their chip and PIN without success - I thought it was Paris.

 

[FUEGO]

The side trips are listed in dollars in Cancun. If you want to pay in pesos, they just exchange the dollar amounts back to pesos. I did not check the exchange rates exactly. However, at restaurants when the prices are listed in pesos, they charge in pesos.

I saw that. Pretty strange that so much is in dollars. Though it works well to pay in pesos when they quote in dollars because many places had an exchange rate 10-25% below spot prices (12-14.5 pesos per USD when spot was 16:1).

We even had one taxi driver that couldn't make change in pesos so he gave me a US dollar when he owed me just 10 pesos. He had a thick stack of brand new crisp $1's in his wallet, most likely straight from a bank or ATM that in turn received them from the Federal Reserve.

 

[kcowan]

Lots of Americans and Canadians carry a wad of US $10s for tips. Since 10 peso notes are getting rare, it is easier than carrying a stash of coins.

The taxi driver probably cannot exchange them without paying a big FX fee.

 

[FUEGO]

Lots of Americans and Canadians carry a wad of US $10s for tips. Since 10 peso notes are getting rare, it is easier than carrying a stash of coins.

The taxi driver probably cannot exchange them without paying a big FX fee.

I hope you meant US $1's

I know Cancun and other Mexican resort areas are ridiculously pricey compared to the inland areas, but jeesh!

I can't recall seeing a $10 peso note during my whole 7 week stay. I forgot they existed until I looked up Mexican currency online (though recall using them 15 years ago when $10 MXN peso = $1 USD, so the $10 peso note was basically a buck).

 

[kcowan]

Yes the 10 pesos coin has replaced it, although if a paper shows up, it is still legal.
(and yes, I meant USD 1 dollar bill!)
I wonder if tourists can order paper 10 peso notes now that a USD 1 is worth 17 pesos!

 

[robertf57]

The PenFed Chip and Pin worked for us (with Pin) in kiosks for metro tickets (we were buying 10 packs and bought tix to Versailles.) I'm not sure if we used any other kiosks in Paris.

Here in Barcelona it worked (with pin) for the barcelona metro tix, as well.

Schwab ATM and CapOne venture are both being consistent on exchange rate spot price. I am very careful to pick euro denominations when offered the choice.

Which Penfed card are you using The Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa? They only label it as chip enabled which makes me think it is chip and signature

 

[explanade]

Just got back from a week in Belgium.

Took a lot of train trips, including to and from BRU airport and in all cases, the kiosks needed chip and PIN cards. The machines have signs that it requires chipped cards but my Sapphire Preferred Visa didn't work at all, it was declined.

My BofA Visa prompted for a PIN. I didn't request a cash advance PIN from BofA so I couldn't use it either.

So what saved the day was the First Tech Federal Credit Union World Choice Master Card, which is a pure chip and PIN card, that is it defaults to chip and PIN and works both online and offline, meaning it should work at kiosks which are not online like at gas stations.

In any event, this Master Card is all I used at the train station. I even used it at a store where I entered my PIN, not sign.

Used to have the Barclays Arrival Plus MC, which probably would have worked (though defaults to signature in at manned POS). But my annual fee was due so I canceled it and got the First Tech MC instead, which has no annual fee or FTF.

 

[braumeister]

explanade, you were lucky. When I was in Belgium last year, I used my chip & PIN Visa card from Andrews FCU. Most of the time it worked fine, but not in the kiosks at train stations.

I subsequently found out that it had nothing to do with the chip/PIN but everything to do that the Belgian (and German) train systems don't accept cards issued outside the EU. No problem going to an attended window to buy a ticket, but it would have been more convenient to just use the kiosks.

One interesting thing was that one time, undoubtedly due to a software glitch, a kiosk in Antwerp let me use the card to buy tickets. But every other attempt (in Brussels, and Bruges) was a failure.