Credit Card vs. Debit Card for Europe Trip?

[essnce629]

Some places/companies require a credit card (often car rentals.) and when traveling, I think it’s important to have a second credit card in case the main one gets lost, stolen, or compromised.

This!

A few years ago I tried to rent a car and I couldn't because I only had a debit card, even though it had the Visa symbol. DH had a credit card but I wasn't on the account because I was like you and felt like I managed things better with just a debit card. Now we're both on the credit card!

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[carolinamama]

Simply put - I'd recommend you get a credit card. My fear would be that your debit card would be compromised, lost or stolen far from home and since they are tied to the same account, you would be without funds. We don't use our debit cards for any online purchases anyway but I'd be less likely to do so out of town. Most places will accept your Visa debit card but I wouldn't be comfortable without the backup.

[AnnieW625]

We have the Costco Citi Card which has no foreign transaction fees. Our Amazon Prime card through Chase also has no foreign transaction fees. I would not use a debit card w/a pin in a foreign country. I use it for groceries, Target, medical co pays, and that is about it.

You can also check the Chase or Capital One sites. Keep in mind though you may not get a huge limit because you don’t have any active credit. I would have your Dh open one and you open one as well. Just make sure there are no foreign transaction fees. Approval is usually given in minutes . Does your DH have the option to get one through his employee credit union?

Nerd Wallet, The Points Guys, and GeoBreeze Travel have good tips.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

Annie brings up a train of thought for me...you rent and have no credit cards so how are you building a good credit score? Car loans? Student loans? Hopefully you have something going in case you do need to ever have a good credit score for something in the future. I pay my credit cards off monthly and enjoy the rewards we rack up but I do understand that they might be too hard to resist. Just musing here and coming up with another potentially good reason to have a credit card available.

I do have a question re. this from Annie "I would not use a debit card w/a pin in a foreign country." The references made to pins were to the "chip and pin" that is very common in Europe on credit cards. Their credit cards use PIN numbers sometimes and it can be beneficial to ask your credit card for the PIN for your card if you are traveling abroad. It never came up on our trip but it is different than using a debit card and keying in your PIN.

[DualvansMommy]

100% get CC card. The main thing that gives me pause is the fact your and DH debit cards come from same account, so if one is compromised or lost, the bank usually want to close that account, upon reporting missing/compromised card.

You’ll be SOL! A friend of mine lost her family passports, debit card and some cash. Her husband had the CC on him so they were ok but to pay for emergency passports they had to cough up 800 bucks! Would you be able to cover that? Likely not.

Car rentals and hotels charge a fee if you’re paying with debit only. So that always made me nervous cuz they take the cash and hold it till you check out; some around 250 or 500 depending on your length of stay and potentially making you short cash wise whereas with CC you won’t have that dilemma.

Lastly my mum only had a debit and sometimes it get declined online whenever she wants to buy something. It’s a real nuisance so for excursions, outings, train tickets, or the like you want to book online it can get declined there.


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[AnnieW625]

…..

I do have a question re. this from Annie "I would not use a debit card w/a pin in a foreign country." The references made to pins were to the "chip and pin" that is very common in Europe on credit cards. Their credit cards use PIN numbers sometimes and it can be beneficial to ask your credit card for the PIN for your card if you are traveling abroad. It never came up on our trip but it is different than using a debit card and keying in your PIN.

I am not sure what you mean. I didn’t mean needing a PIN number for my credit card in Europe. That wasn’t an issue for us at all. We were never asked for a pin for the credit card. What I was referring to was using my debit card with a PIN number vs. running it as a credit card. You always here about debit cards with pins getting hacked which is why I wouldn’t want to use one while traveling. Not many places let you run a debit card without having to enter in a claim
number though (at least in my experience).

In general I think you also have been options for protection with a credit card.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

I am not sure what you mean. I didn’t mean needing a PIN number for my credit card in Europe. That wasn’t an issue for us at all. We were never asked for a pin for the credit card. What I was referring to was using my debit card with a PIN number vs. running it as a credit card. You always here about debit cards with pins getting hacked which is why I wouldn’t want to use one while traveling. Not many places let you run a debit card without having to enter in a claim
number though (at least in my experience).

In general I think you also have been options for protection with a credit card.


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Gotcha



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[Philly Mom]

I am not sure what you mean. I didn’t mean needing a PIN number for my credit card in Europe. That wasn’t an issue for us at all. We were never asked for a pin for the credit card. What I was referring to was using my debit card with a PIN number vs. running it as a credit card. You always here about debit cards with pins getting hacked which is why I wouldn’t want to use one while traveling. Not many places let you run a debit card without having to enter in a claim
number though (at least in my experience).

In general I think you also have been options for protection with a credit card.


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I always heard that just swiping a card leads to being hacked. When you use a pin, cards are much safer and harder to hack. That's why they created the pin technology.

Bisous, I love using Apple Pay in Europe. Once you have a credit card, I encourage you to add it to Apple Pay and use that to pay if you can.

[Liziz]

I am not sure what you mean. I didn’t mean needing a PIN number for my credit card in Europe. That wasn’t an issue for us at all. We were never asked for a pin for the credit card. What I was referring to was using my debit card with a PIN number vs. running it as a credit card. You always here about debit cards with pins getting hacked which is why I wouldn’t want to use one while traveling. Not many places let you run a debit card without having to enter in a claim
number though (at least in my experience).

In general I think you also have been options for protection with a credit card.


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No, SnuggleBuggles understood exactly what I meant -- get a credit card that also gives you a PIN. In the US, it's common for a credit card to be swiped/chip card inserted, then for the user to sign their name (although these days so few places require the signature it seems). In my experience, asking for a signature in Europe is extremely rare -- if a second step (beyond reading the chip) is required, it will be to ask for a PIN. This wasn't asked frequently of us (most of the time the chip was enough), but it did come up. There were times when we couldn't use our preferred credit card because it didn't have a PIN associated with it (or now I'm wondering if I just didn't set it up?? huh....lol)

Dulavan's Mommy also brought up an excellent point - debit cards can be more complicated to use for car rentals (which I *think* you're doing if I recall an earlier post?). Besides the fact that many won't let you rent w/o a CC on file, be warned that if they do accept debit, they will often put a hold on your debit well above what you'll actually need to pay. For example, a car rental place might not only put a hold on the funds you need to pay for the rental, but might add another 1K hold on top of that (generally for the amount of the insurance deductible), that will only clear after (and sometimes *well* after) the rental is returned in good condition. I think they actually do the same thing with a CC (place a hold), but it's usually much less impactful b/c it is only your line of credit that is reduced, vs. with a debit card it is literally your own money that is locked up. I recall friends having a lot of stress over a hold like this where it took weeks for their funds to become available again. Credit cards are also usually more helpful disputing charges if necessary.

[nfceagles]

No, SnuggleBuggles understood exactly what I meant -- get a credit card that also gives you a PIN. In the US, it's common for a credit card to be swiped/chip card inserted, then for the user to sign their name (although these days so few places require the signature it seems). In my experience, asking for a signature in Europe is extremely rare -- if a second step (beyond reading the chip) is required, it will be to ask for a PIN. This wasn't asked frequently of us (most of the time the chip was enough), but it did come up. There were times when we couldn't use our preferred credit card because it didn't have a PIN associated with it (or now I'm wondering if I just didn't set it up?? huh....lol)

Dulavan's Mommy also brought up an excellent point - debit cards can be more complicated to use for car rentals (which I *think* you're doing if I recall an earlier post?). Besides the fact that many won't let you rent w/o a CC on file, be warned that if they do accept debit, they will often put a hold on your debit well above what you'll actually need to pay. For example, a car rental place might not only put a hold on the funds you need to pay for the rental, but might add another 1K hold on top of that (generally for the amount of the insurance deductible), that will only clear after (and sometimes *well* after) the rental is returned in good condition. I think they actually do the same thing with a CC (place a hold), but it's usually much less impactful b/c it is only your line of credit that is reduced, vs. with a debit card it is literally your own money that is locked up. I recall friends having a lot of stress over a hold like this where it took weeks for their funds to become available again. Credit cards are also usually more helpful disputing charges if necessary.

I’m familiar with needing a PIN in Europe though I’ve never had my signature card declined. My understanding is that it’s often due to the person processing it, not knowing what to do if the person doesn’t have a PIN because they’ve never seen that before. I think you can just hit enter without entering a PIN. Then they’re supposed to collect a signature from you instead. Most tourist places should know that.

Regardless of why traditional US signature credit cards sometimes don’t work, does anyone know how to obtain a chip and PIN card in the US? I tried several years ago and they didn’t seem available as far as I could tell. I’d get one if I knew where.


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