Question
Is there a card recommended for travel in Sweden and/or Europe? Do some cards have a better exchange rate than others, and a lower fee for exchanges? Thanks for any advice.
Answer
Is there a card recommended for travel in Sweden and/or Europe? Do some cards have a better exchange rate than others, and a lower fee for exchanges? Thanks for any advice.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=401958
Lots of threads in this forum on this subject too. Try a search under "foreign exchange" or "foreign currency" or maybe just foreign.
And last I checked, Sweden is in Europe! :)
Answer
Hi Gretchen,
Yes, there are lots of threads about exchange rates and comissions charged by card issuers.
You don't mention your location, but I assume in the US somwhere. Sweden along with Denmark and the UK still hold their own currency while the remaining members of the EU15 are using the Euro, including France, Germany, Ireland, Finland etc...
Almost any US issued credit/charge card will work in Europe with the exception of Discover. Some ATM only cards (branded with MAC, Star and similar) may have some trouble. You'll need them branded with either Plus or Cirrus to work.
In Sweden you are expected to use your PIN in shops for most cards, but you can ask to sign instead. Note in Sweden (and other Nordic countries) that you will be asked for ID when purchasing more than about $15 worth of goods. All Swedes have a national ID card, and they enter your SSN as part of the transaction. My passport is always accepted in these circumstances. There's an ID thread running around here as well.
PIN in the UK and Ireland (and slowly implimented in other countries) is for either Chip cards or local debit cards. (http://www.chipandpin.co.uk)
Maestro cards (http://www.mastercard.com/uk/findacard/debit-maestro.html) are accepted in most countries.
Some countries (Germany for example) do not have great Visa or MasterCard acceptance outside of hotels and tourist hot-spots. When I'm in Germany, one of the shops I use will take Visa and AMEX, but not MasterCard.
If you have a Diners Club/MasterCard card, you may have some explaining to do to Europeans who think it's just a DC card. Show them the logo on the back!
Have a good trip.