Originally Posted by
David-A
Either way, regardless of chip and pin or not, I'd want a credit card in my pocket as my emergency. And ideally a visa or mastercard network card, not just amex. Amex charges high clearing fees compared to the others, so some places don't take them, insist upon higher minium txn values for card use, or charge a small surcharge to take them.
Personally, I also always travel (actually, not just travel, live) with cards from multiple financial institutions, just in case any of them suddenly have a panic about where I am, and block cards, etc. The others wont be affected.
^ re getting a Visa or Mastercard for small expenses usage. Amex is widely used in Italy but not in small business places due to its high commission costs to vendors. You will also find quite common a minimum expense of 15 Euro for a shop to accept a credit card payment.
Also keep in mind that, depending on where your son will be staying during his time overseas, it may not be wise to have big cash amounts lying around.