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Old Jun 14, 2013, 1:36 pm
  #1  
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Best credit cards for italy

First time to Europe. Would really appreciate some advise as to which credit cards make more sense.
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Old Jun 14, 2013, 1:58 pm
  #2  
mia
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I have transferred your question to the Credit Card Programs forum.

Are you seeking cards to use to accumulate miles and points for reward trip to Italy, or cards to use while in Italy?
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Old Jun 14, 2013, 2:24 pm
  #3  
 
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If use of the card is the question; I find Visa is widely accepted but AMEX is not. If you have a card with no foreign exchange fee, that will save you money.
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Old Jun 14, 2013, 3:01 pm
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Best would be a no foreign exchange fee card with an EMV chip.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...signature.html
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Old Jun 14, 2013, 3:48 pm
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Originally Posted by jdtravel
If use of the card is the question; I find Visa is widely accepted but AMEX is not. If you have a card with no foreign exchange fee, that will save you money.
Amex has good acceptance in the more popular tourist areas, like Rome, but I agree; if you're going to carry a card to Italy, you can't go wrong with a Visa.
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Old Jun 14, 2013, 9:01 pm
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Most important is one that doesn't charge a foreign currency conversion charge, like Capital One credit cards. Most other cards without foreign currency conversion fees are award cards with annual fees like the AMEX Platinum Preferred card, Chase Sapphire Card, United Mileage Plus Explorer Card, etc.
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Old Jun 14, 2013, 9:03 pm
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Stick with a visa with no foreign fees. I used the sapphire with no problems. Also get a pin for your card it will save you a lot of time @ train stations.
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Old Jun 14, 2013, 10:30 pm
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I used Chase Sapphire Preferred during my trip to Italy. You can do without a "EMV chip" cc in Italy.
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Old Jun 15, 2013, 3:25 am
  #9  
 
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Any Capital One CC earning 1.5% or higher
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Old Jun 15, 2013, 3:40 am
  #10  
 
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Originally Posted by tsmith12
I used Chase Sapphire Preferred during my trip to Italy. You can do without a "EMV chip" cc in Italy.
My CSP would not work at train kiosks on a recent trip. An EMV card worked without a problem.
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Old Jun 15, 2013, 9:09 am
  #11  
 
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On a recent trip to Italy I found that my British Airways Visa (w\chip) worked everywhere. Most small credit card readers at restaurants, souvenir shops, museums, etc, were the same model and had a swipe and chip reader on them. I noticed the staff always used the chip and since I didn't have a pin, didn't have to enter one. It seemed to throw one or 2 of the cashiers off that it didn't prompt for a pin, but it worked anyway.

My Visa Marriott card worked at the one Marriott we stayed at. It also had a chip, but the hotel swiped it.
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Old Jun 16, 2013, 1:48 pm
  #12  
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We just returned from Rome a couple weeks ago. I agree a Visa is the way to go and you don't really need the EMV chip. Also... a lot of places will take cash only so be prepared for that as well.
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Old Jun 17, 2013, 9:26 pm
  #13  
 
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I used the British Airways Visa......no foreign fees and I kind of like Avios for flying on AA and Aer Lingus
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