Will MasterCard be accepted all over europe? Amex?
May 27, 2023, 8:40 pm
#31
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Houston
Programs: UA 1K and Million Miler, *A Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hertz Five Star,
Posts: 1,301
May 27, 2023, 8:44 pm
#32
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Houston
Programs: UA 1K and Million Miler, *A Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hertz Five Star,
Posts: 1,301
I’m sorry but this is not correct. If you’ve linked a Amex credit card to your Apple or Google pay, you can only use it in places that accept Amex. When you make a payment via Apple or Google pay, the credit card linked to your Apple/Google wallet will be charged directly. If you check your credit card statement, you will see that each transaction is charged separately and directly to your card. And in order for the merchant to charge your card, they must accept it in the first place.
May 27, 2023, 10:30 pm
#33
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 57
i disagree though I have not pressure tested this extensively. With Apple Pay they pay the merchant and apple gets paid by the card. This is why I have discover and Amex only loaded into my Apple Pay. Great for Europe where both of those cards are not prevalently accepted directly.
Apple confirms this on their website where they clearly state;
”
In addition to accepting Apple Pay, the merchant must accept your payment card and payment network.”
See: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201239
May 28, 2023, 12:01 pm
#34
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: NW OH
Programs: DL PM/KM, AC *G, AS MVP-100K
Posts: 829
If you don't have a contactless card to use for transport in London, you should buy an Oyster card at the airport or a tube station and load onto it the fare cost you will need.
May 29, 2023, 3:34 am
#35
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: NW London and NW Sydney
Programs: BA Diamond, Hilton Bronze, A3 Diamond, IHG *G
Posts: 6,344
i disagree though I have not pressure tested this extensively. With Apple Pay they pay the merchant and apple gets paid by the card. This is why I have discover and Amex only loaded into my Apple Pay. Great for Europe where both of those cards are not prevalently accepted directly.
In many countries, particularly the UK, shops may claim not to accept Amex but actually do accept it, as you would find out if you tried to use an Amex, it's not the machine that will stop you but a staff member. Also Amex may not work contactlessly in some readers, but Apple Pay would work.
May 29, 2023, 5:12 pm
#36
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Never been somewhere (I am sure I will be corrected) in all my travels that does not accept Visa and MC together (never seen just Visa or just MC, always both), they are ubiquitous. Amex is the only one you have to worry about having an alternative card. With one Visa/MC and AMEX you are covered.
I still run into some shops in the Schengen area that refuse card transactions for transaction values below c. $2-5. But even some of those merchants have been lowering the minimum transaction value requirement. The problem I’m seeing growing is when those with no local banking nexus in some countries end up encountering merchants who refuse cash and either only accept chip+pin cards or sometimes even refuse all bank cards and are cash-free and instead want payment by local version of something more akin to Venmo/Zelle.
Jun 2, 2023, 4:02 am
#37
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: BA, UA, Marriot
Posts: 2,196
Why 'ridiculous'? Here in Glasgow, I have many places that no longer take cash, in fact coffee shops seem to be at the forefront of this. I personally pretty much never have cash in my possession any more and it's fine by me. So if retailer is happy and I'm happy, it isn't really 'ridiculous' is it?