Debit in europe - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

nedarb5 · 04-02-2006, 05:28 PM

so my friend and i are leaving for europe may 1st, i quit my job and can't get approved for a credit card in time, but he has one so there is no worries about booking hostels online and such. im just wondering about bringing a canadian debit card over to withdraw money..................is it easy? hard? not worth the hassle? im giong to be bringing a thousand or so in travellers cheques but would really like to just be able to carry around my debit card and get cash when i need it. much appreciated

**Tadpole** · 04-02-2006, 07:36 PM

Thats all i did. I used a debit card and cash. I kept cash on me an when i ran out i just went to an ATM and withdrew more money. I dont know the difference between a canadian debit and an american debit card but mine is a mastercard and it feeds directly into my checking account. The only fees i paid were ATM fees. Like 2 bucks or something.

Any city with a bank will have an ATM. We had an emergnecy Credit Card if we needed it, but beside that i used the debit card for making reservations online and for ATM withdrawls.

**bluepea** · 04-02-2006, 10:34 PM

Do you already have the travelers checks? If not, I'd say you really don't need to bother with them. As stated, you can pull out money from an ATM, and if it's VISA/Mastercard, you can use it anywhere credit cards are accepted, making TC's somewhat obsolete. They'll be more hassle then they're worth, plus, with using the debit card, you get the current exchange rate!

mr-turisty · 04-02-2006, 11:50 PM

id go with the debit card over the travellers cheques. You tend to get ripped off when exchanging them.

**LostFarmboy** · 04-03-2006, 01:24 AM

I agree with what everyone has said, ditch the traveller's cheques and just use the card if you can. Just ring your bank and ask them if you will be able to use your card to withdraw cash overseas and what the international transaction fees are. Traveller's cheques are more hassle than they're worth.

ladaz · 04-03-2006, 07:01 AM

Totally agree with just taking the debit card. Better conversion rates and just as easy to pull out money there as it is at home. Travelers checks are almost obsolete and I personally wouldn't even bother.
Besides, then you're stuck carrying a large sum of 'money' around and even though they're insured, it can be a hassle to get reimbursed if they're lost or stolen. Best just to take money out as you need it and pay the ATM fee.

**MeTurk** · 04-03-2006, 08:37 AM

Just about every town in Europe (westrn anyway) has ATMs there putting them in and closing down the banks so you should have no worries finding one. If your card has the plus or link symbol on it it should work anywhere in Europe

**The Monsignor** · 04-03-2006, 04:32 PM

I've had great luck with my debit card... It does help to warn your bank (or debit card issuer) that you intend to travel in europe, since charges suddenly appearing on your card from overseas can resemble fraud and your bank may decline them thinking they're watching out for your interests (happened to me and several of my buddies in the middle east and eastern europe).

Beyond that, it's probably the best bet, it's not instantly convertable to cash if you lose it, and reporting fraud and getting refunds are often simpler with the debit card. (assuming they're the Visa/Mastercard variety - regular ATM cards have some difficulties in places the MC/Visa ones won't)

I did notice in Canada that my american Debit card only worked at bank ATMs not the little kiosk ones you find in bars/hotels/convenience stores, but that was the only difference I noticed...

nedarb5 · 04-03-2006, 08:15 PM

thanks alot for allt he advice. i dont think i'll go with the travellers cheques, or maybe just a few in case of emergency. my debit card is a canadian scotiabank version and it does have the plus sign on it, are the transaction fees over there anymore extreme then here if you arent using your own bank?

**LostFarmboy** · 04-03-2006, 08:29 PM

If it has the plus sign on it you should be fine pretty much everywhere in Europe. Yeah, transaction fees are more than home because not only will you not be using your bank most of the time, but they also hit you with international transaction fees. Not sure of the exact amount you will be charged, if you ring your bank they will be able to tell you. Just use the card to draw out enough money to last you, say, a week, or at least a few days, so as not to rack up a too many fees.

astro25e · 04-03-2006, 10:36 PM

Interesting fact, if you plan on trying to use one of those american express clea/blue ones, lots of places in europe will look at it blankly. my friend's got turned down quite a bit. Also, in copenhagen, both of our debit cards weren't accepted at this one supermarket, they said it wouldnt go throug, but right before that, we had taken out money at an ATM. go figure. just bring more than one debit/credit card, just to be safe if one shouldnt be accepted at a particular place.

**The Sasquatch** · 04-04-2006, 02:51 AM

yeah, i have a canadian debit card and i'm in europe right now. um, yeah, mine has the plus and it only works at actual bank atms. i sorta freaked out when i landed in london and couldn't get any cash out for the tube ride into town. had to use one of my emergency benjamins. oh and yeah, make sure to tell your bank. only once, in ljubljana slovenia, it didn't work at a bank atm, but i just walked another block down the street and tried the next one. if you take out enough for 5 to 7 days at a time, the fees aren't so bad. in dubrovnik, croatia right now and off to sarajevo this afternoon, pretty psyched. met an old guy yesterday who had his leg shot off by a sniper in the war. he was really friendly and stuff and the guy i was with was from alaska and asked him about it. then introduced himself said he's from alaska and i'm from canada½OH CANADA!! We have friends in saskatoon (which is actually in my shitty province) and then he showed me a canadian flag sticker they had on the counter of their refreshment stand. god i love being canadian. hahaha, sorry. then watched the sunset on the sea from the walls of dubrovnik's old town, amazing, don't see THAT in saskatchewan.

**MeTurk** · 04-04-2006, 03:54 AM

I had the same thing on a train from Berlin to Prague an old German guy sat down rambeling away in German to me and I told him I was Irish and he got all excited "OH IRELAND!" I have a freind who is a cheif in Ireland. He was a medic in WW2 for Rommel (Africa core) But he did a runner and went to India and did the whole buddist thing.

**worldwidemike** · 04-04-2006, 06:25 AM

Awesome, Sasquatch...Croatia is definitely on my Event Horizon...gott get there.

Any tips for Dubrovnik, as that's one place I will check out when there...?

worldwidemike

**The Sasquatch** · 04-04-2006, 07:12 AM

tips, hmmm. well as this is getting towards the end of my trip, funds are getting lower i am spending less time than i would like in places, but.... well, its def. well worth the price of admission to walk the walls around the old town. i would have liked to learn more about the damage inflicted during the war, but there are maps up around the old town showing all the places that were damaged directly, by fire, and such, and it seems like every square foot was hit. also, as you walk along the walls, you'll see parts that are still in ruin and you wonder if that is from the war, and what happened? who owned/owns it, what happened to them? other than that, its out of season for doing the beach thing, although the water looks wonderful and it has def. been hot enough outside, when the sun is shining. i stayed way across town in a guest house for about 12 euro, decent place, and it only takes about 15 minutes to the old town including waiting for the bus. they'll even come pick you up from the bus stop if you like. other than that, didn't do too much, sorry.

nedarb5 · 04-04-2006, 07:42 AM

im going to get a second debit card on the same account just to hide away, because im pretty good at loosing things haha. ya taking out a couple hundred euro at a time should make up for a transaction fee, hopefully it isnt someting rediculous like 5 euro haha

Ambs · 04-04-2006, 07:07 PM

what would be better is opening a second acct at another bank, so if your card gets stolen or whatever you have money in a second accout.!

ladaz · 04-05-2006, 09:50 AM

I posted my method long, long ago on another topic, but I don't remember where.

What I do is open two checking accounts at the same bank (the free checking of course) and then I can freely move my money back and forth between the two accounts.

So I put the ATM card with the most money in my hidden spot with my extra emergency cash. Then I transfer the money over the phone as needed. That way, if one of my cards gets lost or stolen, I can quickly move the money from the lost card account to my other account and not have a hassle of trying to move money from one bank to the next.

This method has always worked for me and I've never had a problem.

**worldwidemike** · 04-05-2006, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Sasquatch@Apr 4 2006, 02:12 PM
i stayed way across town in a guest house for about 12 euro, decent place, and it only takes about 15 minutes to the old town including waiting for the bus.

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So, what do places run in the Old Town? A dozen euros is a goo deal, that's for sure....

How's the language barrier? Enough folks speak English (or are you fluent in another one)? Give us the scoop, oh yeti man...!

worldwidemike

**ajb3000** · 04-05-2006, 12:25 PM

When I stayed in Dubrovnik last summer it was in a house only 5mins walk from the old town. I stayed with a lady I met at the bus stop, there were literally about 30 old ladies trying to get us to stay with them, it was hilarious. We paid 200 kuna (~£19, ~$34) for a room with 2 beds, it even had it's own seperate toilet/shower and side entrance! Just chat to the women and find out where there place is, they all have maps and most speak enough english to rent you a room.