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I use an Visa tied to an American bank every day for groceries in NL. I only have ever had issues using a card at a very small record store, I just make sure to
by hhh 3y ago
I use an Visa tied to an American bank every day for groceries in NL. I only have ever had issues using a card at a very small record store, I just make sure to carry 100eur in cash just in case. I do have more issues online when something only takes iDEAL though.
- somenameforme 3y agoI'm sure you're aware of this - though others may not be: another trick US banks use is gouging you on exchange rates. My bank was charging something like a 0.5% fee visible fee and then an invisible fee several times that in exchange rate gouging. I found trying to use US banks abroad an absolutely painful experience, to the point I swapped my banking abroad which is itself a huge PITA thanks to FATCA and other stuff making Americans borderline persona non grata at most foreign banks.
- xadhominemx 3y agoBanks all over the world make healthy margins on cross-border transactions involving a currency cross. It is not unique to American banks at all.
- newaccount74 3y agoMy EU bank charges less than 1% currency exchange fee. US banks have charged me 5-8%. It's not the same.
- xadhominemx 3y agoNo way a US bank charged you that amount unless you made the purchase in an esoteric fashion.
- newaccount74 3y agoIt was not a purchase, it was a money transfer. They converted it to EUR for me at really bad rates. It was not an explicit fee.
- xadhominemx 3y agoOk well we are talking about something else entirely -- credit card purchases with an FX cross.