Universally accepted credit cards? Visa, Mastercard, American Express?

Question

I will be studying abroad in Europe in a year and I was told to get a universally accepted credit card. What ones can you suggest?

Answer 1

Visa is accepted in more places than any other credit card in the world. So if you were only going to get one I would tell you to get a Visa, but Mastercard and American Express are hardly bad choices. It depends on where you are going to study. If you are studying in Europe - then it wont really matter. However, of the three, Visa is the most accepted still.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

In the US - Visa, definitely. Over the world - pretty much the same, almost everyone accepts visa these days. People who don't want to accept visa, in most of the cases, just want debit (or check cards), not credit cards. But, there might be some countries where Visa has a problem, YMMV, I've never heard of that. In the ATM world, look for the Cyrus icon, it's the most internationally acceptable. In general, when traveling internationally, get a few different cards (different visas, mastercards and stuff), and don't forget to phone the credit card companies and tell them you'll be using the card overseas, otherwise their anti-fraud software might block it. Also, in some countries, you don't want to use credit cards at all, or excercise extra caution if you do, due to the credit card fraud.

Answer 3

Try Visa and American express. Between the 2, you should be ok. Most places that accept credit cards abroad should take them, carry more than one specific card to be safe.

Answer 4

I would get a visa card because it is accepted widely in europe. If you are there for a year, open a bank acct there and you can have a card that is useful in the country. (IE I got a switch card as part of my England bank account..) AMEX is good to travel with because they help you, but outside travel area in europe it is normally not accepted.
I really suggest you get a bank account there too because you will save a lot on transfer fees, international exchange fees etc.

It is good you are doing this because I have not met one person that regretted it. It was the best time of my life. If you need help with other things, send me a message!

Answer 5

When studyng in Europe American Express isnt the wisest choise, but Visa and Mastercard (Y).
I'd also recommend you to start a bankaccount in Europe, much cheaper than to trasfer the money the whole time.

Answer 6

American Express is not always accepted, however, Visa and Mastercard are.

Answer 7

American Express works well in Europe

Answer 8

Visa or MasterCard are the same as far as being accepted

Answer 9

visa and mastercard is pretty much accepted everything. discover and american express costs a little more for retailers to process so there are many out there that don't take them.

Answer 10

Personally I would go for VISA, depends where in Europe you will go though
Believe me or not in some places you can experience difficulties when paying with the other two