I’ll be traveling to France soon, taking a river cruise on the Rhone. I’ll be in a couple airports in France, and there will be stops for excursions in towns along the river.
I’ve notified the bank for my debit card of my travel plans, and that seems to be in order. I have a PIN for this card. The bank for my credit card does not require notification. However, I read somewhere that card transactions in Europe require a PIN, and I don’t have a PIN for this card. The agent I talked to said to just use the chip, and told me this bank does not support using a PIN for purchases. This seems to be at odds with what I read. Will I be able to use the credit card without a PIN?
As far as cash, I’m wondering how much U.S. currency I should take, and whether and where I should convert some to Euros.
I’d appreciate any information and insight you can offer on these matters.
I can’t speak specifically to the PIN issue, as Canadian cards all Chip & PIN, but my understanding is that any where with a human it should work. Automated transactions like at kiosks may cause issues. You should be able to use tap (Apple/Google Pay) 99% of places.
I would not take any US cash, you need Euros. The best option is to use your debit card at any ATM, but ideally one associated with a bank rather than a standalone machine. If you are ever asked - credit or debit - to accept a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) say NO. They claim to lock in the exchange rate, but it could cost you as much of 10% of the entire transaction more than your own bank’s conversion.
Quick reply from someone who just travelled in six EU countries, but not France (I’m Swedish).
PIN is going away, sorta. More and more places use contact free machines for smaller purchases, These may vary from countries and types of business. I typically don’t have to use the PIN for purchases below $40.
With that said, without a PIN, you’re screwed. It’s needed for larger purchases, cash withdrawals. Everything is based on the chip. I haven’t seen a terminal where you swipe the card in about ten years.
Don’t bring $$$. Make withdrawals for cash from ATMs. You’ll get the best exchange rate. A warning though. When you do that with what the machine reads as foreign, it’ll prompt you and tell you the exchange rate and ask if you accept. Some banks add a one time fee, so be wary. A smaller withdrawal, e.g. $200, will cost as much as a larger.
All ATMs speak English. Typically, you’ll pick the language of choice when you insert the card.
Some countries (especially Germany) have been slow in switching to cards, in others (Sweden) it’s increasingly difficult to use cash. Someone will come along to inform you where France is on that scale.
One frustrating thing I find when travelling is that while smaller places don’t like you paying with a card for small purchases (I realize this goes against what I said in #1) they don’t have change for your cash either. So you want an espresso for €2 and only have a 20? You’ll typically see the waiter rolling his eyes and sighing as he goes into the place to try to find some change.
Finally - from your itinerary I guess you’ve been in France before. If not and you’re travelling through Paris, remember that it’s part of being Parisienne to be rude, not only to tourists, but to fellow Parisiennes as well. It’s not personal.
First, have a lovely time!
Second - make sure that you have a four digit PIN for the card with a PIN. It’s less likely to run into issues. I have had problems with ATMs at certain banks that just don’t like my card. When that happens, move on, the next bank should be fine. In your travels, just remember which bank to go to and which to avoid.
For the card without a PIN, you should be fine. If you’re in tourist heavy places (likely as you’re on a cruise), they’ll be familiar enough with US cards that work without PINs. I’ve never had a problem with that.
You only might need US currency when you’re in US airports waiting to board. And everywhere in the airport takes credit cards. You won’t need (or be able to use) it on the plane (planes only take credit cards) or in Europe, so carry whatever makes you feel comfortable walking around in a US airport.
Your best deal in Euros will be from an ATM once you land. Go to an ATM in the airport (not the money exchange, the ATM) or very shortly after you leave the airport. Get enough for you to feel comfortable for a few days.
Don’t bother bringing cash. Get it from an ATM when you get there. Be sure to use an ATM at an actual bank. There are plenty on the outsides of banks as you walk pretty much anywhere. This is the best way to ensure you don’t use a rip-off machine posing as an ATM. They’re all over the place!
When using your card at restaurants, always select the local currency when/if given the choice. Sometimes when you use your card, the machine or person will ask if you want them to charge you in dollars or Euro. Always choose Euro. That goes for any ATM asking to do the conversion for you as a “courtesy”. Just choose Euro and let your own bank handle the exchange rate. If your credit card or your bank is charging exchange fees or not giving you the exact rate that Google tells you is the current conversion rate, then you need a new bank and/or a new credit card. There’s no excuse for that. Foreign transactions fees? Yea, right. Don’t tolerate that. You’re getting ripped off if you do.
No PIN? I assume your ATM/VISA Debit Card has a PIN. You’ll need that for ATMs, of course. For an actual credit card or charge card, you’ll be find with just a chip. No need for a PIN. Sometimes you’ll need to sign the receipt. But, I have no problems with CHIP and SIGN or even SWIPE and SIGN. Though, they’ll all look at you in disgust when they see your card won’t just tap against their machine. Everything is pretty much touchless over here now. But the same touchless terminals still allow for chippin’ and swipin’ in my experience. It’s not a bad idea to set up your phone for some type of NFT payment capability like Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, etc. Enjoy France. I love it there. I’m American still banking with American Banks and American Credit cards. But I’ve been living in Germany for the last 3 years and I’ve lived in Europe for 7.
You need a PIN for withdrawal at an ATM. There might be a way to get some money by actually going into a bank, but I would not count on it. If your bank can’t get you a card with a PIN, it is time to find another bank.
During the pandemic, machines that allowed tapping up to $50 or $100 in Canada, now accept up to $250. Whether they will go back when (or if) the pandemic ends I do not know.
We have done a river cruise on the Rhone and you won’t have any great need for spending cash off the boat apart from the odd lunch and coffee. Especially if you don’t buy souvenirs.
I suggest that you buy a couple of hundred Euros before you leave and make sure that you get plenty of smaller denominations (5s and 10s). If the staff on the boat expect tips, you may want extra for that, but we left no tips as we thought the ‘suggested’ amounts were ridiculous.
Remember that all the staff, coach drivers and crew will be paid a reasonable wage and they do not depend on tips although they will assume that all Americans will over tip.
He has a PIN for his debit card, just not for his credit card. I agree that he should withdraw Euros only from bank ATMs, preferably (I think) international banks if he can find them.
My bit of advice, learn how to say “bon jour” as well as you can, with the proper intonation, and start every conversation with a French person that way (during the daytime at least). This shows that, even if you don’t speak French, you aren’t a complete barbarian. Of course, if you have been to France before, you already know this.
If you haven’t done a European river cruise before (or even if you have) there are some videos on Youtube with what seemed to me to be excellent tips. Rick Steves has one, and there are at least a couple of others. These range from what kind of room to get, to whether (and which) sponsored off-boat tours to go on, clothes to bring, and more.
I’ve been to France numerous times from 1979 to 2015 ish. All over, favorite was Brittany and Normandy, but I digress, if you make a polite attempt to engage, I found the French to be receptive.
I’d 100% bring a few hundred in US$ but plan on not using it. If there’s any problem with your card or bank (perhaps through no fault of your own), you’ll really wish you had something to fall back on. At worst, you can bring it back home and redeposit or otherwise use it.
Edit: I was blown away at the kindness and curiosity from the French when I was there about 8 years ago. Very nice.
I spent a lot of time in Paris in years past and also traveled to other regions of France, and rarely encountered anyone being deliberately rude. Like most other people, they’ll treat you like you treat them.
No PIN is mostly OK with exceptions. You may be asked to sign the slip, or when they ask you for the pin you can say signature. The part that does not work well is any type of unattended payment, such as metro tickets road tolls and a few other random stuff.
This happened in England, not France, on their fast train from York to London. The beverage service cart (no dining car) had a sign stating the price in British pounds, Euros, or US dollars! (They were all the same five- value I recall.) Just for fun, I found a US five dollar bill in my wallet to pay for my beer. The train agent kind of chuckled, said she doesn’t get many takers for the dollar option.
I did it just to say - I did that!
I don’t know if Eurostar has the same setup, or if any TGV trains do the same. We obtained all of our (other) cash from ATMs.
If memory serves, Eurostar will take sterling or euros. If they take any other currency, I’d guess their exchange rate will be more in their favour than yours.
You’ve already got great advice (and if you’re taking any cash with you, take Euros not dollars - if you want to use your dollars, you’ll have to go into a bank to exchange them, which is just a waste of valuable holiday time and not very convenient if you’re stuck on a boat. Unless the boat as an exchange kiosk on board, in which case they’ll charge through the roof).
Just also remember to take a valid proof of vaccination that France will recognise, as you currently need it for any cafe, bar or restaurant - ie not just the white hand written card you got when you were vaccinated.
Just to follow up the vaccine proof thing - you need to apply through the French government, who will issue you with a QR code for use in country to prove your vaccination statues.
In Paris - check the museum opening hours - many are closed for one day a week, and that day varies. e.g. the Louvre is closed Tuesdays, but the Musee d’Orsay is closed Mondays.
Last time i was in Europe, which is a while ago now, it varied by country and transaction whether you needed a PIN. I had obtained one, but my card “preferred” a signature. In Germany, dealing with humans, my card would tell them that it wanted a signature. Which astonished them, but they could deal. In Denmark i generally needed a PIN, and there were lots of kiosks that simply wouldn’t work without it, like the kiosk where i bought train fare.
A friend had a credit card without a PIN, and ran into issues. Most embarrassingly, he bought lunch on a boat from Germany to Denmark, and the waiter was unable to take his money. They ended up comping him the meal, because it was obviously unintentional and anything else would have been extremely complicated for all concerned.
But my advise is to get a credit card with a PIN. If your bank won’t do it, try getting a different card.