Credit Card for European Travel

[samandryanmom]

My college DD will be going to Europe in the first part of December to visit her boyfriend who is studying abroad. She doesn't have any credit cards in her name but her dad and I have s Southwest Chase card and a Chase Sapphire. I am completely lost as to what to send her with. I'm going to add her as an authorized user so I can get a card in her name for her to take with her. Does anyone know if either of these cards would be best? Or should I apply for a different card? We've never traveled overseas so are there fees associated with using an American card elsewhere?
Thanks for any advise.

On a Disney note, she did tell me that she is insisting that they go to Disneyland Paris. I've done something right!!

 

[Best Aunt]

The people on this thread are super helpful:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...2022-see-first-page-for-addl-details.3865061/

 

[georgina]

My college DD will be going to Europe in the first part of December to visit her boyfriend who is studying abroad. She doesn't have any credit cards in her name but her dad and I have s Southwest Chase card and a Chase Sapphire. I am completely lost as to what to send her with. I'm going to add her as an authorized user so I can get a card in her name for her to take with her. Does anyone know if either of these cards would be best? Or should I apply for a different card? We've never traveled overseas so are there fees associated with using an American card elsewhere?
Thanks for any advise.

On a Disney note, she did tell me that she is insisting that they go to Disneyland Paris. I've done something right!!

I think the lowest level Chase SW card has a foreign transaction fee? But not the 2 higher ones? Check which one you have, don't want to pay 3% on top of everything.

I know the Sapphire Preferred and Reserve have no foreign fees. We travel with those. Be aware that the Chase cards all the authorized users on the account will have the same account number, so if she loses it or it is compromised somehow, your cards will have to be replaced also.

How much do you think she will be using it? You have some time until December so maybe try the CC thread linked above for suggestions on a card of her own.

 

[starry_solo]

The one without foreign exchange fees!

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Before my dd studied in Austria spring semester, I made her an authorized user on my Chase Sapphire Reserve card. She received her own card (same account number) within the week. The CSR has no foreign transaction fees. She also had a no -FTF debit card associated with our bank which she used to take out cash from an atm once a week.

 

[supersnoop]

I'm sure it can change often, but last time I traveled overseas, I used Capital One and Charles Schwab for no-fee foreign transactions and favorable conversion rates on ATM withdrawals.

 

[barkley]

do you belong to a credit union? if so see what they offer b/c we've used ours out of the u.s. with no foreign transaction fees at a much lower card cost than what i've seen the big companies charge. added benefit is if there's an issue if you are associated with the card you can go to your local branch and help speed resolution/card replacement vs. dealing with a phone bank rep.

one issue to think about-if you will both be using the card in different countries it could make it difficult for fraud detection. w/mine they want you to notify if traveling so if they see non u.s. charges they will question them. while if you are traveling if they see a bunch of u.s. charges they will also question them. you might talk with a credit union or credit card company how to best handle it if sharing the card.


p.s. biggest attempted fraud ever on my kid's credit card was non u.s. disney destination. credit union IMMEDIATELY flagged it and put a hold on the card until they contacted us (said it's one of the red flag categories of all too common fraud) . that may be a place you need to let the card issuer know you are going to ahead of time.

 

[DCLMP]

My college DD will be going to Europe in the first part of December to visit her boyfriend who is studying abroad. She doesn't have any credit cards in her name but her dad and I have s Southwest Chase card and a Chase Sapphire. I am completely lost as to what to send her with. I'm going to add her as an authorized user so I can get a card in her name for her to take with her. Does anyone know if either of these cards would be best? Or should I apply for a different card? We've never traveled overseas so are there fees associated with using an American card elsewhere?
Thanks for any advise.

On a Disney note, she did tell me that she is insisting that they go to Disneyland Paris. I've done something right!!

Chase sapphire has no foreign transaction fee.

 

[SueInBoston]

It may be good for her to have a 2nd card as a backup. I'm traveling in Spain right now and my Bank of Am card one was rejected. They just wanted me to confirm recent transactions then they reactivated again.

 

[easyas123]

We just got home from 10 days in Europe - I used my Chase Southwest card exclusively. No fees AND it is the same card we added our son to and got a card in his name to use when he first started driving, and it's easy to do.

 

[georgina]

one issue to think about-if you will both be using the card in different countries it could make it difficult for fraud detection. w/mine they want you to notify if traveling so if they see non u.s. charges they will question them. while if you are traveling if they see a bunch of u.s. charges they will also question them. you might talk with a credit union or credit card company how to best handle it if sharing the card.

Chase no longer requires a travel notification, DH was using his Sapphire Reserve in a foreign country last week and I was using my card on the same account at home in the US.

 

[Narnia_girl]

We just returned from Europe. We were visiting our daughter who is studying abroad this semester. We used the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Capital One Venture X everywhere. Our daughter is an authorized user on both. She uses the Venture X as her everyday card, but she could easily use the Sapphire Preferred also. She almost never uses cash.

 

[barkley]

Chase no longer requires a travel notification, DH was using his Sapphire Reserve in a foreign country last week and I was using my card on the same account at home in the US.

ours doesn't require it either but they encourage it to help prevent fraud.

 

[georgina]

Each company is different - from Chase

• You don't need to set up travel notifications anymore.
• We'll send you fraud alerts if we see any possible identity theft.
• We'll alert you if we notice any suspicious behavior on your account.

 

[RUDisney]

My DD had a Chase Sapphire card when she studied in Italy. She also had a backup card... I can't recall which one since she never had to use it.

The thing that bugged me was that I called my bank to tell it that I would be abroad and might need to use my ATM card. I was in Venice and couldn't use it. My DD was able to use her ATM card, from her credit union, to withdraw money for me that I replaced later. So, make sure she has a backup to her ATM card, too, if you have 2 banks. I didn't take my Wells Fargo card because my community bank told me that I'd be able to make withdrawals. I wish I had taken both. What if my DD didn't have enough in her account. Some countries are less accommodating to electronic commerce than others. Italy liked cash more than cards, especially for small transactions.

 

[DCLMP]

If you have the app on your phone can’t they track where you are?

 

[fabfemmeboy]

The other thing to consider is how she'll get cash while there. Not all shops/cafes take card so it's good to have options. Capital One has been great for us - both as a CC and a checking account - in terms of exchange rates and no transaction fees.