<p>My 3 teens are going to Italy and Spain this summer. Can they have a credit card in their name that is linked to my credit card?</p>
<p>They will be traveling for 12 days. I do not want to send the total $$ of euros with them to carry the entire time.</p>
<p>Where’s the cheapest place to buy euros.</p>
<p>Can anyone suggest a debit card with no fees they could use for restaurant and shopping transactions?</p>
<p>Not sure if this will work, but I have a Fidelity mySmartCash account, which works like a checking account with a free VISA debit card. It’s different from their brokerage cash management account. International transactions are 1% fee, vs 3% on my credit card VISA. I don’t know if you can open an account and add them as users. But we did add DS to our credit card VISA when he started college and he got his own card.</p>
<p>We let our son use our Capital one credit card. It has zero transaction fees for international charges and a fairly low cost charge for (emergency) cash advances. They use their own debit cards when abroad. </p>
<p>The best way to get cash is to just use local ATM’s.</p>
<p>To get currency, you can use local ATMs. But be sure to have an ATM card issued by a bank that does not have huge fees for international ATM use.</p>
<p>Check Capital One to see if they still have no additional surcharge for foreign currency credit card transactions. But also check to see if there are any available credit cards with the chip that is getting more common in other parts of the world.</p>
<p>[VentureOne</a> Rewards](<a href=“http://www.capitalone.com/creditcards/venture-one-rewards-credit-card/]VentureOne”>http://www.capitalone.com/creditcards/venture-one-rewards-credit-card/)
This is the card we have.</p>
<p>Capital One lets you have multiple cards with different user names (I think up to 4) but all on your account. Last time I checked they were “no fee” abroad.</p>
<p>S spent a semester in Spain and used his Bank of America debit card. He found that Deutsche Bank was a partner to BofA and if he used their ATMs he was not charged a fee. </p>
<p>Be aware that you should notify whatever credit and debit card company you end up using that you/your users will be spending time in Europe, so the card isn’t flagged for fraud when they use it. Also most ATMs in Europe will only take a 4 digit PIN so be sure their PIN meets that criteria before they leave.</p>
<p>To buy euros before they leave - we ordered them through our Bank of America branch. If you’re in a major city you can go to the big branches and they have them in stock. If, like us, you’re in the suburbs, you can order them and it will take a few days but they will send them to your local branch.</p>
<p>In Italy, there are few to no banks that have reciprocal ATM usage with American banks. We tried Chase, Citibank, BoA, and they all would charge fees for using Italian ATMs. But, Citibank will waive those out of network fees on student checking accounts. We opened one for my d specifically for her semester abroad in Italy.</p>
<p>If you are a member, AAA also offers currency for sale with no commission fee stateside, and I found it was a better rate than Travelex. Chase Sapphire Preferred is a credit card that also has no foreign transaction fees, but it the card itself does have an annual fee. My daughter’s bank does not charge foreign transaction fees or ATM fees for withdrawals, but did warn her that the foreign banks will most likely charge an ATM fee.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>They should be aware that most restaurants, shops, and even small hotels/hostels in both Spain and Italy do not take debit or credit cards, particularly the kinds of restaurants/hotels that most students will be using. Use the ATM to get cash and then use the cash in the stores. And no need to have a lot of Euros when you get there – just enough to get you started, there are ATM’s everywhere.</p>
<p>Not a debit card, but British Airways Visa, issued by Chase, has no foreign exchange fees, and more importantly also has the chip technology necessary for use at non-attended ticket kiosks, self-service groceries, etc. We just used this card for our trip to France and England and it was great. It does, however, have an annual fee of $75/year, but if you check frequent flier travel sites you can find some great deals for getting the card with bonus points which can be used domestically on American airlines if you have no need for BA miles.</p>
<p>We had no problems using credit cards in Positano, Rome, or throughout Tuscany.</p>
<p>I agree with Chedva - credit cards were accepted all over northern Italy (and Switzerland) when we were there in 2010.</p>
<p>My d did semester abroad and we looked for banks that had reciprocal banks in her countries of travel. She opened up a joint savings checking account with her dad t a bank that charged no fees for cash withdrawal and no fees for currency conversion. Worth the 500 we put in the savings account. </p>
<p>Usually daughter would get cash from ATM…she actually traveled with two ATM cards, one from citi bank, one from bank of america,</p>
<p>What do you think of credit union debit cards? called them today and girl said yes , go to that location but send it attention to Me (her!) Kick-back?</p>
<p>If you use a bank owned ATM in Europe, there is never any fee on their side. ATMs in convenience stores may charge fees.</p>
<p>I use AMEX for my card so that I can easily gather points and turn that into travel rewards :)</p>
<p>Check this out: [Smart</a> Things to Consider When Traveling for Business - Reward Programs |](<a href=“http://thesmartbusinesstraveler.com/business-reward-programs/]Smart”>http://thesmartbusinesstraveler.com/business-reward-programs/)</p>
<p>We use the Capital One card oversees since it has no transaction fee for foreign purchases. When we went last summer, we called them first and made sure we had an active PIN number because you need it in certain countries if you are pumping gas. Also, if you give your PIN number when making a retail purchase, you don’t have to sign a receipt. They also gave us a phone number to call from each country in case there was any trouble with our card. Everything worked well.</p>
<p>We never had problem using our credit card in Europe/UK but as recently as in the last few weeks we had a problem. It seems like to use a credit card you need a pin. So we had to end up withdrawing cash from the ATM.</p>
<p>DS uses a Capital One venture card - best deal for purchases where you can use a credit card. There’s no transaction fee and the exchange rate is very good. </p>
<p>For euros ahead of time, I found that wells fargo (ordered online) had the best currency conversion rates and even with the fee, it worked out much better than AAA or other currency services near me.</p>
<p>For ATMs, check with your bank. For me, there’s no fee at foreign ATMs with my TD Bank card, but that’s only for certain accounts. DS has a wells fargo atm card and they charge $5 per withdrawal, but no % fees (some do.)</p>
<p>Some banks have relationships with foreign banks and have no (or low) fees. The technology can be tricky - some machines need the “chip” technology. DS has had to sign for purchases when he didn’t have the “chip” but has had little trouble otherwise. If you can’t access cash at an ATM, you can usually go into the bank, present a passport and the card, and get cash that way if needed.</p>