<p>In addition, tell him to watch out for pickpockets…they are a real problem in Spain. He needs to be careful not to carry his wallet in his back pocket; that’s the easiest place to pick!</p>
<p>Please pay attention to what avoidingwork says in post #4.</p>
<p>The protections for misused (stolen/hacked into/other fraudulent use of ) debit cards are FAR inferior to the protections for credit cards.</p>
<p>If your credit card is abused, you have 60 days to report it and your liability is limited to $50. If your debit card is abused, you have a matter of <em>hours</em> to report is (I forget whether 24 or 48) and your liability is far greater. Some forms of abuse you wouldn’t even be aware of in the necessary time.</p>
<p>I may not remember those exact time frames and $$ limits correctly, but the basic point stands. </p>
<p>I strongly recommend you use debit cards only at the ATM. Credit cards are far safer for purchases.</p>
<p>Thanks for the warnings-
It looks like we will go with a AAA travel credit card and a debit card (with a reasonable amount transferred from his savings to debit/checking). Not a moment too soon-- I found out today that it takes up to 10 business days for the debit card to arrive. Luckily there is a AAA location near H’s office.</p>
<p>one small clarification…when I was defrauded, I was in Australia but the fraud occurred in the US. You can get an ATM card that is just that - good for the ATM, but not a debit card</p>
<p>^^ Yes, I would prefer a “pure” ATM card as well. They all seem to be “bundled” as debit cards now, but imo that is a bad idea. IDK if you have to ask specially for a pure ATM card.</p>
<p>My regular bank ATM card was replaced with the hybrid debit version last year. Must admit I’ve only used it as a debit card once. I am still living in the dark ages of check-writing.</p>
<p>At least with wells fargo bank, you can get a true ATM card that is not also a debit card. I think you just have to ask explicitly for the ‘simple’ ATM.</p>
<p>Use a debit card, you’re screwed - the store has the money and how are you going to get it back?</p>
<p>My experience has been my credit union deals with false withdrawals promptly, I check account online and file a claim and they clear it.
On the other hand my bank, for instance does not. I had an instance when I was purchasing something over the phone- ( a year subscription to internet), according to the salesman, it wasn’t going through, so he ran it through it three more times. Since it was straight out of my checking account the money was withdrawn ( I didn’t realize this until I received NSF fund notices in the mail) & while they eventually did clear the multiple withdrawals, neither company covered the NSF fees.</p>
<p>International transactions are 1%-for use of debit card.</p>
<p>Be careful with the ATM-only cards. Sometimes they only work in your bank’s system and will not work abroad or even in the US in another system.</p>
<p>Whatever you use, and, we have used both a VisaBuxx card and a Mastercard your pin number must be compatible with european ATMs, that means 4 numbers and it can’t start with a 0 or a 1. There is a charge for all transactions so just read your contract carefully and hope that the euro keeps falling.</p>
<p>My debit card pin number starts with a 1 and I used it in Italy last year with no problem. The bank does charge a 3% fee plus a $5 fee for the ATM transaction, so get out a lot at a time. The credit card also charges a 3% conversion fee. I’m thinking about checking into Capitol One to avoid some of this. If you don’t mind the fees, a debit and a credit card work great in Europe and are all you need. The debit card gets you cash which would cost more through your credit card.</p>