Here are some simple tips on credit card use in Europe:

Get a card without foreign transaction fees:  Think of it this way, if you spend $5,000 with a credit card on a tour to Paris for instance, you might pay $150 (3%) in foreign transaction fees.  Check to see if your credit card charges foreign transaction fees and if it does, it is time to get another credit card.

Notify your card company of travel plans:   With security being of such concern to banks today, travelers are better off giving a travel notification to their banks before traveling.   This will ensure that your card will not be suspended overseas due to what a bank may consider "unusual activity".

Make copies of credit cards:  The Traveling Professor recommends making copies of the front and back of credit cards, emailing those images to yourself.   In case of lost/stolen credit cards when traveling to Europe, information about those cards can be easily retrieved via email.

Use you card to pay for everything you can:  I find the exchange rate when using a credit card is the "true" daily rate and in most cases, there are no additional fees or charges like those a bank or money exchange outfit would charge for currency conversion.

Get a "chipped" credit card:  More and more American credit cards are being issued with an electronic trip embedded in it.  Only these types of cards can be used in Europe.

Understand credit cards cannot be used everywhere:   In some cases, American credit cards just can't be used and there are instances where cash (euros) are needed.  In that case, I withdraw cash from an ATM.

Follow The Traveling Professor on his Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Traveling-Professor/136094362898?ref=br_tf and for information on the best tours to Paris as well as Italy, Spain and Peru.