Is Barcelona Credit Card Friendly?
Barcelona is a beautiful city in the region of Catalonia, situated in the east coast of Spain: one can see many sights, historical landmarks, incredible architecture, and lovely sandy beaches. One of the questions that may come to your mind before going to Barcelona is whether this city is friendly toward credit cards. Moving forward in this article, we will reveal essential information about Barcelona credit card acceptance to help you find the information you seek.
1. Credit Card Acceptance
It should, however, be noted that it is a largely credit card accepting city. It is common to find most hotel establishments, most expensive restaurants, and major retail stores that accept credit cards; Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. It is noteworthy to mention that at certain restaurants local cafes, street food sellers and farmer’s markets, for example, only accept cash. That is always important that one should be having some cash in a more physical form for such incidences.
2. Common Credit Card Networks
In Barcelona area, Visa and Mastercard credit cards are the most widely used or preferably accepted. They are present almost in all facilities that accept credit cards and have a global coverage area. While the American Express is also accepted in those restaurants, this acceptance is not widespread as that of the MasterCard. It is noteworthy that the card-acceptance is rather limited in small outlets if you have an American Express card.
3. Contactless Payments
Mobile payments, like the Apple Pay and Google Pay, are commonplace in Barcelona or any other European country. This payment method is now popular among many retail stores, cafes and restaurants, so for the owners of smartphones or smartwatches, these payments are very comfortable. For the contactless payment option, you simply need to search for the symbol of a touchless payment at the payment point.
4. Dynamic Currency Conversion
When making a purchase using your credit card in Barcelona, there are very many times that you will be advised to take part in something termed as Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). DCC lets you select either ‘home currency’ or ‘transaction currency’ by which the exchange rates compared to that of the original currency is calculated. Despite this, as much as it is rather convenient to agree to DCC and pay in the local currency, it is best to decline it. This is because directly exchanged rates usually offered by the merchant for performing DCC are inferior to the exchange rates of the credit card provider.
5. ATM Withdrawals
To access the much needed cash, Barcelona is equipped with a lot of Automated Teller Machines where you can withdraw money this credit card. But notice that you can be charged with some fee by using the ATM for withdraws. Some card issuers may also charge for foreign transaction fees while the ATM provider may also include extra fees. To reduce on this, withdraw more cash at once and also, use an ATM of your bank or of an associated affiliated bank.
6. Safety Tips
In general, Barcelona has been identified to be safe for credit card usage, however, as a precaution you should ensure that you avoid being scammed or your card stolen. Some important safety measures that should be observed includes:
- This is very important, mainly because one needs to ensure that the credit card is given back after every transaction.
- It is advisable to inform your credit card provider of your travel plans in advance to prevent any unanticipated card freezes.
- This in particular affects the availability of money as some ATMs are situated in secured and lit up places.
- Avoid suspects who may come up with strategies of diverting your attention during a transaction.
- They should also make it a habit to check his or her credit card statements to check for suspicious activities.
Conclusion
Credit card usage is widespread in Barcelona, especially in most large enterprises and other larger establishments. Most of the major credit cards include Visa and Mastercard; however, the American Express acceptance is comparatively more limited. Paying without touching is preferred in many countries, whereas small businesses require cash for their transactions. Being much more conscious of these factors and following measures as explained above, one will have a pretty good deal using credit card during ones trip to Barcelona.
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