Rick Steves Warns Travelers About This Expensive Credit Card Mistake

Rick Steves is an avid explorer of Europe and beyond. Every year he spends three months or more abroad and with that comes the need to consider payment options. Naturally, paying in local currency is going to have its advantages. In many places you'll go, having cash can make things far easier to accomplish, from paying for taxis and other services to leveraging your money, period. Indeed, many travelers have hit up a foreign ATM or tried to buy a train or bus ticket at an automated kiosk only to learn their card just won't work. Rick Steves suggests bringing a backup card to help navigate past these potential hangups, but warns against using a credit card as your fallback.

Credit cards have numerous advantages, with travel rewards options delivering valuable benefits for those who frequently vacation abroad. For one thing, this type of card usually doesn't add on foreign transaction fees, an important perk that travelers are sure to appreciate. But they aren't always the right tool for blanket spending, and they're an option of last resort when it comes to withdrawing cash. Keeping your credit card in reserve can be helpful, but it can also lead to some critical mistakes that cost you far more when you return home.

Rick Steves' suggestion is to bring along a second debit card, preferably one with a different brand than your primary debit card (Mastercard versus Visa, for example) and from a different bank. This can help alleviate the stress of a card simply not working or getting accidentally locked out by your financial institution. The last thing you want to do is have to call your bank to regain access to your money while thousands of miles from home. A second debit card makes this kind of setback less painful, and can also be an important workaround in the event your card gets lost or you become the victim of a pickpocket.

A credit card makes for a decent emergency support, but it's a painful option later on when the bill comes due. Credit cards can be used to withdraw cash, but they often charge an added fee and tack on a punishing markup to the interest rate you pay on the transaction. To make matters worse, some cards organize the repayment order in a way that puts these transactions at the back of the line, so carrying a balance may force you to continue paying heightened interest long into the future. If you are going to use a line of credit as a fallback, make sure you don't have to pay foreign transaction fees and avoid taking cash out with the card unless there's legitimately no other option.