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AmExCo is a dinosaur

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American Express was once the convivial, welcoming home to American travelers abroad. It was a gathering place for adventurers living far from the USA. In the 1970s and 1980s we'd meet here to collect mail from home, sell used VW vans, and reconfirm our flights home. When changing dollars into francs, it felt so good to lose money to that smiling, English-speaking person at American Express. Now with e-mail, ATMs, and the general shrinking of the world, AmExCo is a dinosaur. They are closing down shops right and left. And I realize they no longer merit the special paragraph between laundromats and post offices in my guidebooks. I feel almost guilty when I highlight an American Express listing and press delete.

But enjoying change is fundamental to good travel. Change is accelerated as once poor countries are thriving. Last week, zipping on modern freeway from Madrid to Segovia in a comfy air-con bus during the pre-scorch hours of the day, I was staring with pensive wonder out the window. The modern American-style suburban sprawl of Madrid reaches far beyond where any tourist ventures.

Suddenly, just a few minutes after wild scrub and farms replaced the car dealerships and furniture outlets, a towering concrete cross broke the horizon rising high above the hilly Castillian countryside. It marks the grave of Franco--a memorial church longer than St. Peter's, carved out of solid rock entirely underground. It's lined with towering angels glorifying Franco and those countless thousands on both sides of Spain's Civil War who gave their life for "God and country." Spaniards explain their "late start" in joining the rest of Europe in the remarkable affluence of this generation because they had to wait until the 1970s for freedom to replace Franco.

Later I met a man who looks like a medieval Kenny Loggins with a big grey beard, a toothy smile, and a battered bike. He didn't speak a word of English. I tried to interview him but he looked at me as if thawed out of some glacier. He just smiled and pointed to his flag. It's Latvia. He pulled out a magna-carta-like map with a red line tracing his route. His itinerary looks like the trip of a kid with ADD and a two month Eurailpass--but he did it all on a circa 1960 bike. I feel strangely honored to meet him....before Latvia, too, joins in the affluence.

Posted by Rick Steves on August 6, 2006

Comments

Florence and Amsterdam Even Have Sprawl

Rick Your comments on Madrid sprawl remind me of the time I took a bus from Florence to Siena. In such a beautiful city I was very surprised to see Laundramats, convenience stores and other modern but not so interesting storefronts. This was on the way out of the city far from the Ponte Vecchio.

I found the same in Amsterdam when I took a tram for an adventure ride further out from the center. Not so inspiring, no gables, but thrift shops and brownstones.

Still, it's good to see the WHOLE picture, and not all tourists may see those things. It's another way to feel like a local.

Bill.

Posted by: Bill - Aug 06, 2006 1:07 PM

Talking about money and ATM's and getting local currency, did you know that everytime I use my mastercard credit card in Europe to make a purchase I get charged a 3% fee? !!! I don't know if amex also charges that, but it seems too high to me. Any thoughts about this? Perhaps trying to pay with cash more often (by withdrawing from your checking account), of finding a credit card that charges a lower fee?

Happy Travels!

Posted by: Rick - Aug 07, 2006 10:50 AM

It seems that there is no way to escape fees entirely. Using a debit card also incures a fee. My three credit unions each charge 1% each time I make a withdrawal. So following Rick's advice to make larger, less frequent withdrawals makes perfect sense.
Best regards,
Arnie
Jacobsen Travels.com

Posted by: Arnie  [URL] - Aug 07, 2006 1:16 PM

I think credit unions will give you the cheapest rates for any ATM transactions. While traveling thru France this past June each transaction only cost me $1.50. Take out the max, if you need it, as Rick suggest.

Posted by: Tom - Aug 07, 2006 3:10 PM

I live in Moorhead, MN just across the the Red River of the North from Fargo, ND, and I do not know if we are lucky or what, but there is a locally owned bank here (State Bank and Trust see www.statebanks.com) that has no ATM fees. It advertises that it will return, or rebate, to you any fees you pay world-wide. I can not say that they will always do this, but if one travels a lot and uses ATMs this might be worth checking out. You can do internet banking with them.
If anyone is wondering: No, I do not work for this bank or any company associated with it. I only offer this info to help anyone who may be interested. Your feedback is most welcome.

Posted by: nels - Aug 07, 2006 3:20 PM

When my husband and I were in Prague last year, none of our credit or debit cards worked in any of the ATMs. One last desperate attempt to get some cash involved a long trek to an AmEx office off Wenceslas Square, hubby's AmEx in hand, only to be told they don't do cash advances anymore. We both wondered, "What on earth do you do then?!?" I'm glad to know we weren't the only ones wondering...

Posted by: Jessica  [URL] - Aug 07, 2006 4:06 PM

Jessica,

Some info you may already be aware of.
1)ATMs in Europe use numbers only and are limited to four digit PINs. May be some exceptions, but I am not aware of them.
2) Is your card part of a network i.e. Plus or Cirrus? You can call them and get a list of locations where their cards will work. Helps if you know cities you will be in; this limits time spend getting list of places you will not be near.
3)Rick has excellent info, but another source is: www.magellans.com
See their article "Planning for Your Cash Needs."

Posted by: nels - Aug 07, 2006 6:32 PM

Yes Amex has gone the way of the dinosaur, as have the use of any travellers checks.
Remember when everyone used them, and most places in large cities took them!??

I used my ATM card in London and France and found it much more convenient then travellers checks anyways. Everywhere takes cash!

Posted by: pat - Aug 07, 2006 10:13 PM

After checking with our credit card companies, I find that all charge 3% surcharge when using the card abroad with the exception of USAA of San Antonio, Texas which charges only 1%. The only catch is that you must be a qualified member of USAA (which is mostly current or past military officers and some enlisted men).

Posted by: John - Aug 08, 2006 1:35 PM

Credit Cards are great when making purchases, but do not meet all the needs of a traveler in Europe (or elsewhere in the world.) I went to England in May this year to visit friends, and then on to Ireland in June. I arrived with an earache & then an Ear Infection in London, and no Doctor would let me pay with a Credit Card, and between the 2 of us we had only enough cash to pay a third of the bill. They laughed at the suggestion that we use a credit card to pay a Doctor's bill or buy the antibiotics. Finally the Doctor said ok to Travelers checks, but they counted every Pound and photo-copied my passport. Ironically, my travel companion became seriously ill in Ireland, and virtually the same routine occurred with him in Dublin. I will always have a credit card with me, but also bring enough travelers checks to cover a medical emergency. This is very important when you have a disability like me, or health conditions like my friend. Cheers, Vince C.

Posted by: Vince Ceccacci - Aug 08, 2006 2:26 PM

We had a very shocking experience this past spring. Our bank had changed something and our ATM cards no longer worked in Germany, Austria or the Czech Republic (and I kept trying). We took a large cash advance on my VISA card at the Munich Western Union office and were only charged a 3% transaction fee. However, armed with Euros only it made our visit to Prague more expensive and less enjoyable. (All the Rip Off restaurants are happy to take Credit Cards - most of the small interesting places do not.) Seeing Amex offices everywhere we went, we were thinking of getting a card for our next trip emergency, but it sounds like we shouldn't bother.

If you're curious, the current industry standards on international transaction fees are: 3% for cash advances, 1% for Visa or Master Card to convert from foreign currency to US on purchases...and then depending on the issuing credit card company usually up to 2% (often hidden in the transaction.) I've heard Capital One does not charge that fee.

Posted by: Dana - Aug 08, 2006 4:06 PM

Recently moved from the US to Germany, and wanted to change the address on one of my AmEx cards.


Turns out they can't do that. I had to reapply in Germany, and now have 2 totally separate customer relationships with them. Can't even check balances on the same web site or under the same user name.


AmEx looks like a global company from the outside, but is a bunch of local dinosaurs inside!

Posted by: Sebastian - Aug 09, 2006 5:23 AM

Spain only had to wait until the 1970s, but the rest of Eastern Europe had to wait until 1989 to throw off the shackles of totalitarian communism. All of Europe still suffers from the lingering effects of state socialism and bureaucracy.

Posted by: Michael - Aug 10, 2006 2:08 AM

We had no trouble using our ATM cards to access our checking/savings accounts the last time we were in Ireland. But, we did make sure each of us had Plus, Cirrus etc to cover all the bases. I had to get a tetanus shot in Amsterdam after a nasty bike fall and had no trouble using a credit card at the doctor's office; however, our hotel called the doctor for us and set up the appointment.

Posted by: Selma - Aug 10, 2006 6:45 PM

I just wanted to comment about Amex...

When the ATM's had issues in Firenze for a day in May and we needed cash to pay the driver we hired for San Gimignano and Volterra....the Amex office was our answer.

Traveling the world, we had never used Amex before and never really thought we ever would need to, but for our next trip to the Baltic ...I've already made note that there are branches in Latvia and Lithuania!

So please Rick include the locations in your book!

One last note!

Thanks Rick for posing for a picture with us in Vernazza in May on our honeymoon..no one was believing us, that we had a chance encounter!!!!!

Posted by: Karen - Aug 13, 2006 8:40 AM

AmEx is still important because of the fact that you can buy train tickets there (i know this is true at least in italy). While abroad in Florence for 4 months, i frequently used AmEx to buy my train tickets because 1) there was hardly ever a line and 2) there was no chance of communication barrier because they all speak english.

Posted by: Sean - Aug 20, 2006 11:32 PM