Another question Non dive related for my Europe friends~~

[CrabCake]

Good subject-How well is American Express accepted in Australia?

 

[RonDawg]

AmEx is about as widely accepted in Australia as it is in the US. A few small businesses might not take it, but large stores definitely will, as will major hotel chains, rental car companies, etc. Also never had a problem with a gasoline station taking it either.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

It can also be your worst enemy, if there is a mechanical malfunction and the ATM decides to eat your card.

You are correct, cards can get messed up, mechanically or electronically. Thats why I always have 2 different electronic cards, just as you would only dive with some type of backup.

Travelers checks do work fine if you want to go that route.

My reason for going electronic is I travel for work oveseas and rarely know how much local currency I need in advance and often stay longer than expected. Also, the best food tends to be at small local resaurants that take cash only (Remember, no job is complete until you eat!) ATM's give me the flexibility I need. Exchanging currency at the airport is lose/lose (you pay up front and then again for anything unspent back to USD) and often involves long lines. Bank are open, well bankers hours. The also charge pretty stiff exchange rates also.

 

[grazie42]

Realistically you´ll get a bad/worse exchange rate from those who do accept dollars.

Sweden has not converted to euros and though restaurants etc do accept euros the exchange rate is bad, the same would be true for dollars.

I think trying to pay with anything but the local currency in Italy, Greece and Turkey is a really bad idea (having visited various parts of all those countries myself). In Egypt they changed the prices from dollars to euros a few years ago (in the diveshops) and paying with dollars won´t be a good idea. The best for Egypt is (once again), egyptian pounds.

 

[almitywife]

AmEx is about as widely accepted in Australia as it is in the US. A few small businesses might not take it, but large stores definitely will, as will major hotel chains, rental car companies, etc. Also never had a problem with a gasoline station taking it either.

actualy you might have a hassle using amex in australia as you might find its either not accepted (kinda rare) or if it is, you will be charged a higher % (this happens alot) for the privillage of using it. maybe not so much the tourist traps but def quite a few restuarants and business that i have used and had hassles

 

[roadkils]

You are correct, cards can get messed up, mechanically or electronically. Thats why I always have 2 different electronic cards, just as you would only dive with some type of backup.

Travelers checks do work fine if you want to go that route.

My reason for going electronic is I travel for work oveseas and rarely know how much local currency I need in advance and often stay longer than expected. Also, the best food tends to be at small local resaurants that take cash only (Remember, no job is complete until you eat!) ATM's give me the flexibility I need. Exchanging currency at the airport is lose/lose (you pay up front and then again for anything unspent back to USD) and often involves long lines. Bank are open, well bankers hours. The also charge pretty stiff exchange rates also.

Like Grumpy said, ATM's will give you the best conversion rate with only a small fee from your bank. Hotels/Banks/Etc will kill you on conversion rates and hit you with a stiff fee for each transaction. I learned the hard way last month on my trip to Europe and Dubai. Pay with your CC on everything you can and avoid Traveler's Cheq's if all possible. A lot of places are no longer accepting Traveler's Cheq's. If you are worried about electronic failures on your Debit/CC, carry a backup just in case. As a side note, I tried to use USD for some small purchases when I ran out of local currency and 99% only would accept Euro or Dirhams.

Best,

Dwight

 

[El Orans]

Our dollar is practically worthless over in Europe right now. The current exchange rate is the worst I've ever seen, and I've been travelling in Europe since 1989. There is no way I could afford to go over now.

My trip to Florida looks better by the day...

Remember you ATM card (or any credit/debit card with a PIN number) is often your best friend. I often use these to get local currency in Asia/Europe with minimum hassle in hotel lobbys or bank ATB (even after hours).

Accepting US Dollars is a favour, not a right.

Local currency is needed.

Multiple credit cards help as well.

 

[RonDawg]

actualy you might have a hassle using amex in australia as you might find its either not accepted (kinda rare) or if it is, you will be charged a higher % (this happens alot) for the privillage of using it. maybe not so much the tourist traps but def quite a few restuarants and business that i have used and had hassles

I've never had a problem using American Express in Australia, nor have I ever been charged a higher price to use it. At least that's been my experience along the coast between Cairns and Adelaide, and across to Tasmania.

The overwhelming majority of my AmEx usage was to pay for purchases such as airfare, hotels, gasoline, car rental, even dive trips, and some souvenir and clothing purchases. As I ate at fast food 99% of the time I usually paid cash to eat.

It was just like America...except with funny-looking animals and funny-talking people