need a non american credit card

joules59

I am going to cuba in Dec and know that you cannot use any credit cards associated with the USA. I only want one for emergency use if needed but dont know where to start. Any ideas would be very welcome.......

Fiddlestick

joules59 wrote: »

I am going to cuba in Dec and know that you cannot use any credit cards associated with the USA. I only want one for emergency use if needed but dont know where to start. Any ideas would be very welcome.......

Do they not only mean cards issued by US banks?

I.e. would a British card not work fine?

stephane_2

Why would not be able to use a credit card associated in some way to the USA when the american dollars is almost the currency used daily....don't know where you got that from, but does not seems to make sense to me.

diable

Bank of Osama Bin Laden are doing a 24 month 0% deal at the mo.....

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

joules59 wrote: »

I am going to cuba in Dec and know that you cannot use any credit cards associated with the USA. I only want one for emergency use if needed but dont know where to start. Any ideas would be very welcome.......

Absolutely correct. I was there in August and can confirm this. AmEx cards are naturally out of the question. Also Citibank and Egg. I took Pounds and Euros and used a Nationwide debit card for cash from ATMs. No problem using a Smile (Co-Op) credit card for payments although this is not the most cash-efficient method.

You'll find plenty of information around the web; try TripAdvisor. Get used to the difference between CUCs and CUPs!

butterbeanmash

My Santander card couldn't be used but my partner's M & S card was fine.

chattychappy

stephane wrote: »

Why would not be able to use a credit card associated in some way to the USA when the american dollars is almost the currency used daily....don't know where you got that from, but does not seems to make sense to me.

It used to be the same in Vietnam. Nothing to do with local laws, but legislation in the US. In the case of Vietnam, it was "trading with the enemy". Any US bank/institution in the chain of payments would refuse payment. It would be a very serious offence to do otherwise. Of course, cash was OK - the Americans couldn't stop this, though US persons themselves were restricted as to what they could take in.

I expect it's a similar situation in Cuba - Cubans know that they will have trouble processing transactions. (Though there maybe additional laws from the Cuban side - there wasn't in the case of Vietnam.)

[PS no longer any problems in Vietnam]

nomoneytoday

Nationwide and LTSB aren't Americans AFAIK

[Deleted User]

chattychappy wrote: »

It used to be the same in Vietnam. Nothing to do with local laws, but legislation in the US. In the case of Vietnam, it was "trading with the enemy".

Think this also still exists in parts of Norfolk.

Fiddlestick

stephane wrote: »

Why would not be able to use a credit card associated in some way to the USA when the american dollars is almost the currency used daily

It's not the "official" currency though, but it's the one that most locals will be happy to accept as it's more stable than the official once.

You will find this quite a lot in developing countries, and even some that are half way in between developed and developing.

My father done a few stints in Nigeria and Azerbaijan when he was alive and in all instances the locals would prefer you paid them in US Dollars rather than Naira or Roubles.