Mastercard refused in Holland & Germany

reclusive46

Maestro. wrote: »

Really - I thought the opposite was true.

It would explain then why most credit cards nowadays are MasterCard.

Indeed.

Off the top of my head I think 24 million merchants support Visa and 30 million support MasterCard.

Maestro.

I wonder if Visa will fade into the dust then, as I believe MasterCard exchange rates are better, and all the "posh" credit cards are MasterCard (or AmEx, if you're really posh)

Having said that, in the DEBIT card world Visa seems to be almost the sole issuer, now that Maestro is nearly dead and Debit MC hasn't caught on. Weird huh.

reclusive46

Maestro. wrote: »

I wonder if Visa will fade into the dust then, as I believe MasterCard exchange rates are better, and all the "posh" credit cards are MasterCard (or AmEx, if you're really posh)

Having said that, in the DEBIT card world Visa seems to be almost the sole issuer, now that Maestro is nearly dead and Debit MC hasn't caught on. Weird huh.

Debit MC hasn't really caught on in the UK yet but several other countries have it. Australia, I think Common Wealth bank is MC Debit and I know Santander Mexico (I think it was Mexico) just changed over their cards to Debit MC.

I've also seen rumours of a Debit Amex with Bank of America, which is getting banks excited as they would still process it was standard rates (So the bank would get 2% per transaction for example instead of 20p or whatever) but acceptance is not quite as good, especially abroad. Although I have never trouble using my American Express in the UK really. This would be a while off though.

As I travel for work a lot I keep my covered on all bases though, I have a Visa Debit, MasterCard (Corporate Card), Visa Credit Card and an American Express charge card. I don't think I'll be having too much trouble.

kernowguy

Thanks for all your comments and advice. I have been travelling within Europe since well before they started accepting credit cards. I well remember the looks when I tried to pay with an Access card in Hannover in the 70s. So I know all about using cards, difficulties with them being accepted by shops and where credit cards are accepted or not.
I had used my Tesco card in Germany many times previously and had no problem.
This trip however the card was rejected by the machine in the clothes shop. No referral or comment from the bank, just rejected by the shop. I have previously paid with a credit card in this shop so that wasn't the problem, they just did not - as a business - accept MC.
Then I went to IKEA in Holland and my partner tried to pay with a Tesco MC in the restaurant. Again this card was rejected immediately by the shop and we paid in cash.
This was when I called Tesco to query whether they were rejecting us. They established they had received nothing from my card since petrol purchase in Belgium. So the problem was not with Tesco but with the shops. When I got to the main checkout in IKEA they told me directly that they did not accept MC. There were clear signs there by the till saying as much and that Visa was accepted. In this case I used a Visa Debit card to pay.
Hence my query. In my experience within the space of one day in two countries a MC card was rejected by both shops. Both accepted Visa credit cards but not MC. Hence I was asking whether anyone had had problems with MC credit cards compared to Visa. My German hosts told me there were problems having MC accepted in Germany.
Thanks for the comment on the 650 points. This explains their arrival as I wasn't aware it was an annual reward.

So, once again thanks for the feedback. Much as I don't like to have more than one credit card at a time, it looks as though I will have to apply for a Visa one as well to be on the safe side. No doubt I will have the same problems as the last time I tried that since I pay my bill every month so I was told I had no credit record! C'est la vie!

jason1231972

kernowguy wrote: »

No doubt I will have the same problems as the last time I tried that since I pay my bill every month so I was told I had no credit record! C'est la vie!

Whether you pay your bill in full, pay only the minimums, or simply don't pay it at all, a credit card will always build up a credit history record for you, for better or worse.

In most circles, paying off in full is considered to be best for credit history purposes. As for lenders themselves, in the back of their mind they'd prefer you to pay less (and gain more interest from you), but your lack of profitability in their eyes doesn't mean you have no history

Whoever told you that is talking rubbish.

reclusive46

jason1231972 wrote: »

Whether you pay your bill in full, pay only the minimums, or simply don't pay it at all, a credit card will always build up a credit history record for you, for better or worse.

In most circles, paying off in full is considered to be best for credit history purposes. As for lenders themselves, in the back of their mind they'd prefer you to pay less (and gain more interest from you), but your lack of profitability in their eyes doesn't mean you have no history

Whoever told you that is talking rubbish.

+ They get their merchant fees anyway

ahxcjb

kernowguy wrote: »

No doubt I will have the same problems as the last time I tried that since I pay my bill every month so I was told I had no credit record! C'est la vie!

Whoever told you that is an idiot.

Regardless of whether you pay the minimum balance, default on it, or pay it off in full, your usage of your credit card(s) will be noted on your credit reference file. Use it responsibly and your credit history will benefit; use it recklessly, and you will harm your ability to get credit.

It is so simple, yet so many still do not understand these basic facts.

Bob_the_Saver

ahxcjb wrote: »

Whoever told you that is an idiot.

Regardless of whether you pay the minimum balance, default on it, or pay it off in full, your usage of your credit card(s) will be noted on your credit reference file. Use it responsibly and your credit history will benefit; use it recklessly, and you will harm your ability to get credit.

It is so simple, yet so many still do not understand these basic facts.

How dare you talk common sense

Elvisia

Paying with UK cards abroad is an issue, I lived in France and travelled to Italy and in the end only used my Carte Bleu (French) as I had issues with my VISA being accepted. Some places only accept debit cards as credit cards aren't in use as much in other countries, it was my experience in France that people rarely got credit cards as there was a charge just to have them, and many of them needed to be topped up before you could use them, which essentially makes them a debit card. We complain about the UK but honestly it's head and shoulders above other countries sometimes!

GooliesOfFire

Never had problems with Tesco Mastercard.. I used it in Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Poland, South Korea.