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Card acceptance in Peru
hopefulfooluk
Posts: 2,441 Forumite
in Credit cards
Greetings,
Has anyone who has been to Peru got any suggestions on whether it is beneficial to have both a Visa and Mastercard? Currently the only cards I have are Visa-based, except my Maestro, and I don't particularly want to use that there in case of fraud. Should I apply for and take a Mastercard as well or does everywhere that accepts cards accept Visa?
Cheers,
Chris
Has anyone who has been to Peru got any suggestions on whether it is beneficial to have both a Visa and Mastercard? Currently the only cards I have are Visa-based, except my Maestro, and I don't particularly want to use that there in case of fraud. Should I apply for and take a Mastercard as well or does everywhere that accepts cards accept Visa?
Cheers,
Chris
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I have used Maestro, Mastercard credit and Visa cards in various South American countries including Peru.
Purchases: Visa and Mastercard are quite widely accepted, especially in upmarket places and tourist areas like Cuzco, and I don't recall any situation where only Visa or only Mastercard was accepted - places generally accept both or only accept cash (often including US dollars as well as local currency). Bear in mind that the practice of surcharging for credit card purchases is widespread in South America so it might work out cheaper to withdraw cash. Acceptance of Maestro for purchases is limited. When I was there I experienced a wide range of security practices. Most places had electronic equipment and several required ID (i.e. passport), whereas a few had no electronic equipment and one even used a printed list to check the card number against cancelled numbers!
ATMs: there are loads that accept Visa cards. Maestro/Mastercard acceptance seemed slightly lower but not a problem. If you're going away from major cities for a while you will probably need to withdraw enough cash to last you.
Also try looking at http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=22 where this kind of question comes up frequeently.Let's settle this like gentlemen: armed with heavy sticks
On a rotating plate, with spikes like Flash Gordon
And you're Peter Duncan; I gave you fair warning0 -
Can't actually help re spending in Peru.....
Sorry!
Just wondering if you've got room in your suitcase....:D I would love to go to Peru!If it was easy, everyone would do it!0 -
I suspect I could squeeze you in somewhere as long as you don't mind spending 12 hours in the hold!
PS cheers all for your tips 0
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