Wondering if ATMs and places like restaurants shops in France easily take American Express or its better to get a Visa or Mastercard
Used Amex a few times in Bordeaux at larger places but any time I went into a smaller shop or bar they asked for Mastercard or Visa. Even the hostel I stayed at didn’t take Amex at check-in. I always travel with two cards now just in case one Amex and one traditional debit or credit card that’s either Visa or Mastercard.
I had better luck in tourist-heavy areas like Nice and Marseille. Hotels and airport shops took Amex without question but local markets and smaller stores didn’t. I also found that even places that technically accepted it sometimes had issues processing the transaction. Visa was way more reliable, especially for things like metro ticket machines and pharmacies.
In Lyon I tried using Amex at two different restaurants and both said no even though they had card machines. The waiter explained that French businesses don’t like the higher Amex processing fees. My Wise Visa worked every single time so I stopped trying with Amex after a couple of days.
Wondering if ATMs and places like restaurants shops in France easily take American Express or its better to get a Visa or Mastercard
I brought my Amex Platinum thinking it would be fine in France but quickly learned it's not widely accepted, especially outside big cities. In Paris it worked at larger restaurants, hotels, and chains like Sephora or Monoprix. But smaller cafés, bakeries, and boutiques either didn’t take it or had a minimum spend. Visa and Mastercard were accepted almost everywhere without a problem.
Don t think they accept Amex. But my Revolut Mastercard from the UK worked flawlessly at BNP Paribas ATM. No issues at all.