Discover - No Foriegn Transaction Fee

[Anonymous]

Has anybody used their Discover card as Diners Club overseas with any luck?  If so, where?

I am curious if this benefit is more useful than I realize.

[Anonymous]

I've used my Discover it card in Finland, Israel and the UK as a Diner's Club, worked fine in all three. It works great and there were no fees, just depends on what the acceptance rate of Diner's is in the country you're looking to visit - some countries including Finland have a limited number of merchants who take anything non-Visa/MC.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, good to know it really is useful!  I have been trying to decide if I need a cap1 quicksilver to have a Visa with no fx fees. (I have discover and amex prg)

Welcome to the forum

[Anonymous]

I was able to use it in Fuerteventura. But I wouldn't travel relying on discover, probably have visa or mastercard as backups.

[Anonymous]

For sure, definitely an advantage cap1 has right now.

[UncleB]

I love my Discover Card, and no FOREX is great, but I would expect it to be hit-and-miss overseas, and I certainly wouldn't depend on it to work every time. 

I would compare it to how JCB and ChinaPay are accepted here.  Ideally JCB and ChinaPay should be accepted anywhere Discover is accepted, but outside of tourist areas many cashiers aren't aware of this.  As long as you speak the language you can quickly explain it, of course, but if there's a language barrier it could get annoying (ask anybody who has traveled to China or Japan and had their Discover turned away, even though if the merchant had swiped it would have worked). 

Of course it's a bit easier to use Discover as a Diner's Club since the logo is on the back - something that would likely benefit JCB and ChinaPay users greatly.  Anytime I'm overseas, I would still sleep better knowing I had a MasterCard or Visa in my pocket. 

[Anonymous]

If I were to go overseas I would look for Diners Club acceptance but would probably default to my QS1 mostly, depending on where I went.

[fishbjc]

We ran into quite a few restaurants in Germany that charged way more if you paid with cc.  Of course, we were light on cash.  Make sure you have some euro in your pocket.

We're going to Paris and Amsterdam in May, so we will see.

[Anonymous]

Good Advice!  Thanks so much guys, I know you could have said "look it up" but I'd much rather get the inside scoop from real experiences.  I really had no idea what diners club even was when I get this card.

So basically:

-point to the diners club symbol on the back (if I don't speak the language)

-bring cash (cash is king right?)

-hope I get approved for cap1 quicksilver to have a visa

[Jansroom726]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I've used my Discover it card in Finland, Israel and the UK as a Diner's Club, worked fine in all three. It works great and there were no fees, just depends on what the acceptance rate of Diner's is in the country you're looking to visit - some countries including Finland have a limited number of merchants who take anything non-Visa/MC.

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I'm suprised you had luck using it in Israel. I was there a year ago and nobody took them. Likewise, the Discover phone reps told me they dont have acceptance in Israel.