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Taking a trip to England? You’ll find that credit cards are widely accepted throughout the UK. American Express and Discover cards are less popular than Mastercard and Visa, but you shouldn’t have any problem using an ATM or paying with these credit cards in London — or any other large cities in England.
Prefer to carry cash? There are many ATMs across the island. Though, keep in mind credit cards often charge high fees for cash advances, so consider bringing along your debit card for cash.
If you use your credit card often when traveling abroad, a travel card could help you save on foreign transaction fees. Many cards offer no foreign transaction fees and travel rewards, but often come with an annual fee. Consider how often you’ll use the travel rewards to make the annual fee worth it.
When you use your card to pay for goods or services in England, you could incur two types of fees:
Yes. But you can avoid this if you get a travel card without foreign transaction fees and decline DCC when it’s offered.
You’ll find American Express and Discover cards to be widely accepted throughout the UK, especially in the large cities. Mastercard and Visa are still more popular, and are accepted in villages and smaller vendors.
If you have an Amex card and want to make a cash withdrawal, you’ll find most ATMs accept Amex cards. For Discover cards, look for Cardtronics, Moneycorp, Travelex and Yourcash ATMs.
| Visa |  High | High |
| Mastercard | High | High |
| American Express |  Medium | High |
| Discover | High | High |
Paying with your card in most places in England shouldn’t be a problem. But if you want to have cash, you can make a withdrawal from an ATM, called cashpoints. But be careful — you could pay up to 5% for cash advances, and you’ll incur a higher cash advance APR.
One way to avoid these fees is by using a debit card for making cash withdrawals, since they usually don’t have a cash advance fee or APR. This can help you manage your money by limiting your credit card use, and accidentally overspending.
You may find some taxis that accept credit cards, but most of them don’t. If you want to pay the cab with a card, consider downloading the Gett app that connects customers with transportation.
With the goal of combating credit card fraud, the United Kingdom was one of the first countries to implement Chip and PIN cards back in 2006. This original initiative is why this type of card is widely accepted throughout England today.
You’re not necessarily out of luck if you have a chip card that doesn’t have a PIN. Many merchants will still accept cards without them, so you shouldn’t have a problem paying with it.
Yes, it’s safe to use your credit card in the United Kingdom. But just as when traveling to any other country, make sure you:
Complete money guide for traveling to the United Kingdom
You’ll avoid paying foreign transaction fees and you’ll earn miles you can redeem for flights between the US and the UK.
Keep in mind that American Airlines, Delta and United let you earn and redeem miles on partner airlines that often fly from the UK to the US and back.
Our travel money guide for Scotland
When you travel to the United Kingdom, know that you can safely use your credit card for payments and cash withdrawals. The only thing to be wary off are the fees. To avoid foreign transaction fees, opt in for a travel card. And if offered to pay in US dollars, decline to avoid poor exchange rate and high fees.
If you need to make cash withdrawals, consider getting a debit card. They usually come with no cash advance fees and you won’t have to face a cash advance APR.
See more guides on using a credit card in other countries.
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