Yup that's what's happening at least in MX and Spain. Chendraui is 17.5 and it's 18.6 USD to MXN. Pemex is 16.5. There's no way around that rate if you use a card.

Bayou City said:

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Not all places give you the option to decline the conversion and more places are moving to exchanging at a flat rate far below spot and not given the ability to decline. It's going to become more and more prevalent.

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I've never been forced to transact in USD in Europe, and I'm there several times per year.

Bayou City said:

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Yup that's what's happening at least in MX and Spain. Chendraui is 17.5 and it's 18.6 USD to MXN. Pemex is 16.5. There's no way around that rate if you use a card.

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Report them to Visa or Mastercard and they'll be at risk to lose their merchant services contract.

Pemex and Chendraui ain't losing their merchant services contract with anyone. Ones the state owned equivalent to Exxon and the other is equivalent to Kroger.

Wahoo82 said:

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Watch out for pickpockets. i had a guy try to get mine in Pisa at the train station. Tried my jacket and back pocket, but I had my wallet in the front pocket. it all happened faster than you can imagine. Also very bad at Naples as I understand it. But be alert around people.

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I always carry a little cash for tips but I carry two CCs. One is in my wallet in my front pant pocket and another in a money belt around my waist inside my shirt.

Bayou City said:

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Pemex and Chendraui ain't losing their merchant services contract with anyone. Ones the state owned equivalent to Exxon and the other is equivalent to Kroger.

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Just trying to provide a counterpoint to your advice, which is hyper-specific to a few locales.

By and large, credit cards are still fine throughout the large majority of the world without forced conversions.

We took about 500 euros with us to Italy. I put my USAA card on my Apple Pay and used that everywhere. It was safer than bringing wallet with us. I had my phone always available because of taking pics constantly. I was able to tap to pay almost everywhere. Used euros for tipping and public bathrooms.

Agree with most of the advice here. CC works great. Always pay in Euros if given the choice. Use a debit card that doesn't charge fees (my Cap One worked fine and I had no fees). If you end up with extra Euros at the end of the trip you can probably find someone you know going to Europe soon that'll be happy to buy them from you for what you paid.

I also recommend adding your card to Apple Pay on your phone. It uses a different number than your physical card and in some cases you can get a new number on it immediately if your physical card gets stolen. Very easy to use.