The 8 best credit cards to use in Italy [2024]

Planning a romantic getaway to Venice, a shopping trip to Milan or a cultural adventure in Rome? If you’re visiting Italy, you’ll need to find the best way to spend in euros.

Plastic could be a decent option, but what US credit card is the best to use in Italy? We’ll run through your best choices right here in this guide.

This includes alternatives such as the Wise card, which could save you money on vacation spending.

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What US credit cards work in Italy?

Most US-issued credit cards work in Italy. It’s best to use cards issued by Visa or Mastercard, rather than American Express or Discover. The latter two are not as widely accepted, except in major cities and tourist hotspots.

And it never hurts to have a little cash in euros in your wallet either, just in case.

Wise card

While it’s not a credit card, it’s well worth checking out the Wise card if you’re planning a trip to Italy.

The Wise card is tailor-made for both travelers and expats, as it offers the following features:

• Spend and withdraw cash in 174 countries, wherever Visa and Mastercard are accepted.
• Automatically converts your dollars to euros (EUR) at the mid-market exchange rate whenever you spend. There’s just a small conversion fee, or no charge if you already have the currency in your Wise account.
• Withdraw €100 a month from overseas ATMs for free, with a tiny fee of just 2% after that.

This means you can dine, shop and travel across Italy knowing you're always getting a great exchange rate. And there’s no need to convert currency or carry cash around with you.

Open a Wise Account online, and you can order a Wise card for a one-time fee of just $9.

Get a Wise Account today

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing: Only Pay for What You Use for the most up-to-date pricing and fee information.

Wise will not charge you for these withdrawals, but some additional charges may occur from independent ATM networks.

Which credit card is best to use in Italy?

Now, let’s dive into our list of the best US credit cards to use in Italy.

All the cards on this list are ideal for short-term trips, but also for longer business trips or if you’re working in Italy.

If you’re considering moving to Italy, you might want to look into opening a local bank account.

When compiling this list, we’ve looked at key things like foreign transaction fees on spending and ATM withdrawals, travel benefits and annual fees.

So, here we go:

Card	Fee	APR on purchases	Features
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card¹	$95 annual fee	20.99% - 28.99%	- No foreign transaction fees - Travel miles bonus - Access to Capital One airport lounges
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card²	$395 annual fee	21.99% - 28.99%	- No foreign transaction fees - Travel miles bonuses + extra points for travel purchases - $300 travel credit - Access to Capital One airport lounges - Culture and social club memberships
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card³	None	0% intro APR for 15 months, 19.99% - 29.99% afterwards	- $200 cashback on opening - 1.5% cashback on purchases - Other travel perks
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card⁴	None	0% intro APR for 18 billing cycles, 17.99% - 27.99% afterwards	- No foreign transaction fees - Initial points bonus worth $250 - Earn points on spending
Citi Premier® Card⁵	$95 annual fee	20.99% - 28.99%	- No foreign transaction fees - Initial points bonus worth $600 - Earn points on travel spending - $0 liability on unauthorized charges
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card⁶	$95 annual fee	21.24% - 28.24%	- No foreign transaction fees - Initial points bonus worth $750 - Extra points on travel spending
Chase United Gateway Credit Card⁷	None	21.49% - 28.49%	- 30,000 bonus miles (conditions apply) - Extra miles and credit on United Airlines purchases - No foreign transaction fees
American Express Gold Card⁸	$250 annual fee	20.99% - 28.99%	- No foreign transaction fees - Earn points on flights - Emergency assistance - Limited travel insurance cover

1: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card¹

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card does have an annual fee of $95, but you’ll get lots of benefits in return. This includes:

• Initial bonus of 75,000 miles (worth $750 in travel) when you spend $4,000 within 3 months of opening an account
• Unlimited 2 miles per purchase
• Earn 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• Up to $100 credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
• Two free visits a year to Capital One Lounges or to 100+ Plaza Premium Lounges.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Any miles you earn can be used as reimbursement for travel purchases. Or you can redeem them when booking trips through Capital One Travel.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has an APR of 20.99% - 28.99% on purchases.

2: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card²

If you’re interested in travel perks and don’t mind paying a higher annual fee, it’s also worth checking out the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. It’s similar to the previous card on our list, but with souped-up benefits.

This includes:

• 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months
• Free 10,000 miles as an anniversary bonus each year
• Up to $300 annual travel credit - get a statement credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel
• $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit
• 10x miles on hotels and rental cars, and 5x miles on flights (booked through Capital One Travel)
• 2x miles on all other purchases
• Unlimited access to Capital One, Plaza Premium Group and Priority Pass airport lounges
• $100 experience credit on hotel stays booked through Capital One Travel
• Hertz President’s Circle® status - free upgrades on rental cars
• Complimentary subscription to culture and social clubs like PRIOR, The Cultivist and Gravity Haus.
• No foreign transaction fees.

The fee is pretty steep at $395 a year, but if you travel regularly and use all of these benefits and features then it could be worth it.

But if you’re just looking to cover your costs in Italy for a single trip, a fee-free card could be a better value choice.

3: Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card³

The third Capital One card on our list is the Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card. It’s great for travel and good value too, as it has no annual fee and a 0% introductory APR for 15 months. After that, there’s a rate of 19.99% - 29.99%.

Another thing to know about is the balance transfer fee of 3%, which applies after the first 15 months.

Other key features of the card include:

• Initial $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within 3 months of signing up
• Unlimited 1.5% cashback on all purchases
• Up to 6 months of free Uber One membership statement credits
• Unlimited 5% cashback on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

4: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card⁴

The Bank of America Travel Rewards card also has no annual fee and an interest free period covering 18 billing cycles. After that, there’s a variable APR of 17.99% - 27.99%.

Rewards include:

• An initial 25,000 online bonus points worth $250 when you spend $1,000 within the first 90 days of signing up
• Unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spending on anything
• Preferred Rewards members can earn between 25% and 75% more points on spending.
• No foreign transaction charges.

You can redeem any points earned for credit to put towards travel or dining.

5: Citi Premier® Card⁵

The Citi Premier® Card has an annual fee of $95, and a balance transfer fee of 5%. However, there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. The interest rate is 20.99% - 28.99% variable APR.

The card offers the following travel rewards, ideal for trips to Italy and beyond:

• Initial bonus of 60,000 points worth $600 in gift cards, after you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months
• Earn points on spending on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels.
• Annual hotel savings benefit.
• $0 liability on unauthorized charges.

6: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card⁶

If you like the idea of earning points and reward for travel spending, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card could be right for you.

It offers all kinds of attractive features and benefits, including:

• Initial points bonus of 60,000 (worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards) when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months
• 5x points on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3x points on dining and 2x points on all other travel purchases
• $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit
• No foreign transaction fees.

There’s a standard annual fee of $95, and an interest rate of 21.24% - 28.24% variable APR.

7: Chase United Gateway Credit Card⁷

For this card, Chase has partnered with United Airlines. It offers preferential benefits if you choose United Airlines to fly to Italy.

This includes the following:

• Earn 30,000 bonus miles when you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months
• 2x miles on purchases with United Airlines (e.g. inflight food, Wi-Fi and baggage service charges), as well as on local transit, commuting and gas station spending
• 25% back in credits on purchases on board United-operated flights
• No foreign transaction fees.

What’s more, there’s no annual fee and an 0% introductory APR on purchases for 12 months. After this, the APR is 21.49% - 28.49%.

8: American Express Gold Card⁸

The Amex Gold Card (also available in rose gold) offers a big list of travel-friendly benefits. But there are a couple of crucial things to be aware of.

Firstly, remember that Amex isn’t accepted absolutely everywhere, unlike Visa and Mastercard. You might find you can only use it in tourist hotspots in Italy.

The other potential drawback is the high fee of $250 a year.

If you’re ok with all of that, let’s move onto the benefits, which include the following:

• Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $4,000 within the first 6 months
• Earn 4x points at restaurants and groceries, and 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or on American Express Travel
• $120 dining credit when spending at participating partners
• $100 experience credit to use during stays at The Hotel Collection with American Express Travel
• $120 Uber cash
• American Express Preferred Access - premium seats for select sporting and cultural events
• No foreign transaction fees
• Baggage insurance plan - up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and $500 for checked baggage
• Car rental loss and damage insurance
• Global Assist Hotline - available for 24/7 emergency assistance whenever you travel more than 100 miles from home. It can be used for missing luggage help, emergency cash wires, medical and legal referrals, and much more.

The card has a variable APR of 20.99% to 28.99%.

Bottom line

So, what is the best credit card to use in Italy? It all depends on whether you just want the cheapest card, with no annual fee and an interest-free period. Or if you want travel benefits, rewards, points and free air miles. If you’ll use these perks, a higher fee could be worth it.

Don’t forget though that a credit card isn’t your only option. You can spend worldwide with the Wise card, for low fees and great exchange rates. It’s convenient, low cost and accepted almost everywhere.

Learn more about Wise

💡 Dreaming of moving to Italy? Read our helpful guides to retiring in Italy, buying property there and getting Italian dual citizenship.

FAQs

What is the best way to pay in Italy?

While Italian restaurants, bars and stores do accept cards (especially in cities and tourist areas), the country does still have a rather cash-based economy. So, it could be a smart idea to keep some euros in cash on you, just in case. Find out more about money and banks in Italy.

Is it better to use a credit card or debit card in Italy?

As long as the card has no foreign transaction fees, you can use both credit and debit cards in Italy.

However, a credit card could offer you more rewards and benefits for spending on travel-related purchases. Some credit cards offer redeemable air miles, statement credits and discounts, along with access to airport lounges and other travel perks.

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Sources used for this article:

1. Capital One - Credit Cards - Venture
2. Capital One - Credit Cards - Venture X
3. Capital One - Credit Cards - Quicksilver
4. Bank of America - Travel Rewards Credit Card
5. Citi - Citi Premier Credit Card
6. Chase - Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
7. Chase - Credit Cards - United Gateway
8. American Express - Gold Card

Sources checked on 05-Jul-2023.