I have been to Spain many times, but this is first time going with a generous girlfriend. We will want to change money using her Amer Express Card. Will it be sufficient or do we need some other kind of card? LIke an ATM card?
Doe it still have to have the Cirrus logo on it? Will my cash or her credit card get us better rates?

THank you, sorry if these concerns are redundant or have already been answered.

Gracias,

Franco

AMEX cards, while improving, are not as accepted as a Visa or MasterCard. FOr getting money from your AMEX you will either have to go to an AMEX office or face very high fees and interest charges if you do it via an ATM (if you can find an ATM which accepts AMEX).

I highly recommend an ATM card which you can use to take money out of your bank account. This way you'll get the best exchange rate (avoid exchnage places like the plague) and will avoid the fees and interest of a credit card. It's best if your ATM card is a debit card (meaning has either the VISA or MasterCard logo or at least Cirrus)

When I was abroad, the only credit card I had was an American express for students, and it worked really well. It really is accepted in most places, there are very few places it isn't. Although, the previous post is correct, mastercard and visa are better and more widely accepted. I also had with me a debit card with a visa logo on it. I suggest bringing the american express for the major things, like hotel or whatever, and using a debit for smaller things.

Just so all you AMEX lovers know this before you make large purchases with the card (like a wedding), American Express charges a 2% fee for all foreign purchases. You don't realize it because it's lumped together with the exchange rate/conversion.