We checked popular card-payment tips against official sources from the EU. Some are backed by an official rule, some are only partly true, some are contradicted by official sources and some have no official evidence either way. Each answer below gives the verdict, a short explanation and the official page to check.
Check the latest before you rely on it. Rates, limits and rules change, and some figures on this page may be out of date. Each amount links to the official page it comes from: check the current figure there before you travel, pay or declare anything. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice, and to the extent the law allows we accept no liability for any loss or problem arising from its use.
“Hotels and shops in Europe cannot add a surcharge for paying by card”
Verdict: Partly true. EU traders may not charge extra for paying with a consumer credit or debit card; American Express/Diners Club and business cards are exceptions. UK regulation 6A bars fees for card payments other than commercial cards. Currency conversion fees by your own card provider are a separate matter.123
In the official wording: Traders in the EU are not allowed to charge you extra for using your credit or debit card.
1
“A hotel or car-hire deposit "hold" on your card must be released as soon as you pay the final bill”
Verdict: Backed by an official source. Your Europe states that you must be told about, and approve the exact amount of, any amount blocked on your card for a hotel or car rental, and that the bank must release it immediately once the real payment is made.2
In the official wording: the bank must immediately release the blocked amount from your credit card.
2
“Untick pre-ticked extras such as travel insurance; you do not have to pay for add-ons you did not choose”
Verdict: Backed by an official source. Under EU rules a trader cannot charge for additional services such as travel insurance unless you explicitly selected them; a pre-ticked box is not consent, and payments taken that way can be reimbursed.1
In the official wording: A trader is not allowed to charge you for these services unless you explicitly selected them.
1
“Withdrawing euros from an ATM in another EU country costs the same as at home”
Verdict: Partly true. Your Europe says your bank must charge the same for euro payments across the EU, including ATM withdrawals, as for equivalent national transactions. The same official site lists a fee charged by the ATM owner as a possible extra cost, and the rule covers euro transactions only.12
In the official wording: Your bank must charge you the same rate for payments in euro across the EU as it does for equivalent national transactions.
2
“If your card is cloned while travelling in the EU, your loss is capped”
Verdict: Backed by an official source. Your Europe states that for unauthorised payments you can be asked to pay at most €50, and nothing when you were unaware of the loss, theft or misappropriation (for example a cloned card).2 Check the latest: European Commission, Payments, transfers and cheques
In the official wording: In all cases, you can only be asked to pay a maximum of €50 towards the cost of the fraudulent payments.
2 Check the latest: European Commission, Payments, transfers and cheques
What these verdicts cannot tell you
Each verdict says what the official sources we read state, for the places they cover. Rules change, and the booking's own terms can give you more than the law requires. This is not legal or financial advice: check the official page, or the authority, before you rely on a rule.
What this page cannot tell you
- Official sources only. We did not use airline, hotel, booking-site or blog claims as evidence.
- Rules change. Check the linked official page before you rely on any of this.
Related: Travel hacks, checked · EU flight delay compensation · Pay in local currency or home currency?.
Key takeaways
- Read the verdict, then the official page linked under each answer.
- Where official sources say nothing, we say so rather than guess.
- What we would skip: any travel hack that does not say which rule or source it comes from.
Sources
Every verdict rests on official pages saved on 5 October 2026; claims with no official evidence say so. See how we research.
- European Commission, Your Europe, Pricing, payments and price discrimination in the EU. Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
- European Commission, Your Europe, Payments, transfers and cheques. Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
- legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012, regulation 6A. Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Changes made. We summarised the official pages in our own words and gave each claim a verdict: backed, partly true, contradicted (official sources say otherwise) or no official evidence. The verdicts are ours, from what those pages state. US rules are quoted from the Code of Federal Regulations edition of 1 January 2025 unless a later notice is cited.