Hettyb

You can use mastercard in Ikea but you have to show your passport.

El Capitan

or any other photo ID will normally suffice.

VonRyan

Thanks for the info. We should be OK then as we are off to IKEA as soon as we get off the plane

Do you know if the same applies for AKI?

Cleri

Aki will just be normal pin number in the machine no passport needed.

VonRyan

Thanks Cleri

Garden furniture here we come Just hope we get the weather to use it

Cleri

Could you bring me a canoe over

VonRyan

I would do but I need it here but it seems it's slightly warmer in England than in Portugal. How crazy is that

Cleri

yup,its nasty here....................
Just looked at the long range forecast,wish i hadnt
bloody selfish i call it,my need is greater than yours

TaviraTrog

But maybe not mine.

Magick

If you are going to use any credit card abroad I would check first with your provider that you are authorised to use it before you fly.

I got caught out by not advising my credit card company and had to wait for 4 hours at Lisbon airport while it was processed - they originally told me it would take 24 hours to process - as you can imagine I was not jumping for joy at that point :curse:

jdr

I thought credit cards were world wide, or is it a tesco one. ;-)

Magick

Hiya, I too thought that credit cards were designed to be used worldwide - but apparently not if you have a Marks and Spencer chargecard

SMENI

You should ensure you have the "Visa" or "Mastercard" symbol on your credit card. If you receive a new credit card before you travel, always remember to ring the company who issued it to ensure it is activated. If you intend using the card for a reasonably large purchase(s) whilst abroad, always advise them first - part of safety procedures. If phone call is needed, make sure you have a password system in place that you can remember! Think that's all!

VonRyan

Thanks for all the help with using credit cards. I called my credit card company before I left, just to make sure we didn't have a problem at the checkout.

At both IKEA and AKI I only needed to enter my pin number and didn't need my passport.

One problem I did encounter in smaller shops was that they only accept a Multi Banco card, How do I go about getting one of these for future use?

Cleri

Presuming you have a portuguese bank account,just ask the bank for one,no doubt you will have to fill in a form (or 10 ) or if you have online banking with them,I would guess you could apply on line.
Some of the shops we use,dont even take MB,so we have cheques with us too.