There can be nothing more embarrassing than your credit card getting rejected while paying for a particular item or service in a foreign country. Not only will the business owner look at you with suspicion, even your family will get upset with your unpreparedness for the trip. There are two reasons why your credit card will get rejected in a different country.

One of the reasons is the lack of information to your credit card lender. With credit card frauds increasing by the day, most card lenders block the card immediately when a transaction occurs in a country different from the one it was intended for use. The director for consumer research and marketing at a leading credit card comparison website, Ben Woolsey, says that this is common occurrence when US cards are used in Western European countries without prior information to the bank.

The other reason for rejection could be the technological incompatibility. The cards issued in the United States have a different technology as compared to the cards issued in the European countries. While the former uses the "swipe and sign" technology, the latter uses the "chip and pin" technology which offers better security and protection from fraud. While the cards from US will be accepted by most hotels and retail chains, customers will have problems using it in toll booths, kiosks at train station and other places that use automated systems. Woolsey says that the solution to this problem is to book your train tickets in advance on the internet. Carrying a small amount of cash, instead of using credit cards, to pay at toll booths, metro stations and parking lots is also recommended.