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Turks
live on plastic credit cards
just like eveyone else.
When
you travel to Turkey, you can use
your major credit card to pay for
most purchases: hotel
rooms, rental
cars, auto fuel (gasoline/petrol),
airline tickets, fancy dinners,
and the more substantial souvenirs.
I've even seen soft drink machines that
accept credit cards.
The
most popular card is VISA,
followed by MASTERCARD/EUROCARD.
AMERICAN
EXPRESS is accepted in many of the
more expensive places, such as the
luxury hotels.
If
you've bargained for
an item and you haven't mentioned
that you'd be paying by credit card,
the merchant may want to add the credit
card service fee (called komisyon, usually
2% to 4%) to the price you pay, as
that was not included in the deal
you made. This was made illegal in
June 2003, but may still be in practice
(especially with foreign visitors
who are not aware of the law.)
At fuel
stations you may see a sign
which reads %0 Komisyon (0%
Commission). This means that no
credit card service fee will be
charged if you choose to pay for
your fuel by credit card.
Credit
card fraud is rampant in Turkey.
You should check with your
bank's fraud department to
assure they honor your charges, and
don't stop payment on them in the
belief that your card has been stolen
and used illegally. In other words,
tell them that you're going to Turkey
so they're not surprised when charges
show up from Istanbul.
What
It Costs
The
New Turkish Lira (YTL)
Turkish
ATMs (Cash Machines)
Currency
Exchange Offices
Travelers
Checks
Exchange
Rates
Turkish
Money
Tipping
Shopping
in Turkey
Bargaining/Haggling
Travel
Details
Turkey
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