Should I get a physical or virtual credit card to travel to Western Europe?

The question I’d ask, is whether you will encounter any places that will take a virtual card but not a physical one?

I suspect not, as of today. In which case the virtual card has no advantage and some possible disadvantage.

I travel with four cards, all physical. Visa credit, Mastercard Credit, spare credit card to lock in the hotel safe in case the others get stolen, and a currency card. The last (Wise brand) is like a local currency debit card to use. The advantage is that you convert between currencies in advance (can be just a short while in advance, through your mobile phone) and the exchange rates are better than with the credit cards. Anyway, whatever mayhem might occur with computer networks or pickpockets, I’ve still got something that I can pay with!

Ccredit cards do have an edge should you ever need to dispute anything. The legal framework is that the card issuer has to prove that you owe them the money (in the UK. Other jurisdictions may vary). With a debit card the money is plain gone, not still in your bank and disputably owed to a card company. So I’d never pay for a future service with a debit card.

Apart from the other answers, which are really good already, there is a very important additional point. At least in Germany, there are vendors (even supermarkets!) that DO NOT ACCEPT credit cards of any brand. They may have wireless POS capabilities, but only accept "GiroCard" or Maestro. Make sure you ask beforehand or have enough cash on you.

There are a lot of good answers, so I will refrain from repeating those points, it’s established well why a physical card is beneficial. I’d contribute to the kind of physical card you should have, as not every vendor is supported. In Europe, you should be good with with MasterCard or VISA, as it is widely accepted, other than e.g. AmericanExpress or others.

As you already have a MasterCard debit card, one could say there is no further benefit in having a MasterCard credit card purely from a technological compatibility perspective. However, as others mentioned, there are a few services that require a credit card, most prominent are car rentals and also some hotels. If you have booked everything in that regard, your debit card could suffice.

However, you should definitely consider having cash on you at all times, not much but enough to handle minor situations without inconvenience. You want a scoop of ice cream from the stand around the corner? They will probably only take cash. You need a bottle of water while in a park? Mostly probably only cash. You might also be unlucky with e.g. getting a taxi in non-metropolitan areas and the list goes on, so keep at least around ~50€/CHF in your pocket for emergencies.

There are many good answers already, and having had my troubles with cards throughout Europe, let me try to put forth another answer.

You mentioned you are from South Korea, so I assume your bank is also based there.

More often than not, paying with a credit card incurs some extra fees that debit cards do not. Check with your bank if that’s the case. I have yet to see a super market that didn’t have contactless payments in the past few years, so I think your debit card is fine. However, many vending machines and ticket machines sometimes require you to insert the physical card, so Samsung/Apple Pay might not be an option there.

However, with a credit card, it’s bank’s money that you use first, and comes with better protection against stolen/skimmed cards. I personally never had any problems, but a friend of mine had some money taken from her card. We were in Germany, and the charge was made in Bosnia, and it was easy to inform the bank and reverse the charge a few weeks later.

Car rentals, in-flight purchases, etc. often require a credit card, and I highly doubt Samasung/Apple pay can help anyone there.

Contactless payments also often have a lower limit. Sometimes it requires the card holder to enter the PIN, or sometimes to downright insert the physical card.

With all that said, I think your best option would be to obtain a physical debit card, a credit card, and setup your phone with both of them. This way, you can have all the backups you need. Pay with your phone when it works, with debit cards otherwise, and use the credit card if you were to rent a car. If the credit card company does not charge a fee for foreign transactions, use the credit card whenever you can.

There’s quite a few reasons why only having a virtual card may not be a good idea:

• There are probably still a few places where they have a POS terminal which does not accept contactless. It is becoming quite rare, but in places where amounts are nearly always over the limit for contactless, they have little incentive to change.

• In some places terminals or the POS system beside it do not activate the contactless feature if the amount is over the current local limit for physical contactless cards. Haven’t seen the case recently, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it still existed.

• Phones need batteries. And they always run out when you’re travelling.

• The credit card is also your backup to draw cash from an ATM. No contactless there in the vast majority of cases.

• In some places like hotels, they still like to see the physical card with a name on it and blah blah. A holdout of the days before 3D secure or chip and pin, but habits stick.

• “Contacless payment failed. Please insert card”. I kid you not, I’ve seen these kind of messages (common with a physical contactless card) even when paying with Apple Pay.

Having only a virtual card puts you one dropped/stolen phone away from having real trouble paying for things, possibly rather important things. Even a flat battery can make life difficult.

I’d say that’s the biggest risk.

If you have an existing card (e.g. your debit card) that’s expensive to use abroad but reliable for emergency use, you might* be OK with your primary on your phone. But as you mention France and Italy, cash will be useful too – probably not essential, but certainly useful (apparently also in Switzerland).

Further, it depends on the nature of the trip. If everything is prepaid and you’re not hiring cars, you have more chance of getting away without a physical credit card. Hotels that allow charging to the room (and even some budget ones that don’t) take credit card details on arrival to cover charges etc. I wouldn’t like to rely on a virtual card for those. Some prepaid tickets and bookings expect
to see the original card used for the booking. As an example, until recently, train ticket collection machines in the UK required the physical card to be inserted (no contactless support; the ticket office could help when it’s open, if you speak the language).

Note that cash can be useful too in some circumstances. Small businesses may not accept cards (or may have minimum card transaction limits, or prefer cash). This is especially true for things like markets and if you’re visiting sparsely-populated areas without the connectivity required for cards – just where you might want a souvenir, or have little-to-no choice of where to eat.

* But deposits for things like hire cars and some hotels really do want a credit card so whether a debit card will serve as backup depends on the trip. These are the same places that may not be able/willing to take a virtual card.

"Europe" is a big place. The situation regarding acceptance is going to vary significantly depending where you are.

Where I am in Germany, contactless payments (either with a card, or mobile phone-based system) are widely accepted, but far from universal. There is still a small but significant number of shops, cafes, and restaurants where a physical card would be required (indeed, some where cash would be required). I’d consider it a significant advantage to have a physical card for any trip here.