One of the common questions for American express card holders is whether they can pay with their card in Hungary. Is American Express widely accepted in Hungary in 2024? Can they do shopping with their American express card? Is American express card accepted in Budapest restaurants?
Generally speaking, American express card is accepted by majority of shops,restaurants, and Hotels in Hungary. It means that some places may not accept. However, if you are staying in Budapest city center, there are great chances that majority of shops,super markets,restaurants and cafes will accept American express card.
Although Budapest has greater penetration of Card acceptance, the Master and Visa Cards have higher probability of getting accepted than the American express. However, American express is also accepted on a greater degree.
American Express Acceptance in Budapest
Either you are visiting a restaurant,souvenir shops or a supermarket in Hungary, you can check the entrance gate of the shop where they put lot of stickers. Some stickers are related to the fact that those shops or restaurants have been featured in some top websites or magazine. In addition, some places also place stickers about the type of cards they are accepting.
Same is the case with Taxis in Budapest. For all the 8 to 10 registered taxi companies in Budapest, you will find stickers on the right back glass mentioning the type of cards they are accepting. Based upon our experience, some companies do have American Express card stickers,which means 30 percent of taxi companies accept American Express card.
Cash Withdrawal in Budapest ATM Machines
You can withdraw cash with American Express card in Budapest from a limited number of Banks ATMs.
Although the most commonly found ATM machines in Budapest are EuroNet machines which do accept American express.
However, keep in mind that they charge a heft fees for convenience.
Based on our research,we found that OTP Bank ATMs are the widely found ATMs in Budapest and Hungary.
Hence, you can withdraw cash from OTP Bank ATMs with your AMEX card.
We checked the American Express website and notice that majority of their locations supporting American Express card withdrawel in Budapest are also referring to EuroNet and OTP Bank ATMs.Here is the link to check American Express card acceptability for ATMs.
On the other hand, Raiffeisen,ERSTE Bank ATMS do not display any sticker about American Express.
To our surprise, Granit Bank ATMs showed acceptance for American Express card for cash withdrawal. But since it is a small bank, you will find very few ATMs from Granit Bank in Hungary.
UniCredit Bank also mentioned in one of their circular that they accept AmericanExpress,hence,cash withdrawal with UniCredit ATMs is also possible in Hungary.
Is AMEX accepted by Budapest taxis?
As far as American Express acceptance is concerned. According to our research two taxi companies in Budapest are definitely accepting AMEX cards. One is Fo Taxi while the other is Bolt. We are checking with other taxi companies and will update if they also accept AMEX card in Budapest.
Premier Outlet American Express Acceptance
If you are visiting Premier Outlet near Budapest for shopping as with an American Express card, it will be a mixed experience.
Although there are lot of big brands stores in Premier Outlet, but not all of them accept American Express card.
You will find very few stores in Premier outlet accepting the American Express card.
The most common accepted cards in Premier outlet stores are VISA, VISA electron, MasterCard and Maestro Card.
Some stores in Budapest Premier Outlet also accept UnionPay,JCB, Vpay and Edenred cards.
Here are some of the stores in Premier Outlet which accept American Express card.
- Salamander
- GANT
- Nanushka
- Liu Jo
- Kal Langerfield
- CROCS
- ADIDAS
- Thomas Breitling
On the other hand, following brands in Premier Outlet do not accept American express card.
Samsonite,New Balance,Desiguel, Helly Hanson,Pepe Jeans,Retro Jeans,Starbucks,SuperDry,REPLAY,SWAROSKI,Tom Tailor, Levis,Converse,KAZAR.
