Chip and Pin Credit Cards

[martinandmaddy]

We'll be travelling on a western Med cruise on the Insignia in Sept.

For those that have travelled recently to France and Spain, have you found difficulty when presenting a strip type credit card versus the chip and pin which are more common in Europe? We will be visiting some smaller cities on a few private tours and were wondering what other Oceania cruisers have experienced outside of the port cities.

 

In doing some research, I have only found 1 US company that offers the chip and pin but it comes with a high yearly fee. Is it worth it for sites/towns that might be off the beaten path?

 

Thanks!

[LAexNY]

We recently returned from Spain, France, Portugal, Denmark and Norway. Used our regular strip only credit card everywhere with no problem. In some places, I was asked if I if I had a chip or pin and just said no.

[Paulchili]

You should be fine in most places. Where are likely to encounter problems is in machines - like those for buying train tickets and such; those may not accept your card.

Stores and restaurants will be fine.

[comcox]

Chip and pin cards are required at most train, metro and bus stations as well as many petrol stations. Some grocery stores will only take chip and pin. I have not encountered any problem in hotels. Other places it varies as more and more are set up for chip and pin and staff often don't know how to run a "signature required" process. Safest thing is to use cash as ATMs still work with U.S. bank cards.

 

p.s. several other U.S. banks are beginning to try out chip and pin cards but only offering them to selected clientele to start.

[martinandmaddy]

Thank you everyone! Your experiences are quite helpful. We do plan on using public transportation and you have saved us time standing in line behind everyone else who wanted to use a swipe card. I think that we will invest in the JP Morgan card. Not quite sure why Amex is only offering it to Canadians but not US citizens yet.

 

Great insight and much appreciated!

[commodoredave]

The reason Amex only offers the chip card in Canada may be that Canada went to the chip technology several years ago and all providers now offer it. In fact, I can't think of any card company issuing cards in Canada that does not use chip technology -- as they do in Europe.

[Paulchili]

Good Ole US of A - once upon a time we used to be leaders in the world of technology; now we are slowly sinking to the level of a third world country.....

No bullet trains, no public transport to speak of, education lags behind the rest of "civilized" world, no chips....

[JimandStan]

Good Ole US of A - once upon a time we used to be leaders in the world of technology; now we are slowly sinking to the level of a third world country.....

No bullet trains, no public transport to speak of, education lags behind the rest of "civilized" world, no chips....

 

Ah, but our smart phones and Ipads are the opiate.....er......the envy of teens and twenty-somethings the world over. ;)

 

I'm not a technophobe, but when it is necessary for Oprah to make a public service announcement about how one should not text WHILE DRIVING, something is drastically wrong.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6S2hjS90Aw

 

Madison Avenue caters to that market, so it's no wonder that things are going to hell in a hand-basket (as the whole business is tweeted real time and discussed endlessly on Facebook)

 

((sigh)) I'm afraid that I agree with Alan Greenspan when it comes to "Generation X"

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/07/13/alan-greenspan-its-gen-xers-fault-theyre-out-work/

[Paulchili]

Ah, but our smart phones and Ipads are the opiate.....er......the envy of teens and twenty-somethings the world over. ;)

 

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Not to nit-pick, but I believe they were using phones in Japan to buy things from vending machines and do other such things long before the iPhone. When is the last time you bought an American TV (RCA?)/DVD player/Blu-Ray, camera (Kodak/Brownie?), etc?

I do love the iPhone & iPad though:D

[commodoredave]

Good Ole US of A - once upon a time we used to be leaders in the world of technology; now we are slowly sinking to the level of a third world country.....

No bullet trains, no public transport to speak of, education lags behind the rest of "civilized" world, no chips....

 

And still one of the few countries in the world using imperial measure for liquids/weights and farenheit temps! Now, I must admit that being an old geezer I still struggle in canada with metric and centigrade as I grew up with imperial. But at least I don't have to ask every tour guide around the world to translate the local temps for me like I am some sort of recovering luddite!

[Dmgmd50]

We'll be travelling on a western Med cruise on the Insignia in Sept.

For those that have travelled recently to France and Spain, have you found difficulty when presenting a strip type credit card versus the chip and pin which are more common in Europe? We will be visiting some smaller cities on a few private tours and were wondering what other Oceania cruisers have experienced outside of the port cities.

 

In doing some research, I have only found 1 US company that offers the chip and pin but it comes with a high yearly fee. Is it worth it for sites/towns that might be off the beaten path?

 

Thanks!

 

In Italy, can we use our strip-type card to buy train and metro tickets from vending machines?

[martinandmaddy]

In Italy, can we use our strip-type card to buy train and metro tickets from vending machines?

 

I was told no, which prompted me to start this thread. In my research, I found that most vending machines will not take swipe credit cards. However, others mentioned that their VISA/MC didnt work but found success when they tried their swipe Amex.

 

Some stations are manned with a ticket window. I was warned that the lines can be quite long which means the preference is to use the vending machines. I was also told that some vending machines take coins not bills.

 

Hope that helps!

[jpalbny]

We'll be travelling on a western Med cruise on the Insignia in Sept.

For those that have travelled recently to France and Spain, have you found difficulty when presenting a strip type credit card versus the chip and pin which are more common in Europe? We will be visiting some smaller cities on a few private tours and were wondering what other Oceania cruisers have experienced outside of the port cities.

 

In doing some research, I have only found 1 US company that offers the chip and pin but it comes with a high yearly fee. Is it worth it for sites/towns that might be off the beaten path?

 

Thanks!

 

Last time in France, Sept 2010, no problems. We were in St-Malo, Bordeaux, Nice, and drove from Nice to Paris. Surprisingly for Europe, AMEX was almost universally accepted. Was able to even use my AMEX when I mistakenly got into the unattended lane to pay the "péage" on the highway...

 

Spain - last there in March 2010. One week in Andalusia; don't remember a problem with swipe credit cards either. I did use my debit card to buy groceries without a problem - they have the same swipe terminals at the checkout registers as we have in the US.

 

Italy - have not been there in a few years. Only bought train tix from a manned window in Civitavecchia. Can't remember if I used cash or a cc, sorry.

 

Am actively looking for a chip card though. Will update if any success.

[skigrams]

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/risky-new-bank-card-technology/q98o125g?rel=msn&cpkey=a7a634bd-b78c-467d-9ec9-c792c7884999%7Cconsumer%20reports%7Cmsn%7C%7C

 

I just watched this video and hope this isn't the card you all are talking about. Bobi

[LHT28]

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/risky-new-bank-card-technology/q98o125g?rel=msn&cpkey=a7a634bd-b78c-467d-9ec9-c792c7884999%7Cconsumer%20reports%7Cmsn%7C%7C

 

I just watched this video and hope this isn't the card you all are talking about. Bobi

Thanks Bobi

I have one of those cards :eek:

[Paulchili]

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/risky-new-bank-card-technology/q98o125g?rel=msn&cpkey=a7a634bd-b78c-467d-9ec9-c792c7884999%7Cconsumer%20reports%7Cmsn%7C%7C

 

I just watched this video and hope this isn't the card you all are talking about. Bobi

 

No - the card we are talking about has a chip and requires a PIN as well.

These are not readily available yet in US (if at all), whereas the "pass" cards are readily available.

Though, someone reported similar problems with the chips cards in Europe being read by reading devices, IIRC.

[martinandmaddy]

Last time in France, Sept 2010, no problems. We were in St-Malo, Bordeaux, Nice, and drove from Nice to Paris. Surprisingly for Europe, AMEX was almost universally accepted. Was able to even use my AMEX when I mistakenly got into the unattended lane to pay the "péage" on the highway...

 

Spain - last there in March 2010. One week in Andalusia; don't remember a problem with swipe credit cards either. I did use my debit card to buy groceries without a problem - they have the same swipe terminals at the checkout registers as we have in the US.

 

Italy - have not been there in a few years. Only bought train tix from a manned window in Civitavecchia. Can't remember if I used cash or a cc, sorry.

 

Am actively looking for a chip card though. Will update if any success.

 

Mine arrived today! Now I feel better prepared.

[Paulchili]

Mine arrived today! Now I feel better prepared.

 

Which bank - MC, Visa?

[martinandmaddy]

Which bank - MC, Visa?

 

It was a J.P Morgan Visa Select specifically available for international travellers. It does have the chip/pin as well as the regular swipe.

The link was really hard to find. Not sure if we are allowed to add links but I will try: http://www.chasecreditcards.com/jp-cards.asp

[jpalbny]

It was a J.P Morgan Visa Select specifically available for international travellers. It does have the chip/pin as well as the regular swipe.

The link was really hard to find. Not sure if we are allowed to add links but I will try: http://www.chasecreditcards.com/jp-cards.asp

 

Found this card too, a couple of weeks ago. Zero foreign transaction fees, annual fee waived first year. Applied on a Friday over the phone (just over a week ago) and received in mail yesterday. Will see if it's needed in Norway when we're there this weekend and next week, and update with how it works.

 

It already saved me $24 in transaction fees; used it yesterday to purchase train tickets on Perurail's website for Machu Picchu in November. But that transaction didn't require the chip and PIN.

 

I always try hard to use my AMEX abroad because there's no FTF but in places where I can't, my other MC and Visa both have a FTF of 1-3%. Now this Visa with no FTF is a plus, even without the chip...

[1985rz1]

 

I always try hard to use my AMEX abroad because there's no FTF but in places where I can't, my other MC and Visa both have a FTF of 1-3%. Now this Visa with no FTF is a plus, even without the chip...

 

 

Except for Platinum and Centurion cards, AMEX does charge a 2.7% FTF (http://creditcardforum.com/blog/american-express-foreign-transaction-fee/ and http://www.dailymarkets.com/personal-finance/creditcards/2010/12/27/american-express-eliminates-foreign-currency-transaction-fees-on-u-s-platinum-and-centurion-cards/ ). They used to fold it into their exchange rate, but now it will be listed separately (https://search.americanexpress.com/app/answers/display/a_id/3722/kw/Foreign%20Transactions%20fees/session/L3NpZC9PVjI3Mi16aw%3D%3D). The fee is listed on the fee schedule in the Consumer Agreements for each of the cards that charge it.

[jpalbny]

Except for Platinum and Centurion cards, AMEX does charge a 2.7% FTF...

 

Ours is through BOA. There is no FTF. Guess it's not universal, thanks for clarifying.

[Benita]

With our recent Route of the Vikings Cruise, going to about half a dozen places, I decided to get the "chip and pin" card offered by Travelex. They have a kiosk in our local mall. I purchased cards in the two foreign currencies offered - Pounds and Euros. The cards are free, but the exchange rate is not great, which is how they make their money - they will give you US dollars for whatever is left on the card when you return at the same exchange rate that they used when you loaded the card - provided you do this within 90 days of the original purchase.

The only place I was not able to swipe my Capital One Visa card (no foreign transaction fees) was in a train station in London, and that machine did not accept the Travelex card either. The card could be used in ATM's but the only machines that accepted it were ones that did not charge a transaction fee, like Barclay's and Travelex. All restaurants and shops had the machines that would swipe a US credit card. I was very happy to exchange what was almost the full amount that I put on each card - my US bank debit card worked in all ATM machines, so they were more useful than the chip and pin cards.

[martinandmaddy]

With our recent Route of the Vikings Cruise, going to about half a dozen places, I decided to get the "chip and pin" card offered by Travelex. They have a kiosk in our local mall. I purchased cards in the two foreign currencies offered - Pounds and Euros. The cards are free, but the exchange rate is not great, which is how they make their money - they will give you US dollars for whatever is left on the card when you return at the same exchange rate that they used when you loaded the card - provided you do this within 90 days of the original purchase.

The only place I was not able to swipe my Capital One Visa card (no foreign transaction fees) was in a train station in London, and that machine did not accept the Travelex card either. The card could be used in ATM's but the only machines that accepted it were ones that did not charge a transaction fee, like Barclay's and Travelex. All restaurants and shops had the machines that would swipe a US credit card. I was very happy to exchange what was almost the full amount that I put on each card - my US bank debit card worked in all ATM machines, so they were more useful than the chip and pin cards.

 

Hi Benita

 

I wanted to drop a quick and important note because a chip and pin credit card is not the same as a Travelex money card. I don't want other travellers getting confused......

[Benita]

Hi Benita

 

I wanted to drop a quick and important note because a chip and pin credit card is not the same as a Travelex money card. I don't want other travellers getting confused......

 

The card that Travelex is selling is a chip and pin debit card, with Travelex being the issuer. It is issued in Euros or British pounds- you load it and can keep adding to it either in person or online. They also sell money cards, which is a different product. Confusing, it is.