Chip and pin credit card -- availability

[-Lew-]

 

For those of us that aren't able to pay off each month, what is the rate you got on your Andrews CU card? I see no mention in this entire thread. Thanks

The last eBill I downloaded from Andrews in January 2914 shows an APR of 1.9% on purchases and cash advances! Quite remarkable!

 

I've attached a screen show for the inevitable disbelievers... :rolleyes:

 

Lew

 

[cruising in mn]

That is great interest! I might look into that card myself! Thanks ;-)

[cpl100]

Must admit that we have a love/hate relationship with AMEX. It is a great card with a very high credit limit and they are 2nd to none in dealing with issues like unauthorized charges. But, unless you have a Platinum Card (which costs over $400 a year) you will be charged 2.7% on every foreign transaction. In addition, many restaurants and shops will not accept AMEX because they charge the merchants more money then Visa or MC. And by the way, we have both a Visa and a MC that charge zero foreign exchange fees...and those cards have zero annual fees (unlike AMEX).

 

Hank

 

You have mentioned your Andrews CU Visa so I believe that is what you are probably referencing. I went to their site and they offer a Platinum card and a Global card. Which is the one that is chip/pin?

 

Also, would you mind sharing which MC has no fees/foreign exchange fees? Thanks.

[Shopinpat]

I have been looking towards a chip and pin for a long time. I was told yesterday from Cap 1 that they are working on it.

 

My other question for all you avid travelers is Have you found that more and more retailers in Europe are charging you a fee if you use a credit card no matter which one you use? Where have you found the best place to exchange money for euros? Is it wise to get it from a bank in the states as opposed to exchanging in europe?

[-Lew-]

 

You have mentioned your Andrews CU Visa so I believe that is what you are probably referencing. I went to their site and they offer a Platinum card and a Global card. Which is the one that is chip/pin?

It's the GlobeTrek Visa Rewards Card.

 

Lew

 

 

[-Lew-]

 

I have been looking towards a chip and pin for a long time. I was told yesterday from Cap 1 that they are working on it.

 

My other question for all you avid travelers is Have you found that more and more retailers in Europe are charging you a fee if you use a credit card no matter which one you use? Where have you found the best place to exchange money for euros? Is it wise to get it from a bank in the states as opposed to exchanging in europe?

Cap1 already issues chip & pin cards in Canada. They could start issuing them in the US today if they really wanted to.

 

We have never been charged a fee for using a credit card in Europe. The best place to obtain euros is at an ATM in europe. See the link to an article by Peter Greenberg I posted recently on this board.

 

Lew

[cpl100]

A few of the major retailers in NY already have equipment installed for the chip/pin transacations.

 

Just chiming in here with an odd experience from this week --

 

I have my new Andrews CC and want to use it a few times before our trip, to assure all is well.

I was excited to learn that our local Walmart Stores are now processing cards like this.

 

All excited, I ran over to Walmart after work, grabbed a few small items and checked out, using my new Andrews CC.

I stuck the card in, the transaction was processed, I removed my card as instructed, and was handed a receipt and a thank you!

 

BUMMER -- Much to my dismay....I was never asked for a PIN or a signature!

 

So now, I know I can buy stuff with it.....but I still don't know if the CHIP/PIN part of it works! HAHA!

 

That night I wondered if perhaps the purchase needs to be of a certain value and I didn't spend enough? Many stores now do not even make you sign with your old CC if the purchase is less than $25 or so. Wonder if that's the case with triggering the PIN entry?

 

I'll be calling Andrews in the morning. :cool:

 

I am not positive but I believe the thresh hold for Walmart is $25.

[cpl100]

If you decide to go the Andrews Credit Union method and are in a hurry, I recommend you just open the savings account portion to start. I thought I'd like to have the back up checking account for the debit card but am now going through additional 'hoops' for that. So that method seems to be taking longer than others have posted.

 

FYI and HTH

[marazul]

To all who recommended the Andrews FCU credit card - THANK YOU!

 

We got back from Europe yesterday and were able to use the chip and pin feature often. Many times, it defaulted to chip only in small purchases.

 

Also, we deposited sufficient funds in the Andrews Savings account to cover trip expenses and used the ATM card with no problems at all.

 

Before going on the trip, we used the message function in the Andrews Smart Connect feature to give them our itinerary and dates before departure.

 

As loyal credit union members for many years, we are very happy to be new members of Andrews.

[buggins0402]

There have been so many questions regarding chip and pin cards on the port boards and appearantly so much confusion that I sent an e mail to the travel writer for our city newspaper linking this thread and one on the Northern European board. She seemed interested and plans to contact someone who can answer questions better than the clueless phone reps many of us have encountered at the credit card companies.

 

The travel writer did write a column about the CC issue....here it is!

 

http://www.freep.com/article/20140811/COL21/308110001/chip-and-pin-credit-cards

[alise007]

A guy on Flyer Talk forums has compiled a whole list of the chip and pin credit cards. I ended up with the State Department CC. Have been using it in Europe for the past year. Seems that the only country we ever use our PIN is in Belgium!

 

There have been a few times we have had problems with all credit cards at train machines in Paris. We are lucky enough to have a German bank debit card as back up but mostly use our State Dept one....the foreign transaction fee savings alone are worth it!!!! Adds up quickly. Of course in a lot of restaurants they want cash regardless and will point you to the nearest ATM machine!

[-Lew-]

 

A guy on Flyer Talk forums has compiled a whole list of the chip and pin credit cards.

Interesting…could you please provide a link?

 

Lew

[cruisemom42]

Interesting…could you please provide a link?

 

Lew

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1304271-usa-emv-cards-available-today-chip-pin-chip-signature.html

 

Scroll down to Post #1 and you'll see the link to the Google docs spreadsheet.

[-Lew-]

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1304271-usa-emv-cards-available-today-chip-pin-chip-signature.html

 

Scroll down to Post #1 and you'll see the link to the Google docs spreadsheet.

Wow! That was quick!

 

Thank you… :)

 

Lew

[buggins0402]

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1304271-usa-emv-cards-available-today-chip-pin-chip-signature.html

 

Scroll down to Post #1 and you'll see the link to the Google docs spreadsheet.

 

Looking at the list there are still none that fit your original criteria, or am I missing one that does?

 

The vast majority on the list appear to be chip and signs.

[cruisemom42]

Looking at the list there are still none that fit your original criteria, or am I missing one that does?

 

The vast majority on the list appear to be chip and signs.

 

You're right. I've actually reviewed that spreadsheet several times in the past and just wasn't finding the "Holy Grail" that I'm looking for, hence my original query.

 

Still holding out for perfection.....:D

[Charles4515]

You're right. I've actually reviewed that spreadsheet several times in the past and just wasn't finding the "Holy Grail" that I'm looking for, hence my original query.

 

Still holding out for perfection.....:D

 

Most of the mainstream US credit card issuers are going issue Chip and Signature with their initial EMV cards. They won't issue Chip and Pin for several years, if ever.

[-Lew-]

 

Most of the mainstream US credit card issuers are going issue Chip and Signature with their initial EMV cards. They won't issue Chip and Pin for several years, if ever.

The millions of credit card terminals in the US will not be upgraded to accept chip cards overnight. I have a feeling our credit cards will continue to be swiped for a few years at least.

 

I'd like to see those financial institutions who issue credit cards with no foreign exchange fees issue chip & pin cards. It just makes sense..if they feel it's important enough to absorb those fees in order to attract international travelers, it's important enough to offer chip & pin cards.

 

Lew

[buggins0402]

You're right. I've actually reviewed that spreadsheet several times in the past and just wasn't finding the "Holy Grail" that I'm looking for, hence my original query.

 

Still holding out for perfection.....:D

 

I'm hoping some of our current cc's convert to chip and pin by the time of our next trip. Both airline cards and a hotel cc card are still mag strip. My luck when they convert they'll go chip and sign.

 

They all have annual fees, which we've accepted as a necessary evil to accumulate the points.

 

Next trip to Europe will probably be a land Poland, so as it gets close I'll have to reassess how much that country has converted to chip and pin.

Edited August 21, 2014 by buggins0402

[Twickenham]

Next trip to Europe will probably be a land Poland, so as it gets close I'll have to reassess how much that country has converted to chip and pin.

 

Was in Warsaw for a few days in July. IIRC, the terminals were equipped to accept both the chip and to swipe; seem to recall at least once my card was swiped because the chip didn't work (AMEX, their chips tend to be a bit iffy). Wasn't a big deal.

[Turtles06]

I'd like to see those financial institutions who issue credit cards with no foreign exchange fees issue chip & pin cards. It just makes sense..if they feel it's important enough to absorb those fees in order to attract international travelers, it's important enough to offer chip & pin cards.

 

Lew

 

I could not agree with you more. I have the United Explorer card from Chase. It's specifically aimed at international travelers; indeed, a big part of the marketing hype is "no foreign transaction fees." You would think then that Chase would make it a priority to issue this card as a chip and pin, but noooo. I've called them several times this year to ask about this, as recently as yesterday, and all they can tell me is that "they are working on it" but they have no idea when they will issue a chip and pin card.

 

So yesterday, I joined the Andrews Federal Credit Union and, once I had my member number, applied on line for their Globetrek Visa chip and pin card (no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees); my application was approved instantly and I should have my card within two weeks.

 

Sorry Chase, you are really behind the times here.

[CruisesOnMyMind]

Could not find the answer to this.....Does the pin number for a chip and pin card HAVE to be 4 digits in Europe? I heard this somewhere and just want to confirm a 5 digit number will work.

Edited August 24, 2014 by CruisesOnMyMind

[Charles4515]

Could not find the answer to this.....Does the pin number for a chip and pin card HAVE to be 4 digits in Europe? I heard this somewhere and just want to confirm a 5 digit number will work.

 

 

Most travel sites advise a 4 digit pin. 5 might not always work.

[slidergirl]

I had a guest check in tonight with a pure chip & pin card. He was not from the the US. His Visa card had NO mag strip on it. A little pain for me - Had to enter the number by hand, and it came up that I had to call Visa to get a voice authorization. Just added a few minutes of extra time at checkin. I've had other out-of-country cards, but this one was the first without a strip. I can see that poor guest having tons of trouble with that card in the US, poor guy.

[anthonyy7]

I know I may have problems using my CC in Euro but will I have any trouble withdrawing cash from an ATM with just a magnetic strip/pin debit card?