US Credit Cards in OZ--Chip & Signature?

I've been round and round with my credit card companies about needing a PIN with my chip for travel in Australia. So I got a PIN. But wait--it's only good for a cash advance! Not for the usual Chip & PIN that's needed. So I'm stuck with a chip & signature.

I understand that this is a problem at kiosks and other unmanned points of sale. But what about restaurants, shops, etc.? Am I OK there? Chase told me that "VISA is working with merchants overseas to facilitate a positive experience for cardholders". Yeah, whatever THAT means...

Thanks for whatever help you can give me!

Had the same experience in Copenhagen. Was assured by credit card that my chip & signature will be honored but was still required in grocery to enter pin code. Back home, someone said you just have to enter 1234. Havent tried it though.

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We used both chip and signature and "regular" magnetic strip cards in NZ and Aus last March. As they say down under, no worries mate :)

I've been round and round with my credit card companies about needing a PIN with my chip for travel in Australia. So I got a PIN. But wait--it's only good for a cash advance! Not for the usual Chip & PIN that's needed. So I'm stuck with a chip & signature.

 

I understand that this is a problem at kiosks and other unmanned points of sale. But what about restaurants, shops, etc.? Am I OK there? Chase told me that "VISA is working with merchants overseas to facilitate a positive experience for cardholders". Yeah, whatever THAT means...

 

Thanks for whatever help you can give me!

The only problem is if you get a shop assistant who doesn't know what they are doing.

Have you considered just getting a different credit card? There are plenty of CC companies out there that would love your business and will issue you a chip-and-pin card WITH a usable pin. It would take care of any uncertainty regarding whether you will have problems with your current card!

A quick search around the board would reveal many threads on the topic. You DON'T need a chip and PIN card for Australia (or for Europe, for that matter). Chip and signature is fine. You might see references to Australians being required to have PIN and chip, but that DOESN'T apply to foreign travelers.

Have you considered just getting a different credit card? There are plenty of CC companies out there that would love your business and will issue you a chip-and-pin card WITH a usable pin. It would take care of any uncertainty regarding whether you will have problems with your current card!

I did a search, and the only ones with Chip and PIN have foreign transaction fees, which I certainly don't want. Found one card that would work, but you have to be Turkish to get one! :eek:

A quick search around the board would reveal many threads on the topic. You DON'T need a chip and PIN card for Australia (or for Europe, for that matter). Chip and signature is fine. You might see references to Australians being required to have PIN and chip, but that DOESN'T apply to foreign travelers.

I went back 6 months and found nothing. Didn't do a CC search because for some reason everything seems to come up from 2011 and 2012 rather than recent, so why bother? I just did one and found recent info, so, my mistake, sorry.

Spent 2 and a bit weeks "Down Under" last year - FNQ and Sydney - armed with only my WF Visa "Chip and Signature" CC and Debit Card. As they also say, "she'll be right..."

Went to the Capital One website yesterday and thought I would put in the details of when we would be in New Zealand and Australia for outr cruise. With the chip on the credit card they no longer need vacation notices. did have them send me a pin to play it safe.

It has been a while since I've looked at this forum, so am very late to this discussion. But we have Barclaycard Arrival + cards, and have used them with no problems at one of the tests for North American chip and pin credit cards -- at an unmanned rural gas station in Iceland!

We used our Bank Of America travel rewards VISA in Europe this summer. We used it in place of our debit card for ATM cash withdrawals (the new ones do have chip and pin) so no transaction fees or ATM fees (if we used our regular debit card we had ATM fees).

I was under the impression that Chip and PIN credit cards were still hard to find in the USA.

All my credit cards have been replaced by chip and signature cards.

When we visited Denmark and Norway in 2014, I discovered that you needed to tell the teller at the store or waitress at the restaurant that you wanted to pay via chip and signature. We had no problem after we discovered this. The first time, we didn't know and the waitress had it set for chip and pin and she didn't know how to cancel and go with signature, so we paid in cash.

We are going to Australia and NZ in Spring of 2018. Hopefully, the advice from this thread that we are good with chip and signature is still good.

Yes, just tell them before they start the transaction. If the assistant is 15 and it is her or his first casual job, they may not even know about signing. But for sure they will be able to find someone who does.

My daughter is 38 and she says she has no idea what to do with a cheque!

Well, you just never know when you are going to stumble onto a solution...

My Target RED Master Card has a Chip & PIN setup. It never occurred to me to look into whether I could use it overseas. I just spoke with them, and yes, I can use it anywhere that accepts Chip & PIN. And NO foreign transaction fees!!

I do believe I have a new travel credit card. :):):)

Yes, just tell them before they start the transaction. If the assistant is 15 and it is her or his first casual job, they may not even know about signing. But for sure they will be able to find someone who does.

My daughter is 38 and she says she has no idea what to do with a cheque!

Even 15 year olds are perfectly capable of reading what the instructions on the eftpos tells them !

Our motto when I was teaching was "never assume anything," but to me it is just a little courtesy to alert the person that you are presenting a card which will not work in the normal way (normal for here)

As a frequent international traveler we value having a working Chip/PIN card as just one more important travel tool. But for most (and there are some exceptions) face to face transactions down under (or in Europe) a Chip/Signature card will suffice. However, the lack of a chip/PIN card can be a real issue if you need to use various credit card vending machines such as auto ticket machines in train stations, auto pumps in gas stations, etc.

It is now possible to get Chip/PIN cards in the USA...although they are still few and far between. Ours is a fee free Visa issued by Andrews Federal Credit Union...but there are now quite a few other options. Try using Google to find options and specifically look for cards that are "EMV" capable. EMV is the standard used throughout Europe and most of the world.

Hank