Don't worry about needing a chip/pin credit card...

Unless you need to buy something from a machine alone, we had no problems anywhere in the Baltic and Scandinavia using our signature credit card the last two weeks. Even in Helsinki where we had been warned that everything had been converted to chip and pin cards, the people we dealt with seemed surprised that we would even ask whether they accepted a signature card. As I thought, no place set up for tourists will turn away money just because the type of card.

Agreed. A friend just came back from 3 weeks in Norway and surrounding areas. He reported zero problems not having a PIN and chip card, with the commonly reported exceptions of a few unstaffed train station locations.

This mirrors my own experience in Europe last May/June, where out of 50 or so charge attempts, our (non PIN and chip)cards were declined exactly 1 time. We didn't try to charge in small Mom and Pop type locations and cafes.

And we will be there again in 4 days, still without PIN and chip cards.

good to hear!! thanks!!

Thanks for sharing this information.

Keith

Great to hear!!! Thanks for sharing this information, now I just have to wait two more weeks for my Eclipse cruise!!:):)

As I've repeatedly said, the magnetic card without PIN is now a historical remnant from the U.S., as is the magnetic card itself. It is not officially supported/issued any longer in the European Payment Area. Any vendor accepting such cards is only doing it as a service, at their own risk, and being liable to having to cover any fraudulent transactions themselves. The large chains have as far as I know forbidden the staff from accepting any non-PIN cards.

The sooner you pressure your U.S. banks to issue the chip and pin cards, the better for everyone. We're not selling even timber in inches here any longer, mind you.

As I thought, no place set up for tourists will turn away money just because the type of card.

I guess some of us like to go to places that are not set up for tourists. ;)

I hope to have a true chip and pin card by the next time I go back to Europe.

I guess some of us like to go to places that are not set up for tourists. ;)

 

I hope to have a true chip and pin card by the next time I go back to Europe.

Yep, good idea. Supermarkets and convenience stores don't target tourists, but can still be useful for the tourist, especially if not only on short visit day cruises, but actually staying in cities for a while. You might be able to get by without one, but some places expect you to fit in with local customs more than others.

As I've repeatedly said, the magnetic card without PIN is now a historical remnant from the U.S., as is the magnetic card itself.

 

The sooner you pressure your U.S. banks to issue the chip and pin cards, the better for everyone.

I agree - and I've repeatedly done this. Chip and pin is so much more secure, and It's frustrating to travel outside the country and not have confidence that I'll be able to use my card. With just one short day in most ports, having the flexibility to use ticket machines can make a difference, especially if you want to stray from the main tourist trail.

I'm going to carry both, just to be sure :cool:

I guess some of us like to go to places that are not set up for tourists. ;)

 

I hope to have a true chip and pin card by the next time I go back to Europe.

My point was not to advocate the old cards. It's just that many of us don't have the new chip and pin cards yet. I have been asking my local banks for a year now about getting one and it was ' no can do'. It wasn't until a month before my trip I read here about a couple places that would issue them. When I called, there wasn't time to process getting a new card.

I went on my cruise worried that I'd have a problem. I wanted to assure others on cruises, that it wasn't a problem at all for those spending single day in port.

Yep, good idea. Supermarkets and convenience stores don't target tourists, but can still be useful for the tourist, especially if not only on short visit day cruises, but actually staying in cities for a while. You might be able to get by without one, but some places expect you to fit in with local customs more than others.

I used my no pin card in both markets and a pharmacy on my recent trip without a problem. Again, I am not advocating no pin credit cards... I'm just reassuring others that they will be okay.

I don't have a PIN for my MasterCard, and it was declined on three occasions during my recent Baltic cruise. I was able to use the card with my signature at my Copenhagen and Stockholm hotels, but shop personnel when we were in port (Poland, Lithuania, Estonia) wouldn't accept the card.

BofA offers a chip and signature card...haven't used it yet, so don't know if it will be any better than our "regular" card...but will bring both just in case!

I went on my cruise worried that I'd have a problem. I wanted to assure others on cruises, that it wasn't a problem at all for those spending single day in port.

Very glad to hear this. Thank you!

BofA offers a chip and signature card...haven't used it yet, so don't know if it will be any better than our "regular" card...but will bring both just in case!

A Chip and signature card is officially treated the same in the European Payment Area as a Chip and PIN card the user has forgotten the PIN of, that equals badly.

I used my no pin card in both markets and a pharmacy on my recent trip without a problem. Again, I am not advocating no pin credit cards... I'm just reassuring others that they will be okay.

Again, it depends where you go. It's not a blanket statement that chip and pins will be required at every establishment, but you shouldn't make a blanket statement that cards without chip and pin will be accepted everywhere.

Again, it depends where you go. It's not a blanket statement that chip and pins will be required at every establishment, but you shouldn't make a blanket statement that cards without chip and pin will be accepted everywhere.

I agree!! Just got back from a long Norwegian cruise today and had problems there using my non chip/pin card... Many places wouldn't accept credit cards at all for tourist services and others ran cards via iPads and wifi with adapters that only accepted chip cards... Other places took our cards with no problem. Definitely do not assume anything when it comes to credit cards and tiny Norwegian towns... And don't count on ATMs being available or accepting your card either! Big towns were fine. Smaller ones were not.

I am British born and raised, now US based. I have never had a problem in the UK with my US card at all, but Norway was a different situation. Frankly, I would advocate bucket loads of cash if you're going there... Not even a chip/pin card would have helped me in some ports.

In the big discount/grocery store at Fields shopping center in Copenhagen we couldn't use our standard US issue Chase card. They held our purchases while we went to the ATM in the center of the shopping center to get cash. We didn't have a problem with the card anywhere else on the Copenhagen to NYC transatlantic cruise.

I've never had a visitor have a problem using a magnetic strip card anywhere in Oslo. However, I have known places that cannot accept foreign cards, even if it's chip-and-pin. :( Luckily ATMs take magnetic strip cards too. ;)

Again, it depends where you go. It's not a blanket statement that chip and pins will be required at every establishment, but you shouldn't make a blanket statement that cards without chip and pin will be accepted everywhere.

You are right that I shouldn't state categorically that they will be accepted everywhere. I was trying to reassure people not to panic like I was doing just before our trip. We just spent 30 days going to the UK, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands and never once did we have a problem using our chip less credit card. Maybe we were lucky. But reports here before I left made it sound like it was going to be a major problem. It wasn't.

The only place I was unable to use my regular credit card in the two weeks we spent in Northern Europe was at the 711 outside of the Nordhavn train station in Copenhagen. However, I didn't need a chip and pin card, just my debit card and pin number. Everywhere else took the swipe and sign card just fine, though one restaurant (in Tivoli) did charge a small fee for doing so.

You are right that I shouldn't state categorically that they will be accepted everywhere. I was trying to reassure people not to panic like I was doing just before our trip. We just spent 30 days going to the UK, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands and never once did we have a problem using our chip less credit card. Maybe we were lucky. But reports here before I left made it sound like it was going to be a major problem. It wasn't.

If all you do is walk through the usual chain of sights and restaurants, then your magnetic non-PIN might do, as the vendors voluntarily take the security risks onto themselves.

However, if you even slightly deviate the touristey path into the echelons of normal life and a normal shops, no, you will not get away with a non-PIN card, at least here in Finland.

The layer of the touristey universe is especially thin in the Nordic countries, and you have been warned.

Get you chip-and pin as soon as you can, not those chips and signatures oddities. It must have a PIN, remember that.

I managed OK with my VISA Debit Card which I had to use as a swipe and sign card, even though in theory it has a PAYWAVE EMV chip embedded in it. I simply told vendors that I need to sign for it.

No problem at ATMs, even in Russia. But the fee at the Cruise terminal ATM for around $50 of rubles was $11.53. Yikes!

If you are renting a car, you might need a chip and pin card to buy gas at automated gas stations. My relative need to use his card at a gas station for me. There is no attendant around to ask for swipe and sign.

American banks are simply clueless. I will have a long discussion with PNC to educate them about the facts of life and EMV vs PAYWAVE when I get back home. I got conflicting information before I left. And incorrect information from the person at there foregn customer support number.

I find it unbelievable in this age of fraudsters that US credit and debit cards are used without a chip and pin. On a recent holiday in France I attempted to use my MasterCard CC which has no foreign transaction charges. However, it was a new card and I thought the PIN was the same as the previous one, but it wasn't.

I tried to use it in a couple of places, asking if I could sign for the goods, I showed my passport too, but everywhere the answer was 'non'. I ended up having to use my debit card which has fairly hefty charges. At the beginning of September we will be on a Baltic cruise, but I now have everything in place to use it again.