Chip and Pin Credit Card from Bank of America

Karen, would you come back and let us know how the BofA chip and pin card worked for you?

Thank you!

Boy, reading this thread takes me back. First off, the BofA travel card is NOT "chip and pin" but rather "chip and signature". And it DOESN'T have any fee for currency conversion :). We used it with no problems on our 2013 Baltic cruise and again this year on a Mediterranean cruise. I kept a record of how much we charged in various countries and compared that to the charge on the card (in dollars). We always got the best conversion rate, no extra charges.

Make sure you have the "travel card". They have several flavors of "chip and signature" cards and believe some of them do charge conversion fees. BofA is not our regular bank so this card only gets used for travel. So far it has worked well.

Hope this helps.

Happy Holidays,

<<<Karen>>>

Thank you Karen! You have answered all the questions we need. BofA is our regular bank, but we currently have no credit cards with them. We are headed to the Baltic next year, so I believe we will be getting this and we will be sure to get the right one.

Happy Holidays to you too!

Beth

Karen, I forgot to ask if you could use it at any of the train machines, like in Copenhagen or London for example? We plan to travel that way in several ports.

Thanks!

No, it won't work in "train" machines as they usually need a "chip and pin" card. Use your ATM card or debit card to get cash in any of the countries you will be visiting. BofA offers good service for getting currency before you go. But.....you need either a debit or saving account with them to do it. If you have one of those use it to get a small amount for each country (no need for rubles in Russia). We got about $50 for each country. Got it all at one time and BofA charged a one time fee of about $7.50 to FedEx it to the bank branch. Came home with some of it but it made a nice souvenir.

Here's a link to our photos from the 2013 cruise (been twice, it's our favorite cruise): https://picasaweb.google.com/116687800070615072409/BalticCruiseOnCrownPrincessJuly13272013?authkey=Gv1sRgCIqA36CHrbnZCg&noredirect=1

Make sure you sign up with the roll call for your cruise. You really need to do a private tour in St Petersburg, NOT a ship's tour. Someone on the roll call will be forming one for sure and you can join up. No need for a visa as the tour company gets it for you. You only need it if you will be DIYing and St Pete is not the best place for a first time visit to try that.

<<<Karen>>>

gkkapp, wow, fantastic photos! Really gets me extra excited about our Baltics next year! Thanks!

Just want to add a little info. We do a lot of international travel and do have a Chip/PIN Global Trek Visa issued through Andrews FCU. The Andrews card will default to Chip/Signature when a signature will do....but will also work as a true EMV Chip/PIN when necessary. The reality is that we have found few European places that cannot accept a magnetic strip card or a Chip/Signature. But there are times when a Chip/PIN is the only way. Some examples are automatic toll booths, parking meters, train ticket machines, automatic gas pumps, etc. I should mention that the gas pump issue is very important to those of us who routinely drive in Europe. In many places, there are no manned gas stations available (especially in the evening and weekends). In those cases a Chip/PIN is accepted at the auto pumps....where nothing else will work.

We have encountered a few situations where the magnetic strip cards are not accepted and most of these problems were in Belgium and some other Northern European countries.

Hank

Really liked the pictures. Could you tell me how long your cruise was and were you on Ship or local excursions. With all you saw in St Petersburg, how long were you there? I have a cruise planned to the Baltics soon. We wont't get to Oslo or Belgium but we do get the others plus Gdanks, Berlin, Allbourg, Stavanger, Flam and Bergen. It's a 2 week cruise. Just wondering and trying to figure things out.

DH thanks Pompeii and Dauntless for their kind words about his photos.

Dauntless- Email me at gkkapp at comcast dot net and I will send you a copy of our trip log. It should answer all your questions. It was a 12 day cruise on Princess round trip Southampton called "Baltic Heritage". Networked with people on the roll call to form a group of 10 for a private tour in St Pete. In 2010 we did a similar cruise with a stop in Gdansk. We did a private tour with others to Stutthof Concentration Camp. Not everyone's cup of tea but very meaningful to me.

<<<Karen>>>

You should start seeing most of the US credit card with true EMV, chip and pin technology throughout 2015. Hopefully then it will be a mute point and you can choose the card you want based on how it works best for you and not for chip/pin functionality.

You should start seeing most of the US credit card with true EMV, chip and pin technology throughout 2015. Hopefully then it will be a mute point and you can choose the card you want based on how it works best for you and not for chip/pin functionality.

Not so sure this is going to happen :(. Recently had a discussion with an executive at our major credit union who said there is a lot of pressure within the banking community (in the USA) to move towards Chip/Signature rather then Chip/PIN. Apparently the changeover to a Pin driven system involves more costs and some other potential administrative problems. The irony is that some experts question whether a Chip/Signature card is really much better then a magnetic strip/signature.

Hank

The irony is that some experts question whether a Chip/Signature card is really much better then a magnetic strip/signature.

 

Hank

I've wondered the very same thing. My BOA chip/signature card was fraudulently used just prior to Thanksgiving. There were only a few places that I used the card - wondering how the card info was stolen/hacked. :(