Vancouver Sky Train

Hello all,

My post here is for informational purposes.

We just returned from an Alaskan Cruise departing from Vancouver. Flying into Vancouver airport, we opted to take the Sky Train to Canada Place. Signs throughout the airport directed us to the Sky Train platform. There were plenty of kiosks to purchase our train tickets. I had previously viewed You Tube videos as to how to operate the ticket kiosk. Extremely simple - enter number of passengers, enter two zone travel, enter method of payment (credit card, debit card, or Canadian currency). Well...when we entered “credit card” and inserted our credit card into the slot the machine asked for our “PIN number”.

American credit cards do not have PIN numbers...only our debit cards. The only recourse we had was to return back to the airport terminal and exchange American currency for Canadian currency (the exchange rate is typically poor in an airport).

Again, this posting is for info purposes. I highly recommend using the Sky Train - approximately 25 minutes from airport to Canada Place - no issues accommodating luggage, no changing trains, and so simple a child could do it. Just have Canadian currency if you typically travel without your debit card.

Happy sailing,

CJ

It's never a bad idea to reinforce this point, so your post is totally valid - but fortunately the US has been slowly joining the civilized world with RFID chips on credit cards and PIN numbers as the norm over the last couple of years, so it shouldn't be more than another couple of years before the problem simply disappears. All new US credit cards issued at this point (and for the last year or two) should have chips as the 'back end' systems that process all cards are now compliant and I now see more POS terminals with Chip & PIN/Paywave capability than not, at least in urban USA. Whenever your card next renews, expect to see a chip - and if you do, but do not also get a separate letter with a PIN, ask your CC provider to supply one!

Until that happy day, locals will continue to warn folks on these boards that you may have problems with US credit cards (and not just on transit - Chip & PIN has been normal for so long in Canada that younger sales clerks might not even know how to override a modern terminal to force it to allow a signature instead of a PIN, so expect delays when shopping or buying meals in restos now & again while a supervisor is found to help out...)

Very soon they will have a credit card tap to enter the gate. Supposed to have started by now. But then I doubt the PIN would be needed but if a US Credit Card then maybe it is a problem. It is meant to speed up the process so you just tap and not buy a ticket at all. Gate opens and you tap departing the train.

https://www.translink.ca/Fares-and-Passes/Tap-to-Pay.aspx

Tap your credit card to enter the train.

May 22/2018

I appreciate this post. I just switched one of my CC accounts to a travel card to avoid the foreign transaction fees. When it comes, I now know that I need a pin! The tap to pay is great for solo travelers but since it requires each passenger to use a unique account that method won't work for my family of 3 all paying with the same CC.

Martincath, CVU, and Anita - thanks for the additional info and comments. I do love these boards and the ability to travel with all your questions answered!

Bon Voyage

CJ

No problemo - thanks for the original post. I'd forgotten exactly when the 'tap RFID cards' launch date was, but that's another very good point from CVU - as well as the additional caveat that you MUST remove the card you want to use from your wallet... otherwise the scanner picks up the strongest signal from all the RFID cards you have or perhaps even multiple cards if you leave it close enough for too long!!!

Locally we're being bombarded with reminders to take Compass cards out of wallets when tapping for this reason - many locals have gotten into the habit of just tapping their wallet/purse with the Compass in it against the sensors as they work just fine through a few millimeters of fabric or leather and will have an unpleasant surprise (and a higher ticket price) if one of their cards is used instead of Compass (since every Canadian Debit and Credit card has a chip, most folks have at least 3 possible incorrect cards to be picked up by the sensors!!!)

I checked with a Canada Line Transit employee today and a PIN shouldn't be necessary he felt, to tap and enter the train using a US credit card.

BUT the CC tap is only for Full Fare, not for Senior or Children fares. Those needed to be purchased in the machine. That will be for a 90 min. trip. Day Passes need to be purchased in the machine.

Thanks so much for the Sky train info-we have a designated travel debit card we used in Europe-planning on using it in Vancouver too.

Since then all our cards have the chip & pin

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Thanks so much for the Sky train info-we have a designated travel debit card we used in Europe-planning on using it in Vancouver too.

 

Since then all our cards have the chip & pin

 

 

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I think the tap entry is only for Mastercard and Visa at this time? Best to check their web page so you know for sure.

https://www.translink.ca/Fares-and-Passes/Tap-to-Pay.aspx

Tap your contactless Visa or Mastercard credit card or mobile device (linked to a Visa or Mastercard credit card) on a card reader to start your journey. Tap your credit card or mobile device when transferring or exiting, with the exception of buses, which are tap in only.

Has anyone purchased a compass card? We'll be in Vancouver for 5 days, using the Skytrain (no rental car). Are they easy to return for the deposit as you leave?

Yes, bought - but never returned as I still live here! If the opening hours of the one office work for you - M-F, 7:30am-5pm at Chinatown/Stadium station - it should be no trouble returning them. If they don't, you have to mail them in and wait quite a while...

I am not a frequent traveler, so please excuse my ignorance as I am heading to Vancouver next month. This whole credit card thing has me nervous now. I use a chipped card, but have no pin. I never thought I’d have an issue when charging at a restaurant, hotel, or attraction. Should I be worried?

Also, the new “tap” system at the train station? Do you need a certain kind of credit card? Or will any kind suffice?

Thanks,

Debbie

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^As mentioned above directly by CVU and on the link that was supplied to Translink website, Visa & MC cards only at this time (I don't know if Amex have a 'tap and go' system yet - if they do, it might get enabled later on too). There is no need for a PIN when boarding transit, as there is no keypad it's impossible to enter one! The whole point of the system is speed - requiring a PIN to be entered would utterly wreck the logistics. Since amounts are very small - at most still under CAD$6 - the risk is small.

Currently 'tap and go' payment is accepted up to $50 in most stores, even more in places like Costco (where you need a membership card so a stolen card can be tracked back to the person who used it easily, lowering risks, so they up the limit to $250 IIRC). So a cheap lunch, some snacks, you may be able to get away without needing a PIN at all - it's things like trying to buy multiple tickets on Transit for your whole family that will definitely need a PIN as there is no person to override anything, ticket vending machines must be used and if you insert a Chip card and try to buy lots of tickets they will request a PIN and refuse the transaction if you don't have one.

Make life easy - call your card issuer, request a PIN, and never have to worry about using your card abroad ever again...

Has anyone purchased a compass card? We'll be in Vancouver for 5 days, using the Skytrain (no rental car). Are they easy to return for the deposit as you leave?

I believe you have to register your card on line first and then mail it in.

Or check the hours at Stadium Station to be open to get a refund.

For a few days it maybe better to just buy the fare or a day pass, or use up all the money on the Compass Card before leaving. There is a box at YVR by the Canada Line fare machines for Compass Cards to be donated.

^As mentioned above directly by CVU and on the link that was supplied to Translink website, Visa & MC cards only at this time (I don't know if Amex have a 'tap and go' system yet - if they do, it might get enabled later on too). There is no need for a PIN when boarding transit, as there is no keypad it's impossible to enter one! The whole point of the system is speed - requiring a PIN to be entered would utterly wreck the logistics. Since amounts are very small - at most still under CAD$6 - the risk is small.

 

 

 

Currently 'tap and go' payment is accepted up to $50 in most stores, even more in places like Costco (where you need a membership card so a stolen card can be tracked back to the person who used it easily, lowering risks, so they up the limit to $250 IIRC). So a cheap lunch, some snacks, you may be able to get away without needing a PIN at all - it's things like trying to buy multiple tickets on Transit for your whole family that will definitely need a PIN as there is no person to override anything, ticket vending machines must be used and if you insert a Chip card and try to buy lots of tickets they will request a PIN and refuse the transaction if you don't have one.

 

 

 

Make life easy - call your card issuer, request a PIN, and never have to worry about using your card abroad ever again...

Just called my credit card provider...and two agents told me that the only pin through them is for cash advances via an atm or teller. This pin would not work in a kiosk. Does this make sense? They assured me that no other pin is available for my chipped cards.

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Just called my credit card provider...and two agents told me that the only pin through them is for cash advances via an atm or teller. This pin would not work in a kiosk. Does this make sense? They assured me that no other pin is available for my chipped cards.

PIN is a PIN is a PIN - all it does is verify that the user of the card is the rightful owner of the card (or a total schmuck who writes their PIN down on a piece of paper in their wallet, or like Joey from Friends scratches it onto the ATM nearest their apartment!)

As long as you have the PIN for your card, it will work ANYTIME that a PIN is requested - there is no additional PIN because there is a Chip on the card, it's one PIN linked to all card functions. Like I mentioned above, I've never had a credit card without having a PIN number assigned to it - since I was 18 years old when there were no Chip cards and would not be for going on 20 years. Back then the only time you'd need one is when using an ATM to get a cash advance - but now that Chip & PIN POS terminals have been normal for over a decade in Europe and Canada, I've been using the same PIN when my new cards arrived to also verify 'I am me' at checkouts ever since - as I have been in the US as the new terminals began rolling out.

I've given impromptu training to at least a dozen staff of Trader Joes and a few supermarkets about how the new terminals work as I've been able to use my 'Tap and Go' MC when that functionality has been working, and failing that using Chip & PIN (Safeway staff all seem to know how the latter works - maybe their training is better!)

The phone minions you spoke to are simply responding as they have been trained - poorly, with no actual understanding of the tech required but simple rote repetition of lines from a script, just like when you call up Princess or Celebrity or whatever cruiseline and ask whether PVSA legislation has any impact on your prospective B2B cruises. Sometimes you get lucky and an individual has gone above & beyond the scripts, but more often than not you get the most simplistic answer whether or not it's correct or even relevant to you. Sometimes hoofbeats aren't made by horses, but by zebras!

If they did actually give you a PIN, or say they'll mail it, you're good with the number that arrives (and you can test it works in any TJ or Safeway across the country, I believe they are all fully updated with Chip & PIN terminals as of last year). If you already have a PIN from back in the day, go try using it. If they didn't send you a PIN because they didn't think it would work - call back, tell them you might want to a cash advance so they'll send you one rather than trying to educate them, and then try using it when it arrives. It will!

Thank you Martin for the detailed response. Very helpful!

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I went online and added a pin to my card. It was very easy. Now, even if it's not needed, I'm prepared.