credit card chip?

[YoungDubFan]

USAA charges a 1% foreign transaction fee on all purchases.

 

For anyone interested in applying, you first need to establish your membership in USAA. You qualify if you are an active duty or retired military member and some of their family. If your spouse qualified as part of their service, they you can probably apply, assuming they are still living and you are still married. Most children of any qualifying member are also eligible for membership. It used to be that the service member had to be an officer for family members to join, but USAA has since relaxed their membership criteria.

 

As to their chip & pin card, it is issued by request. What this means is that you have to apply for the regular sign & swipe MasterCard. Once you receive this card in the mail, then you contact USAA and request the chip & pin card. This will be mailed out to you. This process can take up to one month, so for anyone with travel planned in the near future and you are interested, contact them today. http://www.usaa.com or 800-531-8722. Whomever you talk to can let you know if you qualify for membership.

 

I received my USAA chip & pin MC earlier this year and am taking it on my Baltic Capitals ocean cruise. I will also be taking my Capital One card (swipe & sign) because there is no foreign transaction fee with this card. I figure by having both types of cards, I should be covered for any type of transaction.

 

Hope this information helps. Obviously, whatever cards you take, make sure you notify your CC companies and your banks of all the cities / countries you will be travelling in, including any airport layovers, so that your charges are not blocked.

[purduemom1]

I too use Cap One to avoid foreign transaction fees. So after reading all the posts on this thread, I am thinking that those of us without chip and pin cards can most likely use our swipe cards in hotels, restaurants and other businesses that are likely to do business with US tourists. Then be prepared to use the local currency to pay for purchases in smaller businesses, gas stations, ticket machines etc.

 

I am also thinking that if most US citizens without chip and pin cards consistently had problems using the swipe cards, there would be more posts about it here and on other travel sites.

 

Until the credit card issuers here in the US come into the 21 century and switch over to chip and pin, just be prepared with a back up plan when traveling outside the US. One could make sure they will be able to withdraw enough cash from an ATM or get a chip and pin card from one of the above mentioned sources and if it has a foreign transaction fee, only use it as a back up if your swipe card is refused.

[Canal archive]

This does not help the fact that so many of you in the USA have a challenge getting a chip and pin card but I can give at least one explanation of why outlets decline cards that are not chip and pin or if a pin does not work. If the c & p card works the amount is guaranteed but if you only have a swipe card it is up to the individual retailor whether they take the risk and some retailers machines are calibrated to not allowing a choice. In the UK I think all cards are chip and pin, according to the banks it has stopped a lot of fraud. So I am surprised that the USA does not use them as a matter of course. Hope you all get sorted and have super cruises.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Just called all my credit card issuers for updates on getting chip & PIN in the US. Chase is committed for later this year, but no details yet. Most other banks have no announced plans. Even Amex has its head in the sand.

 

Several do offer Chip & Sign cards, which are helpful in some situations in Europe. Sadly, CapitalOne, which is otherwise one of the best issuers for travel, doesn't even have that.

 

And finally one success! Citi says they are sending me a new Hilton HHonors Visa card with Chip & PIN. The rep seemed to know what he was talking about, because they will send the PIN information by separate cover.

 

This isn't the best card for travel, because it has a 3% foreign transaction fee. But there is no annual fee, and you get points that are easy to redeem at any hotel in the Hilton family. [We just used points in Istanbul at a DoubleTree and in Venice at a fancy Hilton.]

 

What's really odd is that Citi hasn't implemented this technology on their airline cards -- you'd think that frequent flyers would be even more likely to need a card that works everywhere!

[coolerchick]

I know that most of Europe require the chip and pin cards.

 

Last year in the UK I could NOT charge my card (even Amex plat) since I did not have the fancy chip n pin. Everyone in the UK needs a pin in order to purchase anything.

 

I got the BA card that supposedly works overseas with no problem (famous last words).

 

Unfortunately there is no way to check it until I get there and by then it will be too late. But I'll report back.

[pinotlover]

Seems the info we get from the credit card companies vary depending upon whom you speak to:

 

1. Chase told me that they have one card that is c & p. It is a Ritz Carlton card. They plan on introducing others sometime within a year ( but not by year end). They will provide chip and sign cards, but not c & p.

 

2. Citi currently has no definite plans on introducing the cards.

 

The issue is not the credit card companies, it is the retailers. Many are far to cheap to buy the new pin readers which would be required to replace the magnetic strip readers. The retailers (read Pennys) would rather expose their customer's information by easy hacking than spend the money to upgrade to pin readers. The US government has remained neutral on this.

 

It will probably take another Penny's episode along with a major class action lawsuit to force the retailers, and the credit card companies, into the 21st Century.

[pbnjrockette]

My husband and I applied and qualified for the USAA card today… they say it will be sent out in 5-10 business days. Hopefully it will be useful in France next month.

 

But wondering…. if so many businesses in the US are dragging their feet about implementing chip and pin readers, does that mean this card will NOT work in US stores???

[sippican]

My husband and I applied and qualified for the USAA card today… they say it will be sent out in 5-10 business days. Hopefully it will be useful in France next month.

 

But wondering…. if so many businesses in the US are dragging their feet about implementing chip and pin readers, does that mean this card will NOT work in US stores???

 

Are they sending you a chip & pin card? As a previous poster experienced, we too had to get a regular swipe card first from USAA, then call and request a different chip & pin card. They told us they do not issue a chip & pin card first, it had to be specifically requested once you had a credit card from them.

Perhaps they have changed their procedure.

[CPT Trips]

My husband and I applied and qualified for the USAA card today… they say it will be sent out in 5-10 business days. Hopefully it will be useful in France next month.

 

But wondering…. if so many businesses in the US are dragging their feet about implementing chip and pin readers, does that mean this card will NOT work in US stores???

 

The USAA chip & pin card I have also has the mag swipe stripe, no pin needed for the swipe and it works just fine here. It will be decades until they do away with the mag stripe, heck they still have the raised numbers and it's been a long time since merchants routinely used these

 

[pbnjrockette]

Are they sending you a chip & pin card? As a previous poster experienced, we too had to get a regular swipe card first from USAA, then call and request a different chip & pin card. They told us they do not issue a chip & pin card first, it had to be specifically requested once you had a credit card from them.

Perhaps they have changed their procedure.

 

 

We were told over the phone that the cards we would receive would be chip & pin. No mention of having to request a second card.

[rothbury]

We live in a touristy area here in the U.S. Yesterday we went to our local Wal-Mart with our chip & magnetic strip card. The magnetic strip would not work and we were required to use the chip technology. Not a problem but apparently after the big hack of Target....Wal-Mart is trying to stay ahead of the game. There must be something in the strip that signals the computer that the card has a chip. When DW swiped the card it wouldn't take it and was telling the cashier to instruct to use the chip slot.

 

So, I guess that means we're going to start seeing this technology in the U.S. This was our first experience with requiring the chip over the magnetic strip. Now, I'm not suggesting Wal-Mart doesn't take magnetic strip anymore but if your card has both...It will ONLY accept the chip was the impression I got.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We live in a touristy area here in the U.S. Yesterday we went to our local Wal-Mart with our chip & magnetic strip card. The magnetic strip would not work and we were required to use the chip technology. Not a problem but apparently after the big hack of Target....Wal-Mart is trying to stay ahead of the game. There must be something in the strip that signals the computer that the card has a chip. When DW swiped the card it wouldn't take it and was telling the cashier to instruct to use the chip slot.

 

So, I guess that means we're going to start seeing this technology in the U.S. This was our first experience with requiring the chip over the magnetic strip. Now, I'm not suggesting Wal-Mart doesn't take magnetic strip anymore but if your card has both...It will ONLY accept the chip was the impression I got.

 

This was how it worked for us in Europe last month. One of our cards had Chip and Sign, and whenever a vendor tried to swipe the card they were instructed by the scanner to use the chip instead. The scanner then printed out a receipt for us to sign.

[Hydrokitty]

USAA charges a 1% foreign transaction fee on all purchases.

 

For anyone interested in applying, you first need to establish your membership in USAA. You qualify if you are an active duty or retired military member and some of their family. If your spouse qualified as part of their service, they you can probably apply, assuming they are still living and you are still married. Most children of any qualifying member are also eligible for membership. It used to be that the service member had to be an officer for family members to join, but USAA has since relaxed their membership criteria.

 

As to their chip & pin card, it is issued by request. What this means is that you have to apply for the regular sign & swipe MasterCard. Once you receive this card in the mail, then you contact USAA and request the chip & pin card. This will be mailed out to you. This process can take up to one month, so for anyone with travel planned in the near future and you are interested, contact them today. http://www.usaa.com or 800-531-8722. Whomever you talk to can let you know if you qualify for membership.

 

I received my USAA chip & pin MC earlier this year and am taking it on my Baltic Capitals ocean cruise. I will also be taking my Capital One card (swipe & sign) because there is no foreign transaction fee with this card. I figure by having both types of cards, I should be covered for any type of transaction.

 

Hope this information helps. Obviously, whatever cards you take, make sure you notify your CC companies and your banks of all the cities / countries you will be travelling in, including any airport layovers, so that your charges are not blocked.

 

Thanks for a wealth of information!! I know I'll qualify because DH is Vietnam vet and son is Afghanistan vet and both were officers. However, there's no way I'll get this done by 2 weeks from tomorrow (when we leave for Prague) so I'm going to go with my capital One card. 1% is less than Visa and MC but free is less than 1%!! I really don't anticipate any problems since we're going with Vantage and they would have told us if our credit cards wouldn't work and number two, past experience tells me that all three cap.1; visa and M/C will work in almost everywhere we will be frequenting. One can never be reminded too many times to call the issuing banks and ATM bank and give the dates and countries. I also give them a set amount that if they get a request to go over that in a single purchase they are to contact me first. I pretty much know what I'll look for in each country and what it will cost.

[Hydrokitty]

I too use Cap One to avoid foreign transaction fees. So after reading all the posts on this thread, I am thinking that those of us without chip and pin cards can most likely use our swipe cards in hotels, restaurants and other businesses that are likely to do business with US tourists. Then be prepared to use the local currency to pay for purchases in smaller businesses, gas stations, ticket machines etc.

 

I am also thinking that if most US citizens without chip and pin cards consistently had problems using the swipe cards, there would be more posts about it here and on other travel sites.

 

Until the credit card issuers here in the US come into the 21 century and switch over to chip and pin, just be prepared with a back up plan when traveling outside the US. One could make sure they will be able to withdraw enough cash from an ATM or get a chip and pin card from one of the above mentioned sources and if it has a foreign transaction fee, only use it as a back up if your swipe card is refused.

 

that pretty much sums up where I stand on this too. When I called each of my credit card banks to give them the travel heads up, I asked them about C&P technology. NONE of them had any immediate plans to implement and when I asked why the answer sounded almost scripted: "it's too expensive right now and we would have to pass that expense on to our cardholders in the form of charging for the card". Interesting point about the target fiasco, though, I think that has all of them quaking in their boots. :D

[Host Jazzbeau]

"Every credit card in the U.S. will be replaced by October 2015 with new cards that contain the chip-and-PIN technology that the rest of the world has had for years, according to the Wall Street Journal."

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/chip-and-pin-credit-card-changeover-in-2015-2014-2

[CPT Trips]

Thanks for a wealth of information!! I know I'll qualify because DH is Vietnam vet and son is Afghanistan vet and both were officers. However, there's no way I'll get this done by 2 weeks from tomorrow (when we leave for Prague) so I'm going to go with my capital One card. 1% is less than Visa and MC but free is less than 1%!! I really don't anticipate any problems since we're going with Vantage and they would have told us if our credit cards wouldn't work and number two, past experience tells me that all three cap.1; visa and M/C will work in almost everywhere we will be frequenting. One can never be reminded too many times to call the issuing banks and ATM bank and give the dates and countries. I also give them a set amount that if they get a request to go over that in a single purchase they are to contact me first. I pretty much know what I'll look for in each country and what it will cost.

 

Call USAA . . . They may work faster than you think and pleasantly surprise you.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

The Chase Sapphire card has a chip and no fees on purchases and comes with Insurance 5000$ per person ...

[caviargal]

The Chase Sapphire card has a chip and no fees on purchases and comes with Insurance 5000$ per person ...

 

Amex Platinum has chip as well but no Pin and that is the combo I am looking for.

[Stratheden]

My husband and I applied and qualified for the USAA card today… they say it will be sent out in 5-10 business days. Hopefully it will be useful in France next month.

 

But wondering…. if so many businesses in the US are dragging their feet about implementing chip and pin readers, does that mean this card will NOT work in US stores???

 

I used my chip and pin card in US stores last year. Instead of using your pin you have to sign. Not much security IMHO. Not once was my sig. checked.

 

In Australia at the moment all the machines take both chip&pin and swipe. You are asked whether you want to pin or sign. From August 1st no signing will be allowed. Only pin.

 

With so many stores going to self serve checkouts - it was only a matter of time.

[coolerchick]

Amex Platinum has chip as well but no Pin and that is the combo I am looking for.

 

I actually had it out with one of the reps over there.

 

I called and asked for the chip and pin card and they told me that "you don't need a pin - Amex is accepted everywhere and there is no foreign transaction fee" (by the by, they are not the only company that will tell you that).

 

I told them that I had lived there and also visit 3 times a year and assured them that a pin was required.

 

They claim never to have heard of such a thing. Doh!

[jpalbny]

We have been all over Europe for the past 8 years and have run into just about every scenario that we can imagine paying by credit card. In the beginning we were able to use our swipe cards w/o a problem.

 

First issue was ~2009 where we couldn't fill up a rental car with gas in Iceland, even at a staffed gas station, because we didn't remember (or didn't have) PINs for our CCs. In a flash of inspiration, I used my ATM card as a Visa, with the same PIN that I use for cash withdrawal, and it worked!

 

In France in 2010, we ran into self-serve gas pumps that would only take chip cards, which we didn't have. That Sunday morning drive cost us a nice fee from Hertz to refill the tank for us...

 

For 2011 we got a JP Morgan Chip and Signature card, which worked well as our go-to card if a chip was necessary; otherwise we used our BofA Amex Accolades swipe card (for which we requested PINs). I remember in Norway having two totally opposite experiences: first, a store clerk refusing to look at my swipe card but happily taking my chip and sign card; second, a gas station rejecting the chip card, but accepting my swipe AMEX card after asking for the PIN.

 

Within the last year we have picked up several other cards that are chip and signature - the BofA AMEX now offers this, as well as AMEX Platinum. We also have a BofA Travel Rewards Visa. NB: though these are all advertised as chip and signature, they all have PINs, ostensibly for ATM use...

 

In Greece and Italy in 2012, and in Germany last year, we ran into mostly chip reading devices that worked just fine with our cards. Especially in 2012, the merchants were (happily) surprised to see an American with a chip card. Insert card, print receipt, sign it, done. For unattended kiosks such as ticket machines, insert card, don't enter a PIN (press the green button to skip the step), and it usually worked fine. If not, try another machine.

 

This year in Germany and Switzerland, we started seeing the occasional unattended machine that insisted on a PIN. In these situations, I have simply used the card's PIN (even though it's "not supposed to be for that") and so far it has worked fine. So my experience does not match the other posters who say that you can't use these cards as chip and PIN. I have, both with the AMEX Platinum, and the BofA Visa. And so far, neither CC company has treated these purchases as cash withdrawals.

 

What's my point? If you try paying with a CC overseas, there is no one-size-fits-all scenario. Nothing works 100% of the time. Sometimes you can get away without a chip. Sometimes you don't need a PIN. Sometimes you do. Carry a few cards if it's practical, and get PINs for one or two just in case. The more often you use unattended ticket machines, the more likely that you'll need a chip, and possibly the PIN. If things don't work, try another card, try another machine; if all else fails, try to find a human...

 

I can't wait until this becomes a moot discussion late next year. Chip and signature is (IMO) only a small upgrade in security over swipe and signature; mainly because the chip is harder to clone. But someone can steal your chip and signature card and use it just as easily as your swipe card; I find that they check the signature panel as you sign less than 10% of the time, and lmost never ask for ID. Chip and PIN will be better, until the counterfeiters catch up!

 

Happy traveling, and may your purchases go through without a hitch!

[Stratheden]

We have been all over Europe for the past 8 years and have run into just about every scenario that we can imagine paying by credit card. In the beginning we were able to use our swipe cards w/o a problem.

 

First issue was ~2009 where we couldn't fill up a rental car with gas in Iceland, even at a staffed gas station, because we didn't remember (or didn't have) PINs for our CCs. In a flash of inspiration, I used my ATM card as a Visa, with the same PIN that I use for cash withdrawal, and it worked!

 

In France in 2010, we ran into self-serve gas pumps that would only take chip cards, which we didn't have. That Sunday morning drive cost us a nice fee from Hertz to refill the tank for us...

 

For 2011 we got a JP Morgan Chip and Signature card, which worked well as our go-to card if a chip was necessary; otherwise we used our BofA Amex Accolades swipe card (for which we requested PINs). I remember in Norway having two totally opposite experiences: first, a store clerk refusing to look at my swipe card but happily taking my chip and sign card; second, a gas station rejecting the chip card, but accepting my swipe AMEX card after asking for the PIN.

 

Within the last year we have picked up several other cards that are chip and signature - the BofA AMEX now offers this, as well as AMEX Platinum. We also have a BofA Travel Rewards Visa. NB: though these are all advertised as chip and signature, they all have PINs, ostensibly for ATM use...

 

In Greece and Italy in 2012, and in Germany last year, we ran into mostly chip reading devices that worked just fine with our cards. Especially in 2012, the merchants were (happily) surprised to see an American with a chip card. Insert card, print receipt, sign it, done. For unattended kiosks such as ticket machines, insert card, don't enter a PIN (press the green button to skip the step), and it usually worked fine. If not, try another machine.

 

This year in Germany and Switzerland, we started seeing the occasional unattended machine that insisted on a PIN. In these situations, I have simply used the card's PIN (even though it's "not supposed to be for that") and so far it has worked fine. So my experience does not match the other posters who say that you can't use these cards as chip and PIN. I have, both with the AMEX Platinum, and the BofA Visa. And so far, neither CC company has treated these purchases as cash withdrawals.

 

What's my point? If you try paying with a CC overseas, there is no one-size-fits-all scenario. Nothing works 100% of the time. Sometimes you can get away without a chip. Sometimes you don't need a PIN. Sometimes you do. Carry a few cards if it's practical, and get PINs for one or two just in case. The more often you use unattended ticket machines, the more likely that you'll need a chip, and possibly the PIN. If things don't work, try another card, try another machine; if all else fails, try to find a human...

 

I can't wait until this becomes a moot discussion late next year. Chip and signature is (IMO) only a small upgrade in security over swipe and signature; mainly because the chip is harder to clone. But someone can steal your chip and signature card and use it just as easily as your swipe card; I find that they check the signature panel as you sign less than 10% of the time, and lmost never ask for ID. Chip and PIN will be better, until the counterfeiters catch up!

 

Happy traveling, and may your purchases go through without a hitch!

 

All cards in Australia that have ATM withdrawal and CC on the same card have the same PIN for both functions. I am assuming that is what you meant when you said "it,s not supposed the be for that".

[ewizabeff]

One more plug for Barclay's Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard. It's got chip + pin, no foreign transaction fees. $89 annual fee is waived the first year. Reward points/redemption are amazing. Get a separate acct for each person (if you're part of a couple) and if you can meet the minimum spend you've already accumulated $800 in rewards in the first 3 months just for getting the card.

 

Simple way to meet the minimum spend = charge your next cruise on the cards, split between the two.

[jpalbny]

All cards in Australia that have ATM withdrawal and CC on the same card have the same PIN for both functions. I am assuming that is what you meant when you said "it,s not supposed the be for that".

 

Yes. The card services reps at all of my banks have told me, even for the chip cards, that the PIN is only for cash withdrawal at ATMs. They took specific care to tell me that it's NOT for chip and PIN use.

 

Yet it has worked exactly as a chip and PIN card on the few occasions that I've used it - both the BOA card and the AMEX platinum card. Go figure...

 

My ATM card does not have a chip. No loss; the foreign transaction fees for that tank of gas in Iceland were outrageous.

Edited June 4, 2014 by jpalbny

[steamboats]

Recently in Livorno on Easter Monday: We had a rental car which we had to return full. So we tried the first gas station and none of my cards worked (credit or debit and I´ve tried 4). We saw another gas station on the other side of the street. A British couple filled up their car telling us that this is the third one they´ve tried out. I tried it and again all of my cards were rejected. With the last card I skipped the language selection and sticked with Italian (instead of German which I´ve selected on my previous attempts) - now it worked!!!:D

 

So in some cases it´s not the card but the stupid machine offering a language option but doesn´t work with that. So chose your language, memorized the steps and in case it doesn´t work try the original language.

 

steamboats