Should I get a Chip and Pin credit card for travel to Europe?

I travel to the UK, Spain, Greece, etc. and have never had problems with any US card. Their machines have a separate swiping mechanism that works just fine. I've had a problem maybe 1% of the times I've tried to use my cards.

I've never had a problem with a manetic stripe credit card in Europe. If the merchant rejects your card, they are just lazy. That said, you are always better off using an ATM card to withdraw cash and pay cash for your purchases (specially if you have an ATM card that doens't charge you a fee for withdrawals).

If you use a credit card, always refuse to pay in US$ as the merchant will be converting the local currency amount to US$ using an uncompetitive exchange rate + your bank will still charge you a foreign currency transaction fee even though the transaction is in US$. You get a better exchange rate by letting Visa or Mastercard convert the amount to US$.

jrobjr said: I have read about people having U.S. travelers having difficulty using our magnetic-strip credit cards in Europe as they have transitioned to Chip and Pin technology.* Does anyone have a suggestion for a good credit card to get for European travel (especially to Spain), that is available to U.S. residents and nationals?

* http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travelwise/2012415247_trpu...

Did you read the article? Did you notice where it said nobody in the US issues chip and pin cards unless you work for the UN? Guess that should answer your question.

Just got back from 18 days in Europe June-July. (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, France). I had no trouble using my Capital One Card in several locations. Capital one also did not have an extra fee for foreign transactions, just the exchange rate. Sweet.

I also recommend using a debit card to withdraw your own money from a linked checking account at local ATM's.

Those machines took my Schwab VISA in Feb 2010...

ferengi31337 said: If you go to Paris, the ticket machines in the subway will not take cards that lack a chip.

The closest I've been to eastern Europe is the Czech Republic, and it was no problem there. Also recently used non-chip cards in Sweden, UK, and Germany. Sometimes it doesn't work with first swipe, but it is possible for them to hit a few buttons on their reader to initiate a mag. strip swipe and a signature. At least that's what a grocery store did in Stockholm when my buddy's card got rejected.

SUB said: It depends on where you go. A lot of places in Eastern Europe, in particular, won't accept signature-based cards.

scrouds said: Did you read the article? Did you notice where it said nobody in the US issues chip and pin cards unless you work for the UN? Guess that should answer your question.

Thank you for your inquiry, yes I did read the article. I searched without success for a backdoor (like PenFed) method of joining the UN Credit Union. Nonetheless, I made my inquiry in the hopes that one of our forum members may have had experience (as a U.S. national) in obtaining a Canadian or European credit card with the technology.

Are their any U.S. resident here who use a European chip and pin credit card? Like many of you, I have the Schwab card and enjoy the lack of transaction fees, but I am going on honeymoon in Spain and want to be certain that all goes smoothly.

jrobjr said: ...a good credit card to get for European travel (especially to Spain)

As someone else in this thread mentioned, look out for "dynamic currency conversion" (DCC, google it), where the merchant 'conveniently' charges you in US dollars, for which you pay dearly. We've traveled a lot in Italy, France, UK, and Spain, but Madrid was the absolute worst about DCC. I was having to fight about it constantly. No matter what the merchant says, there should be a screen at the very beginning, right after they swipe the card, that asks, "euros or dollars?" Make sure they select euros.

The chip/pin business is usually only a problem at self-service kiosks (gas stations, ticket machines, etc). Unfortunately, no US bank offers a chip/pin card, which perplexes me. Why not offer one for customers who travel outside the US?

I had no problems while trying to use any of my cards while in europe, except AMEX. The only places that would take AMEX were in the airport.

ferengi31337 said: If you go to Paris, the ticket machines in the subway will not take cards that lack a chip.

Not just the subway, but also the intercity trains and TGV. You have to wait in line to get tickets because the machines will reject them.

Does anyone know who else may offer this? I know for Premier clients, HSBC can open foriegn bank accounts and issue a chip and pin card as part of the process. It just seems like it is a bit much to set up a bank account in another country just for a credit card.

michal1980 said: SUCKISSTAPLES said: you would think hsbc , as a leader in global banking , would offer this you would think any CC company would offer this by now.

It's a question of supply and demand. No merchants in the US require it. No CC customers ask for it. Producing a card with this technology costs more than a mag stripe, esp. when volume is low. Hence, in a market economy, it's not offered.

US nationals travel little, and not enought people are going to the lengths that op is going to prepare. And in most instances, would not be willing to pay extra to offset bank costs. (I know I wouldn't. Mag stripe works fine in most instances, making this facility not worth more than 1 EUR to me. Oh, and I use only CC with 0% transaction fee abroad, i.e., Capital One.) So, this does not create demand either. Except in one set of people that do travel a lot - the UN credit union customers. There might in fact be other non-advertized instances (think Dept of State/Defense/etc employees).

As others have said, you'll be fine with Schwab or Crap One if you're in a setting where a person is taking the card (restaurants, shops, hotels) and sometimes when you're using a machine. (E.g., train machines in Italy will take American cards.) Gas pumps, toll booths, and some subway/train machines won't, so have some cash or wait in line for an agent.

gyagya said: Was in Switzerland 2 weeks ago. The automated payment machines at gas stations (after-hours payment) asked me for a PIN - I hadn't asked Cap-1 for a PIN and couldn't use the card atleast 5-6 times (out of approx. 30 different points of usage).

I'd say, forget the chip - but get a PIN, if you can...just in case.

-Gand possibly make the bank think you're doing a cash advance? no thanks.

A Chip and PIN credit card does not appear to be much different from a standard card, except that you won't see a magnetic strip on the back.

I just got back from Paris and had no problem using my Capital One c/c.

I think all PIN and chip cards issued in Europe are debit cards linked to checking accounts. That may be why some machines won't take them -- because they are set to accept debit cards only (like Costco in the US).

wd said: This is 100% wrong. My Schwab visa worked fine to purchase a metro ticket in Paris on Tuesday morning.

ferengi31337 said: If you go to Paris, the ticket machines in the subway will not take cards that lack a chip.
Are you sure it was the Métro, or was it at a RER station? I could not get my Schwab Visa card to work at RATP-operated Métro stations in March 2010, but I was able to use my Fidelity MySmartCash card at the RER at CDG, which is operated by SNCF.

US citizens *can* get a chip/pin card (without UN employment). You get a non-resident (offshore) account from barclays or lloyds (but not Santandar, they reject americans even if they're not a US resident). The cards have chips and magstrips both, and come in EUR, USD, and GBP. These are technically VISA debit cards -- however, the merchants terminals see them as credit cards. These cards are made for world travelers.
They work everywhere AFAIK.

If you need to go all-out to impress someone and ensure smooth transactions, that's the way to do it. It will cost you 5-10 GBP/month to maintain the accounts and get that fake James Bond image.

But it's silly. You really do not need a chip. Magstrips will work for all but the rarest scenarios -- and making sure you don't get embarrassed is simply a matter of having a bit of cash from the ATM as backup. You can always find ATMs with a VISA logo, and they do read magstrips- just make sure you find out what your pin number is. Test it on a local machine before you depart.

hgnobar said:
If you use a credit card, always refuse to pay in US$ as the merchant will be converting the local currency amount to US$ using an uncompetitive exchange rate + your bank will still charge you a foreign currency transaction fee even though the transaction is in US$. You get a better exchange rate by letting Visa or Mastercard convert the amount to US$.
Generally true. But there are some cards that screw you more than the merchants (although ideally you leave these cards at home).

Here's a trick for avoiding that. You might ask, how does the merchants POS terminal know your card is USD? Cards basis currency is not encoded on the magstrip. Answer: The machine guesses based on the billing address. So, if you're traveling to the UK, change the billing address on your credit card to a UK address (you can get a free address at ukpostbox.com). Then all POS terminals will think your card is a british card, and not attempt currency games.

ferengi31337 said: If you go to Paris, the ticket machines in the subway will not take cards that lack a chip.
I don't think that's true.. but it's worse in Brussels, where you must have cash coinage, or a local chip.

Wystan said: A Chip and PIN credit card does not appear to be much different from a standard card, except that you won't see a magnetic strip on the back.
I've never seen a chip card without a magstrip, and I've seen tens of them.

mihai124 said: I think all PIN and chip cards issued in Europe are debit cards linked to checking accounts. That may be why some machines won't take them -- because they are set to accept debit cards only (like Costco in the US).

In belgium, visa debit cards do not exist. There are real credit cards, but only locals and permanent residents who have been there a long time can get one. And there are charge cards, which are a separate account that's forbidden from carrying a balance between monthly bills. Also, european checking accounts are almost non-existent outside of france and the UK. Cheques have been replaced with wires.

Another thing to consider - there are credit cards of multiple denominations outside the US. Meaning, you can settle the bill in multiple currencies and not have a conversion if you have the currency you spent. In itself, you don't care about that if you have a schwab or cap one.. but what you also get is a chip. See:

http://firstbanknigeria.com/?TabId=380

prepaid chip/pin card: http://www.prepaid365.com/pfs-prepaid-card.html

another prepaid USD chip/pin card

It's only china, africa, and canada that seem to have multiple denomination cards.. but they may have them for non-residents.