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Old 11-18-2019, 02:34 PM   #21
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Payments are currently limited to a maximum of £30 (it was previously £20), and are typically used for small retail purchases.

To be honest i don't think i ever have tapped my card, always insert... I will try the tap with a >$38.87 at cash register and see if they deny it....

good stuff in that article.
I actually don’t normally even take the card out of my wallet. All the contactless terminals over here are also pay by phone which don’t have a limit so I just use my iPhone or Apple Watch. To use the Tube and bus however does require a contactless card.
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Old 11-18-2019, 02:41 PM   #22
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Just checked my wallet and none of my 3 credit cards are contactless.... the card that we use the most is Citi Double Cash card... I wonder if they issue a contactless version. What are the benefits of having a contactless card if you spend most of your time in the US?
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Old 11-18-2019, 03:01 PM   #23
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I wonder if they issue a contactless version. What are the benefits of having a contactless card if you spend most of your time in the US?
None whatsoever which is why I started this thread in the Travel Forum
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Old 11-18-2019, 03:05 PM   #24
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and I normally don't pay any attention at all to what forum a thread is in.
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Old 11-18-2019, 03:17 PM   #25
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... What are the benefits of having a contactless card if you spend most of your time in the US?
Convenience?

As mentioned, Costco Citi Cards are contactless, and the terminals at the checkout lines can read them.

The problem at Costco is that you still have to take your card out of the wallet to show the cashier, as it is also the membership card.
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Old 11-18-2019, 03:20 PM   #26
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At home given the option of sliding my card into the reader and then inputting my pin or simply tapping my card.... I always opt to tap. Faster, easier.
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Old 11-18-2019, 03:24 PM   #27
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I think it's a pretty neat topic, thanks for posting, Alan. Now that the tech companies are getting into payment systems I suspect it won't be long 'til we see this in the US.

An interesting episode a couple of weeks ago with Jamima Kelly of FT Alphaville. Apparently her phone died just when she was paying bus fare and she ended up with a fine close to £500. Story here (registration but free) https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/10/...-Jemima-Kelly/

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and I normally don't pay any attention at all to what forum a thread is in.
Keeping things to a specific forum helps filter search results.
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Old 11-18-2019, 03:27 PM   #28
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We used Apple Pay (contactless) a great deal this trip in Spain and France. So nice! Especially at restaurants which invariably accepted it. They often didn’t know what we meant by “Apple Pay” but when we pointed to our watch they would nod, LOL!

Easier even then tap! (you don’t have to pull out a card, and higher limits/more secure)

I only ran into one store that had a $ limit on the Apple Watch contactless payment. All the others recognized that we could pay larger amounts even though it was contactless because it was the more secure Apple Pay.
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Old 11-18-2019, 03:29 PM   #29
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Convenience?

As mentioned, Costco Citi Cards are contactless, and the terminals at the checkout lines can read them.

The problem at Costco is that you still have to take your card out of the wallet to show the cashier, as it is also the membership card.
I use my iPhone Costco App to show my Costco membership, and my Apple Watch to pay.
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Old 11-18-2019, 03:32 PM   #30
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Just checked my wallet and none of my 3 credit cards are contactless.... the card that we use the most is Citi Double Cash card... I wonder if they issue a contactless version. What are the benefits of having a contactless card if you spend most of your time in the US?
There are lots of contactless payment terminals in the U.S. too. Though all the ones I've seen here also take payment by phone, and that's even easier.
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Old 11-18-2019, 03:41 PM   #31
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I use my iPhone Costco App to show my Costco membership, and my Apple Watch to pay.
Pretty fancy.

But soon, with face recognition software we can travel the world without any ID or devices.

Seems far-fetched, but recently I read about the experience of a Westerner working in a major Chinese city (Shenzhen?). He broke the law by jaywalking, and said that within a few minutes he received a text message on the phone saying his local bank account had been debited an amount for the fine.

What the heck? No appeal? What about mistaken identity? I guess it is up to the victim to prove that it was not him committing the act. Guilty until proven innocent. And you are the one to supply that proof.
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Old 11-18-2019, 04:00 PM   #32
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I hope you have weather as nice as we did last week. Every night the forecast was for rain next day and every day the rain had come early overnight and we had dry days. It was the same with Paris the previous week, but warm and sunny as well as dry. We ate outside two days, on the Champs-Elyseese and on the banks of the Seine, plus a boat cruise down the Seine had everyone on the open deck on top.
Our first visit to London was mid-April for a week and the temps were 10 degrees Fahrenheit below normal and a bit drizzly—so chilly but we still fell in love with London. We can’t wait to be there again!
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Old 11-18-2019, 04:08 PM   #33
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I think it's a pretty neat topic, thanks for posting, Alan. Now that the tech companies are getting into payment systems I suspect it won't be long 'til we see this in the US.

An interesting episode a couple of weeks ago with Jamima Kelly of FT Alphaville. Apparently her phone died just when she was paying bus fare and she ended up with a fine close to £500. Story here (registration but free) https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/10/...-Jemima-Kelly/

Keeping things to a specific forum helps filter search results.
When flying, I've seen people use their phone to pass though TSA. Sometimes having a little trouble getting the scan code to show properly.

I ALWAYS (yes always) print on paper 2 copies of our boarding/flight info, as my big concern/fear and experience has been my phone will screw it up, not be able to display the email, die, etc, just when I need to show the proof.

I carry one copy, and DW carries the other, so even if our bag is stolen, we can still catch our flight.
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Old 11-18-2019, 04:22 PM   #34
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When flying, I've seen people use their phone to pass though TSA. Sometimes having a little trouble getting the scan code to show properly.
I've had trouble using the boarding pass on my phone, but finally figured it out. The key is to be sure the phone screen is bright enough to give the contrast the scanner needs.

I normally keep my phone screen brightness fairly low, so just before approaching the TSA line I quickly raise the brightness to maximum (it only takes two seconds to do that). Since I started doing this a few years ago I've never had a problem. Once through the security area I can lower the brightness again to conserve battery life.
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Old 11-18-2019, 04:52 PM   #35
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I use my phone to show boarding pass, but I always have paper backup!

In the United app it automatically maximizes brightness when showing my boarding pass, and switches back to normal when boarding pass not displayed.
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Old 11-18-2019, 05:38 PM   #36
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We have had contactless cards for a number of years. We have used them extensively at home and while traveling internationally. Australia was about as cashless as it gets.
When I am in Australia I hardly ever use cash, it is all tap and go (contactless). For amounts over AUD100 you need to give a pin.

Interestingly, the public transport system still requires prepaid cash cards (I understand one of their most profitable parts of the business is interest on the prepaid cards and the number of people who lose their cards with credit on them).
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Old 11-18-2019, 05:46 PM   #37
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... What are the benefits of having a contactless card if you spend most of your time in the US?
Let me add another reason to the other replies. For mild germaphobes like me, it means I don't have to touch anything that people have coughed and sneezed all over, or hand my card to a clerk that has touched those things and is spreading the plague. Same reason I like to use ApplePay on my iPhone when I can.
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Old 11-18-2019, 05:48 PM   #38
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So Alan, would you say that you can go US Visa card contactless for much of Paris then? Going in the Spring.
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Old 11-18-2019, 08:50 PM   #39
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I used Apple Pay on my iPhone wherever the was a contactless point of sale in England / Scotland . Worked fine
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Old 11-19-2019, 02:19 AM   #40
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So Alan, would you say that you can go US Visa card contactless for much of Paris then? Going in the Spring.

Definitely.

We had 2 weeks in a rented house in a very small village in the south of France earlier this year. I used my US Visa contactless card everywhere, and signed for bills that were above the card’s contactless limit. The smallest bakery and coffee shop supported US contactless cards.
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