Good info for all of us travel junkies

[explanade]

Good to know. Yes there is the foreign issuer factor but in theory, if they belong to a credit card network, it shouldn't matter where the card was issued.

Of course that's not how it works in practice.

Visa and Master Card needs to crack down on those merchants though.

Supposedly Visa is pushing chip and Signature because when verification isn't possible, it's suppose to simply accept transactions below a certain amount.

But that wasn't the case at all with the Chase Sapphire Visa. The most expensive transaction was 20.60 Euro with most under 15 Euro yet I could only use the chip and PIN card.

 

[audreyh1]

Which Penfed card are you using The Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa? They only label it as chip enabled which makes me think it is chip and signature

The PenFed Cash Rewards VISA is a true chip and PIN card.

I've used it successfully with the PIN in some kiosks in Europe.

 

[audreyh1]

My BofA Visa prompted for a PIN. I didn't request a cash advance PIN from BofA so I couldn't use it either.

I'm not sure how that would have worked. You might have been charged for a cash advance or it might not have worked at all.

 

[audreyh1]

I couldn't use DBahn kiosks in Munich, Germany. I don't think they accepted foreign credit cards, and I think many kiosks in Europe have that restriction - but not all. Fortunately the machine took Euro bills, and the things I was trying to buy weren't that expensive.

 

[kimcdougc]

I think by the end of this year or the beginning of next year all American cards (credit, debit) will have chips in them.