daria

It's been several years since I've been to France or Italy, but we are going next year and my aunt mentioned that when using a credit card in Europe you now need one with some sort of special chip installed in it. I never experienced this when there before, and I don't really trust my aunt as a source for this type of information. Does anyone know anything about this? What should I ask my credit card company for?

Thank you!

Robert2533

The "special chip", also known as chip and pin or chip and signature card, is not needed. The old style credit card works fine and most credit card companies will be replacing the old cards within a year or so.

The only thing you have to due is to notify your bank that you will be using the card while traveling abroad, otherwise it will be blocked.

thursdaysd

There are many, many threads on this topic on this board. You can do a search, or just read the most recent:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...apital-one.cfm

Robert's response is overly simplistic. An old style non-chip swipe card is capable of working in CC machines operated by people, provided the person in question remembers/has been told how to use it. It will NOT work in most automatic machines - e.g. for train tickets.

US companies are replacing swipe cards with chip and signature cards, although Europe uses chip and PIN cards. There are a couple of credit unions in the US that issue chip and PIN or chip and signature and PIN cards. The conclusion on the most recent thread was that chip and signature cards will work in all instances in Europe. I have no personal knowledge as to whether that is true, as I took a hybrid chip and signature and PIN card the last time I went to Europe.

daria

Wow. Thank you! I had no idea. I'll read the thread you posted. We will want to use our card to pay at restaurants, hotels, museums and other activities, rental car company, etc. Also, in the past we were able to use our Bank of America ATM Debit/Visa at ATMs to get cash and I would like to be able to continue to do that, as well as have that as a back up tomuse at all of the other place I mentioned.

Thanks again.

elbegewa

I've had a chip and *signature* card for a few years in the US ... was one of my bank's early adopters in the US. From personal experience in Germany, Switzerland, and France it often worked and sometimes didn't ... It never worked at automatic machines, and sometimes was confusing to attendants/restaurant people at some small towns. So I always traveled with more cash than usual.

I can hardly wait until American banks finally adopt the chip and *pin*.

OP: talk with your bank. Most now have chip and *signature* cards available on request, and from what I've hear, by the end of this year most US bank cards will be chip and *signature*. If your bank also has a chip and *pin* card opt for that instead.

But do have some cash with you ... ticket machines and some people accept chip and *pin* cards only, NOT chip and *signature* cards.

The difference?
In both, the chip is a bright square on the left side of the face of your card. It is a security feature that carries more info than does the black magnetic strip on the back and replaces the black magnetic strip. (Most US cards will still retain the magnetic strip for a few years to be compatible with machines in the US.

A chip and *pin* card requires you to enter a pin #, just like an ATM requires.
A chip and *signature* card doesn't require you to enter a pin number, but does require the attendant to print out a receipt that you sign, just like the old magnetic strip cards.

Southam

Aside from the mechanics of using your plastic in other countries, you should look into the expense. Many credit card companies charge extra for transactions in foreign currencies. You cannot assume that the fees (or lack of fees) you experience back home will apply abroad. One of my cards, for instance, fee-free at home, applies a $5 fee for each purchase across an ocean. That's a pretty hefty penalty for a small purchase such as a museum ticket. However tedious, reading the fine print in your card agreement can help you save money. My policy is to use cash for all but the largest purchases. Wonderful stuff, cash: Quick, easy, and efficiently obtained from bank-run ATM machines everywhere (using a debit/ATM card, not credit.) And since I am lecturing, carry two ATM cards, drawn on different banks, as back-up.

thursdaysd

The chip and PIN issue does not apply to ATM/debit cards, which continue to work just fine to get cash from ATMs. I never use them as debit cards, I use credit cards for purchases.

Definitely find out what fees you will be charged. I have a no-fee account that I use only for travel, plus a low fee Credit Union account for backup. I believe BofA charges the usual high bank fees.

Depending on where you are going, you may find that cash is hardly used (see the current thread on Scandinavia), or that cash is still king. And do tell your card issuers when and where you are traveling.

daria

Thank you! So, we can use our regular ATM cards at ATMs without a problem? But, we would need a chip in the ATM card to use it as a Visa? It already has a PIN.

nytraveler

My last two replacement cards (visas from different banks) have both been chip and pin. Perhaps you could ask your bank when they will start issuing them and get one early.

elbegewa

We're nervous nellies, so have an ATM card that is not linked to our normal bank accounts ... we keep a special limited account for trips and use an ATM card linked to that ... so if someone somehow hacks or uses it, they get only the limited amount of money in it.

Our travel ATM account is with Bank of America ... they have a deal with a major bank in each of the major countries where you are charged just what you'd be charged at home (0) though the 3 charge on foreign exchange fees still applies.

Some ATM machines in EU take only 4 digit pin codes, so be aware of that.

And many ATM machines don't have letters on the keys, so either know your pin by number, or carry a photo of an ATM keypad so you can convert.

I still use a credit card in addition to the ATM/debit card since credit cards offer more protection than debit cards.

And we always carry an alternative ATM card and credit card in case our usual ones don't work (we've had to use the alternative a couple of times during our trips for various unknown reasons.

thursdaysd

@nytraveler - are you sure those are chip and PIN and not chip and signature - did you give them the Walmart test? Which banks?

@elbegewa - my travel accounts charge 0% and 1% foreign conversion fee respectively. I regard 3% as extortionate. And I think we had a post recently from someone who was charged to use an ATM even though it was supposedly linked to BofA.

Kathie

Don't use your ATM card as a Visa, as it is a debit card and you do not have credit card protections against fraud. And even though your ATM card has a pin, if it doesn't have a chip, it won't work as a credit card in Europe.

There are now many credit cards that do not charge a foreign exchange fee for using your card in foreign countries. I have two such cards from Chase. Otherwise, your card will charge you 3% for foreign exchange. I've never heard of a credit card like Southam's that charges $5 per use in foreign countries, though most of the US big banks charge $5 per use at a foreign ATM, plus 3% foreign exchange.

Sarastro

<i>we would need a chip in the ATM card to use it as a Visa?</i>

If you mean that you want to use your ATM card for debit purchases, it will need a chip.

<i>My last two replacement cards (visas from different banks) have both been chip and pin.</i>

Having a chip and having a PIN does not make a credit card a chip & PIN card. The difference between a chip & PIN card and a chip & signature card is that with chip & PIN cards, all transactions are authenticated with a PIN entry. A signature is not required when using EMV processing equipment (such as what Walmat uses in the USA and is almost exclusively used outside of the USA).

Most all of the credit cards issued by US banks are chip & signature.

<i>Our travel ATM account is with Bank of America ... they have a deal with a major bank in each of the major countries where you are charged just what you'd be charged at home (0) though the 3 charge on foreign exchange fees still applies</i>

True, B of A now charges a heavy 3% on ATM withdrawals. However, few if any other banks charge their clientèle $5 for using an ¨out of network¨ foreign bank. No US bank charges more for foreign ATM withdrawals than does Bank of America.

<i>One of my cards, for instance, fee-free at home, applies a $5 fee for each purchase across an ocean. </i>

I´m with Kathie on this. I have never heard of a credit card that charges a fixed fee for its use. What card are you using that does this Southam?

thursdaysd

" However, few if any other banks charge their clientèle $5 for using an ¨out of network¨ foreign bank. "

I believe Wells Fargo does. And I don't think it has a foreign "network".

Sarastro

<i>I believe Wells Fargo does.</i>

Wells Fargo charges the same as B of A but, as you point out, does not have a foreign bank association network.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/help/faqs...card/?zip=none

Christina

<<One of my cards, for instance, fee-free at home, applies a $5 fee for each purchase across an ocean. >>

yikes, are you kidding? I have never heard of such a thing but I suspect this can't be a credit card. I've never heard of a debit card doing that but that sounds more likely, that it is like an ATM charge. I sure wouldn't use such a card but I would never use a debit card to buy stuff anyway.

I've never had a problem using nonchip American credit cards abroad, especially places like hotels which want foreign clientele. okay, one restaurant in Paris couldn't figure out how to use the nonchip card (which was unusual, even small restaurants in some small towns haven't had trouble elsewhere in France), and when I tried to explain, I just gave up and paid cash as it wasn't worth it and it was a small bill. But that was unusual.

Actually, quite a few banks where I live (mid-Atlantic area) charge a $5 foreign ATM fee. Mine doesn't as it is Capital One (I don't pay anything as I have a premium account), but I know PNC, BB&T and M&T banks all do and they are in the northeast/east coast area. And I think they all charge a 3 pct foreign transaction charge on top of that $5 fee.

Kathie

Most of the big banks charge $5 per use of a foreign ATM, not just BoA. But you have plenty of other options. Especially look at credit unions and small banks. And your brokerage account may well even refund any fees charged by the bank that owns the ATM.

Louise2Italy

In 2010 I traveled to Italy from the US. I opened a Capital One cc (one year no cc fee) b/c they do not impose foreign transaction fees. The fee is $59 a year now and I used it again in 2014 on another trip to Italy and used it for everything with no transaction fees.

My TD Bank ATM card, at the time, did not charge a fee for withdrawals in the US but would have charged in a foreign country. I went to the bank to let them know I was going abroad and was told that if I had a certain amount in my checking account, TD would reimburse me for the bank in Italy's transaction fee. They also upped my daily limit for the period of time I was in Italy. Wouldn't hurt to check with your bank about what they can do for you to keep your business.

Dukey1

While it is a good idea to notify your card issuer of any travel outside the geographic area where you reside and usually use that card, to say that "it will be blocked" has certainly not been my own personal experience. There have been several times when I have traveled at the last minute, used one of my cards elsewhere and they were not automatically blocked.

kerouac

The foreign ATM fee is really a disgusting scam. When the euro came into place in most of the EU, the first reaction of the banks was to say "oh, we'll have lower fees for the euro zone." Thank god the EU said "the whole point of the euro is to eliminate fees when there is no currency exchange!" So all of the foreign fees were cancelled in the nick of time.

But in any place where there is a currency conversion taking place, there will always be some type of fee, even if it is just hidden in the exchange rate used.