Call your credit card company and let them know when & where you will be using your card ...

No, French merchants (like merchants all over the world) are happy to take your credit cards, though in general Amex outside big cities isn't quite as widely accepted as Visa and Mastercard. And there are some instances, such as train station ticket machines and automatic fuel stations where your card may not work if it's not a chip-and-pin card (which it likely isn't). And of course at outdoor markets and such you may find vendors who will deal only in cash.

Last year in a few grocery stores in not-so-touristy areas, we were not able to use our swipe card. For the 11 years prior to last year, we had no problems using it.

As noted - only a chip card will work at un-attended gas stations and train/metro automated ticket machines.

About 15% of the time we tried to use our swipe card at an un-attended toll both on an autoroute, it was not accepted.

Stu Dudley

Our swipe card did not work at the booth at 2 different "attended" gas stations last year. We never had problems at attended stations prior to last year.

Stu Dudley

Some Metro stations in Paris have added new ticket machines that accept US cards without any problem at all. These seemed to be new in April, 2011, and were the machines with menus in multiple languages. The older machines accept chip and pin or cash only.

The RER ticket machines at CDG accept US credit cards. I cannot speak of any others.

Caveat: I was only in Paris when using my cards. The only place my card was outright denied was at the ticket machine at the Luxembourg RER station (this did, of course, happen early in the morning when I was trying to get to CDG to catch my flight home!). That machine didn't even have a cash mechanism. Fortunately there was a kiosk up on the street level so I was able to buy one from an actual agent. (I had bought tickets for a return trip at CDG, but apparently threw away the correct ticket at some point instead of the one I'd already used. Oops.)

Anyway, any shop or museum I tried accepted a swipe card. I used cash if I encountered a machine. I was in Italy last year - the chip seems to be a little more necessary in France than in Italy, but I had no real problems apart from the above.

We had essentially the same experiences as StuDudley last fall. In addition, there are some parking garages where chip/pin credit card payment is required to exit the garage.

I have not had any problems EXCEPT on the Metro/RER machines that are "suppose" to accept all American cards. They wouldn't take mine The merchants/hotels/one resturant/ etc.. all knew what to do!

I have received a chip/pin card now and will take it in the future just for this reason, but since it's not a good card in terms of fees etc.. it's only getting pulled out if I am stuck

How do we know which cards are the chip/pin?

I remember this conversation a few years ago trying to rent one of the rental bikes in Paris. But I forgot how the whole thing works.

Last year on I'le Saint Louis, a tourist area, several shops would not take my Amex.

Be sure to ask what your bank charges for using it in France. We took out a CapitalOne International card solely because it has a 0% user fee

Have fun!

In the South/Southwest we only had an issue at a couple restaurants and stores. However, do check your statements after, we had a few multiple-swipes, which I chalk up to them being confused how to use the swipe (rather than chip). Tolls were fine.

Andrews Federal Credit Union now has true chip and pin [not signature cards] credit cards. There is no annual fee, but they do charge 1% foreign transaction fee. I will take this along with Cap One Credit Card and Cap One ATM, which are fee-less.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/chip-in-credit-card.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/do-atms-charge.cfm#last-comment

From the first thread linked above:

DebitNM on Mar 5, 12 at 9:25pm
It seems that there is a misunderstanding at to what CHIP and PIN really is about. A TRUE CHIP and PIN does not require a signature. It is put into a reader, a PIN is then entered by cardholder and the transaction is complete.

Most of the card that say they are CHIP cards, may have a PIN to use with it, but ultimately the transaction HAS to have a signature to complete. Very different things.

This link shows the various cards and if the require a signature. And also note, that many of the cards either are for commercial accounts or if they are for individuals, have [high]annual fees. Buyer beware when searching for cards.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ani-u3tGk5hedGRvcE1ELVg5UmlGZk01SHZvTUMxdUE#gid=0

Andrews FCU is the way to go.

<Most of the card that say they are CHIP cards, may have a PIN to use with it, but ultimately the transaction HAS to have a signature to complete.>

I have the US Bank FlexPerks Visa with a chip. During our last trip to France, it worked as a chip and PIN (no signature required) card, and also as a chip and signature card. It also works as a swipe/signature card and has the pay/wave RFID function (which .

I do think the Andrews FCU card is a better way to go with no annual fee and a lower foreign transaction fee. Hope it works well.

I called Citibank and asked about a chip card. They said that they are partially converted.

They were prepared to convert my account but I would have had to change my credit card number which I didn't want to do.

I then applied for a new card with no annual fee but includes a chip card.

The intention is that I'll use my regular card whenever possible and the chip card when I have a problem. So I'm less concerned with transaction fees and more concerned with it working.

I assume it also has a swipe strip since I'm sure they want me to use it everywhere.

We'll see how that works out.

Myer, most Citibank cards are not true chip and pin. They have a chip but must be swiped and signed. Look at the link above with doc.google.

DebitNM,

Thanks.

Then what good is it if it diesn't work?

I'll see if the instructions that come with it shed any light on the matter.

Maybe I'll also look into the Andrews card you mentioned above.

Good thing I have two months.

And I thought I was too old to start gathering credit cards.

Someone mentioned the Velib bike rental as requiring a chip and pin card. I have read a couple places recently that you can now use an American Express magnetic swipe card. I copied the below information from an article I found online. As a side note the last time I was in Paris I don't think I needed an iPhone app to find a station as they seemed to be everywhere.

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/french-velorution/#more-215161

The Vélib’ app, available on iTunes, tells you where to find the nearest station and the number of bikes there. And at a little more than $2 a day, the price is hard to beat. (Bring your American Express card, though; Vélib’ machines are not compatible with Visas and MasterCards that do not have a European chip.)

@klieghj -- I was the one who asked, and I thank you for the information!

I have usedmy Amex to rent the Velib bikes so it does work

As to how you know it is a chip and pin..In my case the bank told me when they sent me the updated card. There was an entire flyer of info. The card also looks different. You can see the chip
The brochure claims this is the same as used in Europe and since it was from a bank with lots of European locations (HSBC) I am going to trust them

Usually no problem if you call and let them know in advance your travel dates. Also note that some/many credit card companies add on one or more categories of foreign transaction fees. There are some that are cheaper than others -Capital One appears to be one of the lower fee cards for foreign travel in my experience. It's not too much of an issue unless you are charging heavily, but the fees can add up.

"Capital One appears to be one of the lower fee cards for foreign travel" -- it is fee free, in fact.

Myer, the difference is one is a chip and pin and one is a chip and sign. The chip and pin is the card that works at the unmanned kiosks and ticket vending machines. Thanks to DebitNM I have an Andrews visa chip and pin card(and atm card)

One thing missing from your chart Allison are the annual fees for the credit cards. Cap One Signature Visa has no annual fee, nor does the same card at Andrews FCU . I don't know what Chase Mileage charges per year or if it does at all, but the Amex you mentioned certainly does charge a fee. These annual fees may eat up any savings a casual foreign traveler might get from using these cards.

Ever since an embarrassing incident at a toll booth on the Autoroute in which my U.S. card wasn't accepted, resulting in much honking and gesturing behind us, I try to always carry enough cash for tolls, transportation tickets and small purchases.

We keep a bank account at CIBC in Canada and recently received a chip and pin debit card. Trying to decide if it's worth plunking some extra cash there just in case. To open an account you need to show up in person; after that you can mail in deposits.

Other than self-pay kiosks and toll booths, we've never had a problem using credit cards in the past.

Here's an article about Visa's feeble effort to bring chip and pin to its customers: http://tinyurl.com/7ktwxjf

DebitNM,

I almost started to curse you.

I went to Andrews web site to fill in an online application for their Globe Trek credit card.

Everything went well until I tried to submit my application. It kept telling me that I had an invalid or missing date of birth.

The format shown on the screen is mm/dd/yyyy. Simple enough.

If I entered the "/" a box immediately popped up informing me to enter only numbers. If I entered only numbers I got an error message for a missing or invalid birth date.

Eventually (I hope this helps somebody else) I figured out the problem. I'm using Windows 7 and their input form is not compatible with Windows 7.

There's a little box on the right hand side of the URL bar at the top of the screen. It looks like a little rectangle that's been broken horizontally. It's for "compatibility view". I clicked it (it went blue) and everything worked properly.

Glad you sorted it out!

DebitNM,

I don't know whether to curse you or thank you.

I wonder if you went thru the same thing with AndrewsFCU. Everytime I think the process has been completed they either mail me or email me more forms to sign.

I just called them this morning and was told everything has been approved now it takes about 2 weeks to get the card as they're produced in Canada.

Maybe since they come from Canada there's a hope it will work internationally.

DebitM: I have a Mileage plus visa. It used to have a $60 charge, but I decided to use the Mileage Plus Explorer Visa, and the charge is now $95; however, that enables me to use the United lounge during layovers and to check a bag free. Theoretically, I'm supposed to be able to board early, too.

I'd be sure to bring an extra credit card, if I were you. On my last trip, to Spain, there were a couple of times when my card didn't work. I always carry at least two cards, so that wasn't a problem, and I could always use cash.

On our 2011 trip, my friend's ATM card didn't work at all, though she'd been to her bank and confirmed that it would work. Fortunately, I had enough in my checking account to cover her needs, so I lent her what she needed.

I even have an extra ATM card, because I'm paranoid about getting my card chewed up in a machine. For my next trip I will keep track of the pin numbers of my credit cards, too. I'd use one of them to get cash only in an emergency, because they start charging interest as soon as you get the cash.

You never can tell.

Myer--Great job reporting back. In fact, I think you should post your discoveries and process on a new thread. We have a lot of these types of posts, so many "oldbies" like me ignore them. A new thread after you've hammered out the problems would be especially helpful to those of us who mistakenly think we are "in the know".

Let me explain--I've been using ATM and credit cards in France forever with little problem, but I never knew until today about the Andrew FCU. The Windows 7 thing was great. If you decide to do so, could you add in Debit MN's info about true Chip/PIN?

Of course you'll need a title. How about "Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks with Credit in Paris"?

Sidenote:
--I always found it strange that AMEX, which is not widely accepted in Europe,for some reason works in Velib rental. Never made sense to me, but I can attest that my daughter rented bikes all over Paris last fall without incident.

--I happily just used a regular check card (non Visa) at ATMs and my Visa (had backups just in case for both) for years. Last year, we realized that daughter would be withdrawing from ATM regularly over her four months in Paris, so small ATM fees that we thought were not bad when one was withdrawing hundreds and hundreds of Euros at a time would make a lot of difference to a kid who wanted to withdraw merely one hundred. We opened both CapOne and Schwab banking accounts for that (again, giving her backups) and we had also opened a Cap One Visa the year before to avoid international transaction fees.

We are happy with all.

Myer, sorry you have had such troubles with the Andrews card. As I stated on my posts, I had the card within 10 days of filling in the app online [which included 2 weekends which slowed things down]. I think it will be worth you while.

I am all set - have Cap One Accounts for ATM/cash needs and Cap One for all credit card needs [we each have sep. credit card accts and sep ATM/checking accts.] We have the Andrews credit card for non-manned booths. And we have AMEX for Velib and to rent car so we get excellent insurance on rental.

I have never had a problem in ten years until this trip. Our credit union atm is not giving us money. My chase card has been declined twice but worked at one store. It was declined tonight but my credit union debit card worked. Yikes, I am at wits end. We have the Andrew Global trek card but I like having my own cards to spend what I want to spend. I have some euros left but not enough and zero pounds for our three days in the UK. I notified everyone before leaving. I am buying euro from now on. Thank God I bought enough to pay madame for the apartment in Paris!

DebitNM - I look forward to hearing about your experience with the Andrews card. As I've reported previously, my US Bank Flexperks Visa does work sometimes as a chip/PIN card, but not always (all fuel pumps and some tolls). It also works as a chip/signature card, and of course, it works as a swipe/signature card here in the US. There is an annual fee and they do charge a foreign transaction fee, so I would be interested in the Andrews card for future travel if it works well for you.

Of course, this may soon be moot since everyone's saying we will all be using our phones in the future for charging things and credit cards will be obsolete!

We're going to Montreal in a little under two weeks but I shouldn't have a problem there as I don't expect to do anything other than store/restaurant-type purchases.

In early June we're going to Province and Paris. I assume by then I'll have the Andrews Chip & Pin card.

I expect to buy local train tickets and if I do it as in Tuscany two years ago, I'll use machines instead of lines.

This will be a good test of the card.

DebitNM,
I expect part of the delay might have been my doing though it shouldn't have been. For employment I wrote retired even though I'm not. I expected they would get my credit score and be happy. Well, they didn't do that. In fact, I suspect they didn't know what to do.

Eventually they were satisifed and we'll see if the card ever arrives.

Although I have never had any issue with credit cards or ATM in Italy, I just applied for the Capital One credit card (always planned to for the 0% foreign transaction) and ATM. I also applied for the Andrews card without any issue. My husband and I leave for France on June 27th and will be set to go. Thank you all for your input on this thread. As always, very helpful. If there are any issues with the Andrews card (I did something incorrectly), I will post.

I applied for the Andrews credit card online in March. I got the message your application is being processed. I finally called them about a week later when that message wasn't changed. At tht point they explained to me, I would have to join the credit union (I had to join some organization with a frtee membership), open up an account with Andrews (I did for $5) and provide verification of income which I provided and it took about 10 days but I did get the card. I haven't been out of the country since and it would be a back up card anyway as it has a 1% foreign transaction fee....I will only use my Bank Americard rewards card, which is a successor to the Schwab credit card and of all the bank of America cards exempts you from the near criminal 3% foreign transacton fee, has no annual fee and provides a 1% rebate on all purchases (2% was the norm for the late Schwab card). I also replaced the late dear departed Schwab card with a Fidelity Amex card which also has a 2% overall rebate on everything but has two deficiencies...#1 it's an Amex which has many holes in its coverage outside the USA and 2) it has a 1% foreign currency or transaction fee, not sure of which. Of course during this quarter of the year, I am using my Chase rewards card for groceries (5% rebate on all grocery charges), my Discover card for restaurants (5% rebate on restaurants this quarter) and a card from Penn Fed for pet;rol (5% on all petrol purchases).

I feel almost like a pig rolling around in mudj with all these decisions I have to make and the way I'm able to save big time <g>.

Indeed life can be so complicated!

My amusement with Andrews continues.

I called yesterday wondering where my card is. They told me it would take two weeks to arrive since it's made in Canada.

Well, it arrived in today's mail. I should have asked two weeks from when.

With all of the communications between them and me during this process I don't remember anything about assigning a PIN. I guess that's an important part.

I read their documentation through and no mention of the PIN. I guess I'll call on Monday.

They do mention in several places to sign the back of the card as that's part of the security process.

I always write on the back of my cards to "Ask for Id". The odd time they do ask I show picture Id. I always felt that if I sign the card anybody who finds it now has a sample of my signature.

xyz123.
Your experience is similar to mine except I told them I was retired as that could happen the next time I get fed up with going to work. I think that freaked them out a bit and they didn't know what to do. I figured they would check my credit score and that would satisfy them.

The pin should have come sep. It cannot be changed

Myer..

Technically, if you write ask for id on your credit card, you invalidate the card. I don't know if you've ever read any of my other posts but in USA (and yes I know not all over the world) merchant agreements, merchants while they can ask for id are not allowed to refuse a transaction for lack of id (they can ask for id if the signature on the sales slip doesn't match the signature on the credit card). Again, I understand the phobia some people have b ut having your credit card compromised is, in the scheme of things, not the worst thing in the world to deal with. You tell the credit card cmpanies which charges are not yours, they remove them from your bill and they issue a new card with a new number (it's happened to me 3 times in the last 25 years). The biggest pain is notifying those who you have contracted with to make automatic payments from your credit card of the new number, expiration date and change in ccv number but then again you have to do that every time a credit card is re-issued with a new number. OTOH, identity theft can be a real serious problem and every time you show some clerk id, there is the possibility of him or her rmemorizing say your driver's license number; match that up with a stolen credit card number and that can be real trouble.

Finally, though, it's to a certain degree in the USA at least pretty much a moot point. Rarely do they check signatures any more on the vast majority of charges. You swipe your card in the pos terminal, a sales receipt is printed sometmes they ask for a signature, other times say at the post office or at many grocery stores or many fast food places, they don't ask for a signature at all!

It's funny though. Every time I use a non chip card in the UK, the clerk makes a pretense of checking the signature. They look but never follow up as my signature is hard to read in the signature panel of the credit card.

(Before I get flamed, I know that in many countries these same rules do not hold).

The only place I have problems at home these days is at restaurants when I refuse to give the waiter my credit card. I insist that I either pay the cashier or be brought to the secret room where the card is run through the terminal (and maybe one of those hand held theft terminals too)!

Just my own friendly advice.

Myer..

Oh BTW, what I meant to tell you before I went off on my tantrum about writing see id, the PIN arrived in a separate mailing the next day......

Yes, I realize the PIN will arrive separately. With all the communications going back and forth I couldn't remember if the PIN was something I had pre-assigned.

Stores that have a minimum purchase to sign. I hate that. I would like to have to sign always. Long live chip & PIN.

Ask for ID on the back instead of actual signature. Yes, the biggest pain with getting a new number is finding and informing those who charge directly although I try to keep those to a minimum.

Amused. I'm amused by store clerks who turn over the card (my card instructs to ask for Id) and hand it back to me without asking for Id. I think as part of their training they're told to turn over the card and give it back.

= = = =
Two years ago in Tuscany my credit card suddenly wouldn't go thru in a restaurant and right after in a train station. We travel with 3 different cards so we used a backup card. The next day I called the credit card company. I don't remember her exact wording. Either "the card works" or "the card works now". I had no problems the rest of the trip. And I called the credit card company before the trip informing them where I was going and for which dates.

However, I know that when I mess up it costs me. So why not them. I negotiated a credit on my credit card account and 10,000 air miles.

On another trip many years ago we were in California. Six months later I had two charges of $499. on my card. The credit card company told me it's common that people working in car rentals (why them?) copy numbers and sell them for future use.

xyz123.
It sometimes bothers me to give my card at a restaurant but I get over it. I figure that most people are honest and there's as much chance of this happening as anything else.

For some reason (maybe for that) I take a quick look at my credit card account every week or two and don't wait for the invoice to arrive. Once I noticed an issue.

We went out to a restaurant and the credit card charge had $100 added to the front of the charge. Before calling the credit card company I called the restaurant and spoke with the manager.

He told me the server was no longer with the restaurant. He credited our credit card $100 and sent us a $25. gift card.

About 15 years ago we did notice something strange happen. Whenever our credit card bill was very high (charge part of the cost of a car, hurricane shutters (we live in south Florida) and many expenses after a move) we noticed that the invoice wouldn't arrive and then come a month late with interest charges. We always called and had them reversed.

After a particularly large purchase my wife mentioned it to me and sure enough the invoice didn't arrive. I can't believe they have something in their program to cause an invoice not to print the first month when the balance is high. Conspiracy?

= = = =
And on a totally different topic. During the Atlanta olympics my daughter drove there with a friend. She walked into a mall and made a collect call (pre-cell) to us. I don't remember the exact charge but it was outragious.

I called the obscure telephone company and told them if they didn't do something I would file a complaint with the Public Service Commission. The person told me that she "was only authorized to credit up to 90% of a charge". I almosy choked. I guess they make their money on people who don't complain.

About the same time I read an article in the newspaper. Some companies were set up in Texas (again, why Texas?) called "It Doesn't Matter", "I don't Care", etc. Then when you get a new telephone line and the sales clerk asks who will handle your long distance and you reply oh, "It doesn't matter" guess who gets your business at their rates?

Myer, my pin ID came after they called me and asked a few questions to make sure I was on the up and up. The questions were of public knowledge and credit report things so nothing invasive but I thought it was reassuring that they were putting effort into protecting my account. Patience, patience, patience, thats what my grandma used to tell me.

To continue the saga.

We were in Montreal last week for my wife's high school reunion.

I took my Andrews Chip & Pin card with for a test run prior to our trip to Provence & Paris.

Just about every store has the new card readers that permit the cardholder to slide the card in and then proceed (I'm using that word carefully).

I used the card 3 or 4 times.

Each time I used the card a slip was printed out that required signing. Once I was with a friend and his card requested a PIN where mine printed a signing slip.

What I forgot to do was use the Andrews card in a parking meter. I just thought of that and I wish I had tried it.

I called customer service and they told me that if the vendor has their reader set up for PIN only it would have requested my PIN. She also told me that their cards are set to default to "signature" when the the vendor's reader accepts both PIN or signature.

She said in Europe the card would work properly that if I used it in an unmanned machine it will request a PIN.

I did not come home with the greatest amount of confidence. Hopefully what she said is correct and the card will work as Chip & PIN.

We'll see in a couple of weeks.

I will report back.

Why would you want to use the Andrews card outside the USA unless you absolutely had to? After all, they impose the visa/mc 1% foreign transaction (or is it currency) fee passed along by visa/mc. It is my intent to only use the card in those cases where a merchant refuses to take my magnetic strip card with no foreign transaction fee and a 1% reward to boot.

Just some thoughts to consider...we are photographers and travel every year to France....never had a problem with any cards etc. however, we always carry a ziplock bag of euro coins in the car. This past fall 2011, we ran into many unmanned toll booths.We do not yet have a chipped card, unfortunately and many of the ones from the US do not work. Just for information.. It is very easy to use the unmanned toll booths with coins and you can get a receipt called recu in French.Also in the countryside we always had cash and filled up early so we did not run out of gas.We even stopped in a very very rural gas station that came with a nice bar and since I am taking French lesson I went in and asked in French could we fill up and pay cash and could I uSe the toilettes... All the people at the tinny bar clapped for my French and bought me a glass of wine...Do think about carrying some euros in case the cards do mot work. I have never had a problem with our credit cards at hotels nor have we had any ATM problems...hope that will not become a problem. the one good thing about renting or leasing a newer car in France is that we got magnificent mileage...did not have to fill up very often and we were driving for 6 weeks.

Myer, DebitNM and all,

Looking forward to your continued adventures with credit cards. I'm getting ready for my next trip and things have changed at lot since 2005!

Buon viaggio!

xyz,

Why would I want to use the card outside the USA? The question really is, "Why would I want to use the card inside the USA?"

The whole idea is to have a Chip & PIN card in Europe so that I can use unmanned vending machines and not either wait in line or not get service at all.

For instance, in a train station you have the choice of using a Chip & PIN card at a ticket vending machine or get into a line.

KathrynJane,
I have Euros but the intention is to have a card that works and not pay for everything with cash (Euros). I don't want to go backwards on this.

I know that manned vendors have to accept your signature card as per their contract. However, we will be making a fair number of train trips and I don't want to spend all day in line.

We were in Tuscany two years ago and it was very convenient just walking up to a vending machine and buy train tickets. However, they have since switched over. I often wonder what happens when someoone finds a card and walks into a train station and buys tickets. Chip & PIN protects against this.

Myer: I am totally in agreement with your viewpoint.

I'm nearing the end of the excrutiatainly long application process for the Andrews. My husband keeps saying, "Why are we doing this?"

Indeed, why have I bothered?

AFter all, I do have two credit cards that do not charge a foreign transaction fee that work beautifully for most hotel and restaurant purchases, and I have two ATM cards that will refund me any ATM fees.

Flashback: Waiting in line for ONE HOUR mid afternoon to buy train tickets at a window in Paris that I could have bought with a Chip and Pin at a kiosk in two minutes.

Flashback: Waiting in line at Amsterdam airport to buy train tickets at a window that I could have bought in one minute at a kiosk.

Flashback: Waiting in line to buy train tickets in Brussels that I could have bought in one minute at a kiosk.

It's fine when there IS an attendent. There are times when there are not. I'm not going to let that possibility happen.

Myer...I was just reminding that Andrews has a 1% foreign transaction (or it might be a foreign currency) fee...I agreed with yuo completely if you read the whole answer...I too want the card just in case. It just wouldn't be my first choice!

Actually, xyz123, it IS good that you brought up the 1% FT to reiterate why this should not become our "go-to" card.

In addition, the miles/points earned on the no FT card also make my two Visas--CapOne and Chase--more attractive.

AlessandraZoe,

I know what you mean about the application process. Every time I thought I was finnished I got more things to sign.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to look up my transactions online. Haven't figured that out yet.

I guess another call to customer service.

We travel with three credit cards. My wife has one and I have two. At home we both use the same card but when we travel she leaves that one at home.

Two years ago when we were in Tuscany one of my cards suddenly started to be rejected (I had called before the trip to inform them - maybe that was my mistake). My wife took out her card (didn't call before leaving) and paid for the meal and then a train ticket). The next day I called the credit card company and it was unlocked.

On the way back home I started to think. If I screw up I know that somehow it's going to cost me. Conversely, if they screw up shouldn't it cost them. When I got home I called and we negotiated a small settlement.

I opened up online access to the credit card on their web site and it now appears as part of my full view on my brokerage account which lists all the credit cards I have on-line access to.

I'll take a look in a little while. Thanks.

I do have had worries about getting gas at non attendant stations and ticket and toll booths.

I called Wells Fargo and they have not come up with the chip yet.

I also have a BA card at Chase which does not charge the 3% foreign transaction fee. I just called them and they will sent out a new card with all the features of the old card but with a chip which should solve the problems per above. only problem is a pretty high annual fee and BA FF program charges for fuel charges etc so a ticket is far from free. hope to use for AA trips that don;t charge the extra fees.

I will chime in -

We will use Cap One credit card for all payments on our trip that we can sign for and that are more than 5 euros. Will pay cash for anything less than 5 Euros. {We each have card, 2 different accounts}. As long as we can use this one, it is our go to card.

We will use the Andrews FCU card ONLY when we cannot sign - unmanned kiosks, tolls, gas stations. This is the beauty of a TRUE chip and pin.{1 account, but we each have a card}.

We will get cash from ATM using Cap One debit card that uses our online banking account. We only fund this account for our trips, otherwise, we keep minimal amount in it. {We each have one, different accounts}. Also, my having only travel funds in it, it limits the amount withdrawals, should someone get the card - which I doubt will happen.

And lastly, AMEX for velib rentals and for car rental, since we got the car insurance for the rental with AMEX card.

Wow, that is a lot, isn't it? Will be nice when things are same all around.

dsevig - make sure that BA card is a true chip and pin and not chip and signature. Per the chart, it is not true chip and pin, unless that has changed.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ani-u3tGk5hedGRvcE1ELVg5UmlGZk01SHZvTUMxdUE#gid=0

As of today, all the chipped cards issued by most US banks are chip and signature...the only two chip and pin cards I know of are from Andrews as we've been discussing and the UNCU open apparently only to employees of the UN.

I know it is chip and signature - when I questioned the agent she said most Kiosks will not require a signature - any ideas how effective this is?

From all my research, kiosk for train tickets etc, will not work with chip and signature. Read allessandrzoes' post from earlier today.

dsevig--DebitNM is correct.

It's not you. Agents* know squat about this because they are rarely in the position of testing the darn things.

When I use my credit card (non chip or chip/sign)at merchants in France, they actually out of habit ask me to enter a PIN. I shake my head and make a scribble motion, they nod, and then I just sign.

But I can't shake my head and motion scribble at the darn kiosk.

*Credit card agents too frequently are just like all the bank reps who keep insisting that a non-Visa ATM card does not/could not work in foreign ATMS. Does not matter that I have used a non-Visa ATM and will continue to use a non-Visa ATM in every darn ATM machine in Europe. They insist that "they" know.

Sidenote: I looked at what you are taking DebitNM and I'm wondering if you are a member of my immediate family. Looks pretty much like MY wallet.

For the record, just passing along what I've read, sometimes when you use a chip and signature card and the merchant insists on a pin, if you enter 0000 it works. Haven't been in that situation and don't shoot the messenger please.

I don't carry, xyz123.

Well, we're leaving in a week so I'll report back on my Andrews card when we get back.

I keep chiming in on these threads to say again that the U.S. Bank Flexperks Visa chipped card worked for us last fall in France in several different ways.

It worked in the kiosks for the Metro in both Lyon and Paris, and also in the kiosks for Transilien tickets in Paris with neither signature nor PIN required.

It also worked on two occasions in parking garages (Troyes and Reims) with a PIN required, no signature.

It worked as a chip and signature card in many grocery stores (Franprix, Dia, G20) in the 11th arr. in Paris near our apartment. In these stores our magnetic strip Capital One card was not accepted.

It worked without either signature or PIN in a Tabac where we refilled our Navigo Découverte passes.

It worked without PIN or signature in automated toll booths on the autoroute around Troyes and Reims.

It did not work in any fuel pump anywhere we tried.

So, unlike the experience of others reporting here, our card functioned as a chip and signature card, as a chip and PIN card, and with neither signature nor PIN. I look forward to hearing about others' experiences with other cards.

...with neither signature nor PIN.

YIKES! I don't think I would like that feature.

With rare exception, only credit cards issued by French banks will be accepted at automated fuel pumps. Don't assume your pin and chip/signature card will allow you to purchase fuel on weekends, at night, or on holidays with the attendants are not available.

Never allow your fuel tank to deplete lower than levels giving sufficient margin to purchase fuel on the next regular business day.

The only machines that I know of that require neither signature nor PIN are the toll booths. In the old days, the machines in parking lots also worked that way, but now they all seem to ask for a PIN.

In the US I hate it when I use my regular credit card and due to the store (type or contract, etc) and amount no signature is required.

ARGHHHH!!!!!

Myer....It's quite true that there are many merchants in the US who don't require signatures for amounts under a certain minimum....my grocercy chain doesn't reqire signatures for amounts under $50 and the USPS for amounts under $25....I rarely reach the minimum whatever it isfor fast food purchases either and at most gasoline (petrol) self serve stations I swipe my card, sometimes it asks for a zip code (of course that leaes foreigners out altheough I've been told that for foreign cards, entering 00000 does the trick) but even when asked to sign these days, it's on a pos scrteen and hardly ever am asked to show the card. So what? I'm not liable anyway. The postal servicde asks for the card and the clerk enters the ccv.

But I will say this. In the UK, they do make a pretense of checking signatures. Whether some 18 year old university student is going to go out of his or her way to make a stink is another question.

>The only machines that I know of that require neither signature nor PIN are the toll booths.

Kerouac, as I indicated, the kiosks in the Metro and for Transilien tickets at the Gare du Nord and in Auvers-sur-Oise did not require either PIN or signature. Perhaps with some cards a PIN might be needed, but it wasn't with this card.

Vacations and traveling are supposed to be fun. Now not only do we have to save the money to go, but we have to figure out HOW we can spend it.

I have a headache.

Dayle,

Maybe I'll just go back to Utah. Ha!!!

Actually, I'm taking my daughter to Glacier NP in Montana in August.

xyz123,

Ok. I figured out how to logon to my VISA account.

I was logging in to my regular online account and not specific to VISA.

One small step . . . .

Now for the whole reason to put myself thru this. It better work in France as Chip & PIN.

Will report when we return.

It better work in France as Chip & PIN.

hahha, it better or I am in BIG trouble, as you will all be out to get me!

Hope it works great for you both!

Can't wait to find out!

Bookmarking.

I got my Andrews Visa card two weeks ago. I made my first purchase using it Friday to check how to monitor the account. The Andrews savings and Visa payment accounts link directly to my Quicken software. The Visa ”payment” account is opened so you can directly transfer money from your Andrews savings for payments if you wish. It looks as if the Visa Card account will need to be monitored by manually entering charges into Quicken then checking online periodically (that is how I handled Cap One for years until they set up for Quicken Direct Link). Payments can be made by Bill Pay software or mail.

I’m looking forward on reports on how the card works, mostly for gas pumps and Autoroute tolls. Sarastro mentioned that only French issued credit cards are accepted at gas pumps. I hope he is wrong, but he usually isn’t. If he is right I will have to pay attention to the gauge before the manned booths close.

We will be spending a week in Italy at the end of our month long trip this year. There doesn’t seem to as much chip and pin chatter in the Italy tread but what little I find there makes me think that the situation is similar to France. If anyone has any more information let us know.

It has been mentioned a few times that Andrews doesn’t have a rewards program and they charge a FX fee. My card has “Rewards” written on the front it. I haven’t checked the website for the rules but I remember seeing 1 point per dollar charged during the application process. Isn’t the 1% foreign exchange fee charged by Visa not Andrews FCU?

DebitNM don’t worry about if the card doesn’t work as advertised; it wasn’t that much trouble to open the account and it will even less to close. Thank you for doing all the research to make it easy for the rest of us.

It's going to be an adventure for all of us!...

if I get my card...

I think I'm now finally getting it after going over the bridge, digging the tunnel, swimming the steam, rapelling the cliff and jumping the abyss.

I'm not sure I'll have internet access while away but if I do I'll try to report back. Otherwise it'll wait until we're back.

AlessandraZoe, if it works and avoids lines then it'll be worth it.

DebitNM,

Thank you for all of your research into the Chip & PIN card. Much appreciated.

Update:
Finally got my credit cards. They had said two weeks for arrival after my last hurdle (took three calls to get over that hurdle, too). It came within 16 days.

I had no problem accessing online, but I have not used it yet.

My MB branded ATM card bought us Metro tickets in an automated booth. I was also able to use it almost everywhere to get money from bank ATM's, buy items at most stores.

It did NOT work in the automated ticket machine at the train station. My Travelex (yes I know expensive) card decided not to work anymore either. The ticket line was so long the only reason we didn't miss our train is I asked a French man who successfully used the machine if he would mind buying me the two tickets (only 36E) for me, and I gave him cash. I thanked him profusely; he earned angel wings.
I don't think it would have worked in the tollbooth on A85 either, but we just dumped some coins in and didn't try it.

We would have been OK without the chip card except for the train ticket issue. They were just tickets to Vernon, and we changed our plans due to the rain, so we didn't have them ahead of time.

You can recharge the Navigo Decouverte at many ATM machines on Mondays so I suppose you could just use your regular ATM card to do that. Our local ATM's all had the Navigo recharge option come up on the screen on Monday. Pretty cool.

We just got back from 6 weeks in France.

- One InterMarche grocery & its associated gas station could not take our US swipe card. Both attendants told us this as soon as we handed them the card. They said that the store switched to chip-only recently. This was near Sauternes. All the other groceries & gas stations took our swipe card - including other InterMarches.

- the first toll station on an autoroute accepted our swipe card, and the second one did not. We paid cash for the remainder of our trip. Manned toll booths are vanishing.

- One large/new/modern/popular restaurant listed in the Michelin Red Guide could not take our swipe card. One other large/local/popular restaurant couldn't either. Both were in the Haute Pyrenees. This was a first for us.

Stu Dudley

I got back from Turkey and must report that I didn't try out the Andrews card yet. Our swipe Cap Ones and Chase Preferred worked everywhere, but I was ready to do a quick draw of the Andrews chip if I needed to.

Stu...since you've been away you may have missed this...Bank of America has announced a whole bunch of emv, chip and signature naturally, cards. One of them is the Travel Rewards Card.....no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees and equipped with emv chips. You might wish to look into it.

xyz--But then we have to deal with Bank of America.

Does anyone know how a chip/signature card would work in France?

I know that their readers can probably read a BofA chip - but how do I "sign"? The readers expect a PIN!!! I don't think it would produce paper - certainly a reader at an unmanned gas station won't, and a card reader on a Peage won't print paper to sign. If I use my swipe card at a Peage toll both I don't sign anything - perhaps a signature is not necessary. Anyone know???

Stu Dudley

Stu - Our US Bank Visa worked both as a chip/signature card and a chip/PIN card. When I used it in a store, for example, the card was inserted to read the chip, then a slip was printed out for signature. This was the case in Franprix and other stores. When I used it in parking garages in Troyes and Reims, I inserted it and a PIN was requested.

On another thread someone reported that they were told that their chip card defaulted to chip/signature, but would work as chip/PIN if there was no way to require a signature.

And, the card worked with neither signature nor PIN in a couple of autoroute toll machines and in all transportation ticket machines (SNCF, Transilien, RATP, RER) in both Paris and Lyon.

By the way, the card never worked at a fuel pump. Many report that non-French cards are not accepted for this purpose, even those with chips.

We continue to use our Capitol One Mastercard where accepted, but do like having the chipped card handy for when we need it.

Stu.....Every time I used my chip and signature Andrews FCU (for a few small purchases, the 1% foreign transaction fee is 1% more than it should be), you insert it and it tells the merchant signature required and a slip is printed the same way it would with a swipe card. In a couple of cases, the RATP machine in a Paris metro station which was unmanned and unwomanned, it worked and didn't ask for either a pin or a signature (but then again we're all used to that at fast food places, right?). As noted right above, one of the few banks that claims to be chip and pin is the Andrews one but as noted above, in every case it operted like a chip and signature card. Some claim they have sucessfully used it as chip and pin in some places in France, others claim it hasn't worked at all. Andrews claims it does default to chip and signature but if a terminal requires a pin, it will work. Can't verify that but have no reason to doubt it.

US Bank card is supposed to also be chip and signature. I won't quibble with the person above but the cash advance pin is supposed to be irrelevant and maybe any four digit number will work.

It almost seems that the USA banks have decided that it is necessary to introduce emv cards to satisfy the demands of their customers but apparently hve decided they will be going with chip and signature.

Thanks all

I'll continue with my Cap One card in Europe because I get double miles with it. The few cases I've encountered where it will not work is:
- a very small % of groceries & gas stations
- a very small % of restaurants
- Toll roads
- unmanned/unwomaned gas stations.

The latter is my biggest concern - but if MainGG is correct, a US chip card won't work there. I might avoid some lines at toll booths, but the CC only lines at the toll booths I encountered the past 6 weeks were just as long as the cash/CC lines. The "fast track" lines were short, however.

Stu Dudley

The biggest drag are the toll booths because you never know how much you need to throw in the basket until you get to the booth, then have to fumble for change. Last night was a perfect example, coming back on the A8 from Monaco to Juan les Pins after midnight and trying to see in the dark the change needed!

I was in France a month ago.

The Andrews Chip & PIN card defaults to Chip & Signature if the vendor accepts it. Otherwise it is programmed to be Chip & PIN.

In restaurants I used it 5 times just to see what would happen. Three times it went to Signature and twice is went to PIN.

However, at the ticket vending machine in train stations, where there is no ticket clerk unless you wait in line, the card went to PIN every time and worked exactly as it should.

In Paris I wanted to buy a pack of 10 Metro tickets. It wouldn't take my regular card but did take my Andrews Chip & PIN card (but with no signature).

So when it had to it worked as we wanted it to work.

Myer....did you use the card at the toll booths on the autoroutes? Or at the bycycle rental places? Or at an unmanned or unwomanned gas pump?

Just curious.

>US Bank card is supposed to also be chip and signature. I won't quibble with the person above but the cash advance pin is supposed to be irrelevant and maybe any four digit number will work.

xyz123 - I'll have to try some random numbers next time I use this card and it asks for a PIN. Won't have the chance until next spring, though.

Myer - When I used the US Bank card in ticket machines, they never required a PIN. You say that one was required when you used them. Could it be possible that the Andrews card is truly a chip/PIN card and the US Bank card isn't? I wonder what happens when French chip/PIN cards are used in these machines. Is a PIN required or not?

http://www.andrewsfcu.org/media/doc/201109_Andrews_Federal_Launches_New_VISA_Card_with_EMV_Technology_FINAL_2.pdf

Definitely looking into this.

Update.

Andrews FCU no longer charges 1% for either VISA card purchase OR for ATM withdrawals from bank account.

We are presently in France and have been using the card quite a bit.

The Andrews card has worked great - needing the pin when using a machine when no one is present.Sometimes having to sign when the card was inserted into the card reader and clerk handed paper slip to me to sign. It worked in unmanned gas stations, to pay for unmanned parking. It worked for train tickets from machine. It didn't not work for toll on one expressway, but did work at another toll booth.It didn't work for some reason at 2 different InterMarche stores, but did at all other stores.

That's good news to learn it actually works, as it does look good in the terms (if anyone can get it, which I understand they can if they join some assn that is free). Although my only need would ever really be some train ticket machines in France, but it would be nice for that. I don't care about gas stations as I have no trouble getting gas at a manned both (and don't do that much anyway), and I can always find a machine in the Paris metro system that takes cash for tickets there. Actually, the train ticket machine in Lyon took my regular American un-chipped credit card with no problem, and I've heard they do at CDG, also.

I just got back from a trip to France and Spain and never had a single problem anywhere using my regular unchipped American credit cards, no place of business refused them, even small family run restaurants, etc. It didn't work in the SNCF ticket machines, though, as I tried just to see.

On our 6 week trip to France (Pyrenees) in June/July, about 2 restaurants, 2 large grocery stores, and a couple of manned gas stations did/would not accept our swipe card. It did not work in a few toll roads either. These "refusals" were more than we encountered on our combined 25 months in France in the past 12 years.

Things are changing. I'm getting a chip/pin card for our next trip to Europe.

Stu Dudley

Hr