lauramoranz

Andrews Federal is the only place I could find to get a true Chip N Pin card. Most banks only offer Chip N Signature cards.
One complaint about Andrews though. Beware and apply for Credit Card months before you travel!!!!! I applied back in March 2013... here it is end of May and still no card. Am being told it's being processed but could take 3 weeks for delivery since it is manufactured in Canada. That puts us too late before we leave to have the cards.
The problems have been….you must become a member of the bank 1st, and then apply for card. Then they send out documents via email for you to sign and I didn’t' understand that both me and my husband were sent 2 separate emails with places for our signatures. I assumed mine was the only one sent and thought it curious when I was the only one made to sign. Sent it off anyways, no follow ups from them or anything. Called back 2 weeks later to learn my husband had an email too (went to spam). Once I signed it and sent it off I guess it was approved finally. But Andrews has no communication with you and it's all on your end to make sure the application and cards are being processed. Call them weekly!!!!! Just disappointed that they didn't contact me in any way to let me know status of application.

november_moon

Seems like a lot of hassle to get a Chip and PIN card. The only place in Europe that we haven't been able to use a swipe-style credit card is unmanned terminals, just as ticket kiosks.

janisj

You don't need a chip and PIN card so why jump through those hoops.

I travel to Europe frequently and don't even have a chip & Signature card yet, just old magnetic strip cards and as long as I don't try to buy petrol at an unattended station I'm fine. A few train ticket kiosks/machines won't take my cards - but if there is a staffed window I can just use that . . .

Just got back from a 3 week trip and my traveling companion had a new BofA chip and signature travel card - there was no difference. Hers worked everywhere, mine worked everywhere.

sparkchaser

I'll second janisj. Magnet stripe cards work just fine in most of Europe and where they do not, use cash that you pulled out of an ATM.

thursdaysd

I disagree with janisj on this, and will be getting a chip and pin card before my next trip. A couple of trips back I wanted to buy a local train ticket at the Nice train station, and the machines would not take my card. The "people" line was so long and so slow that after I missed two trains I gave up and did something else. If Capital One isn't issuing chip and pin cards by then I'll be applying to Andrews Credit Union, so thanks for the warning.

crellston

Magnetic stripe cards are very old technology and havent been available in the UK for many years. Thye extremely vulnerable to fraud in both ATms and retail outlets hence the advent of chip and pin which are already being superseded by contactless card with some banks. I am surprised that this seems to be the predominant technology used by US banks.

sparkchaser

I have a chip & pin AMEX and that didn't stop someone from somehow getting my card number and try to buy tickets to Greece.

crellston

Maybe, but card fraud is a lot easier with a non chip and pin card!

sparkchaser

Agreed.

november_moon

My guess is that US banks have come to the conclusion that it is less expensive to cover the fraud loses than to switch to a new system.

sparkchaser

You're probbaly correct. Can you imagine all the phone calls their service numbers would be getting from people that want to know why their cards don't work because didn't read the slew of letters that came beforehand describing the change.

Iowa_Redhead

<<<My guess is that US banks have come to the conclusion that it is less expensive to cover the fraud loses than to switch to a new system.>>>

Yes and no. It's not just the banks/credit unions who have to change but the retailers as well. The US is switching to chip and signature (I think almost everyone by 2015, gas pumps by 2017ish?) because there are already so many different PIN networks set up that chip and PIN would be extremely expensive to set up here for the very small number of Americans who travel internationally and actually NEED a chip and PIN card rather than the basic magnetic stripe or chip and signature card.


Many places have chip and signature cards available if requested... I just got one from Citi recently.