StuDudley

>> I just don't like automatic bill payment and prefer to have control<<

Yes - but I think once a "false" charge hits your credit card - the "problems" start there and must be resolved with the credit card company. Actually paying the credit card from your brokerage account is irrelevant as far as challenging the false charge is concerned. We've received a few disputed charges in the past, and Cap One issued us a credit perhaps 2 months after we paid the original erroneous charge. I realize that an $8,000 charge might be a shocker and it probably gave you motivation to keep on top of your CC charges more than I do. Perhaps if we get a large "whopper" like that - we would do the same thing you do.

Stu Dudley

DebitNM

Isabel - short answer is "yes" you can put money into the Andrews "VISA, payment account ahead of time and when the bill comes due, it will automatically pay it from that account.

StuDudley

My wife worked for Visa for 20 years and before that BofA for 10 years.

She says that for a "disputed" charge on your CC, it is her understanding that you can contact the CC issuer, start the dispute process, and then pay the CC for everything except the disputed amount. Interest or penalties will not be charged on the "disputed" amount by your CC issuer. Also, your "case" is not influenced by whether the "disputed" amount was actually paid or not paid by your brokerage account.

Therefore, on your $8,000 disputed charge, it is all a matter of whether you can "live" with an $8,000 payment out of your Fidelity brokerage account and then a later credit back to your brokerage account (through a later credit on your CC). Or whether you don't want the $8,000 to ever leave your brokerage account.

Stu Dudley

DebitNM

Follow up - the Andrews chip and pin card worked today at an InterMarche store in Apt today without any issue. So, that is one less obstacle to it.

xyz123

Deb...just curious did the pos ask for your pin or did it print a receipt for you to sign?

DebitNM

Printed a receipt to sign, that seems to be how it works at places with merchants.

xyz123

Yup....that's what we've been saying and we know i.e. the Andrews card (and also SDFCU and now PenFed) all default as chip and signature at most places where a man or woman is doing the transaction. As I said, I'm glad it went through fine but there have been a few (not a lot) reports of merchants after the receipt is printed saying no go or something to that effect! But glad you're happy.

isabel

But if it's a place with a person at the register, wouldn't any credit work? I've never had any trouble with my Cap One Visa except at un-manned places like train station kiosks, gas stations that don't have a human on duty, and the like.

BTW, Deb - are you writing a trip report? How is Provence in February?

xyz123

Most likely yes which is why what the big banks have done is sort of just for show and tell purposes. It is very very rare that a merchant accepting a chip and signature card doesn't take a magnetic strip card; at least that's been my experience with this. But sometimes I suppose some 18 year old kid acting as a cashier might be completely unfamiliar how to swipe a magnetic strip card and at least he or she knows how to stick the card in the chip reader but then may be startled by the machine printing a receipt.

Like I said the whole thing is in a state of flux that is changing but hasn't changed yet to a degree where magnetic strip cards are obsolete. But that day is coming.

Alan_CT

I'm going to post this separately, but thought it might be relevant here, too. For two days I've tried to book TGV tickets on www.voyages-sncf.com. Travel is May 11, so I'm looking for the low PREM prices.

After two of my U.S. Visa bank cards were repeatedly rejected I decided to try my Canadian bank Visa debit card (I'm in the USA but have a Canadian account). It went through in a jiffy.

Have not had this happen before, including last year when I bought tickets online. Both cards have active travel notifications and most of the times I filled out the transaction I was not asked what country the tickets would be delivered to. My U.S. card also was rejected for an apartment deposit in Barcelona.

I hope this doesn't mean European vendors are beginning to decline our antiquated cards even online.

doug_stallings

The difficult thing is that you don't know why your US card was declined. It could be a fraud-detection decline (by your own bank) or it could be something else. I don't think you have enough evidence to infer anything now.

I was completely unable to buy tickets from a Philippine airline online a few years ago, and that had absolutely nothing to do with the chip-and-pin issue.

The Vatican cannot currently accept credit card payments, and that has absolutely nothing to do with chip-and-pin issues.

So perhaps TGV can't currently process US cards for some reason ... or maybe it's your own bank.

StuDudley

>> It is very very rare that a merchant accepting a chip and signature card doesn't take a magnetic strip card<<

I've been in a few Hyper Marches in France where the card reader that reads a swipe card had been removed or disabled. On one occasion, the cashier tried the "disabled" reader, and it did not work. She called the store manager who came down to talk to us and the manager said that they had recently gone to an "all-chip" service. This was in Normandy in '11. That same year, two manned gas stations (one associated with a grocery & 1 not) would not take our swipe card. At a small local restaurant in the Pyrenees last year, the waiter showed us his card reader and "motioned" to us that there was no "mechanism" on the reader to read a swipe a card. I examined the device - and sure enough - there was no swipe slot.

We spend 2 months in France each year staying in Gites. This '11 & '12 experience was a "first" for us. Swipe cards worked perfectly for the prior 22 years (if they took CCs at all) - except at Peage toll booths. We know they would not work at un-manned gas stations - so we didn't even try.

Stu Dudley

xyz123

I'm not arguing with you Stu....it sems to be relatively rare and you gave several good examples. The question then becomes, and it may have been you, are there merchants in your experience with a chip and signature card who have then refused the transaction because of no request for a pin?

Again I'm not questioning you and this is all in a state of flux all over and seems to be more related to a country's attitude about credit cards. I know there have been lots of reports of Danish merchants not taking magnetic strip cards.

I would agree, though, it might not be a bad idea for somebody who travels to get at least a chip and signature card. As I mentioned, the easiest seems to be the Bank of America trvel rewards card although it is strictly chip and signature not chip and pin.

But as I said, who knows what will be in another year or six mnths. There is indeed a movement within the eu to prohibit use of all non chip and pin cards. Not necessarily imminent but who knows.

doug_stallings

Actually, I've been told by a travel writer who lives in Amsterdam that it's becoming more frequent for establishments there not to accept US credit cards without the chip and pin, particularly restaurants that don't maintain two different readers. Beyond that, I can't really say. When I was in Amsterdam last year I had no problem using my card, nor did I have problems in Germany in late October, either at restaurants or stores.

StuDudley

>>But as I said, who knows what will be in another year or six months<<

That is exactly my point. Prior to '11 I had no problems with my swipe card - except for toll booths & unmanned gas stations. Since then I have had several at places where I usually run-up large tabs (groceries, restaurants, and gas stations) that refused my swipe card and I had to pay cash. We mainly travel in France, but in '11 we stayed in London for 2 1/2 weeks and I could not purchase an Oyster card at an automated machine. I had to do it at the cashiers office - when it opened the next day.

>>are there merchants in your experience with a chip and signature card who have then refused the transaction because of no request for a pin?<<

We don't have a chip & signature card - so I don't know. We're getting a BofA Travel Card - so I'll find out. BofA seems to take less hassle setting up than the Andrews card. We've been banking at BofA for 42 years & my wife worked at their corporate headquarters for about 10 years - before they moved elsewhere.

Stu Dudley

Alan_CT

My BofA business account card was declined by SNCF and Caixa in Barcelona. I called and BofA said it had no record a transaction had been attempted, so it may be that some European financial institutions are blocking some U.S. cards.

So warned, I'll be sure to take my Canadian chip and pin card along.

sharona

We could not use our US swipe card at the train stations in The Netherlands last year. There's a sign at the manned ticket counter that explicitly states "no swipe cards." We had to pay cash for our train tickets. We didn't have any trouble using them in hotels or restaurants but the server usually had to bring out the special card reader.

We were purchasing a few things in the Van Gogh Museum store. I asked if we could use our US credit card and the clerk said they had to take them as they would lose a lot of business otherwise.

memnem

I received my requested USAA chip and PIN card last week. PIN came in separate mailing. The technology is available only for their MasterCard. We won't be using the card as chip and PIN for awhile, but I don't expect any problem.

See their faqs: http://content.usaa.com/mcontent/sta...ocs/126885.pdf

isabel

I just found this blog that explains the details of the process of applying for the Andrews FCU card: http://victoria-hawkins.com/archives/744

DebitNM

That is from a year ago. Seems like what I went through. There is some misinformation on it. I posted, but don't know if when comment will appear.

The 1% fee is no longer charged. Also,cin a comment by "Jason" he says that the Andrews card acts like a debit card when it is used in a fully automated situation - no signature, unmanned booth etc. and that the cash is deducted right away. That is not true. It is I like all credit cards, you get billed lfor later payment.