Do I need a debit/PiIN card in England?
 

We will be in England in September 2015. AAA Travel has indicated that many merchants, especially in Eorope only accept PIN cards embedded with smart chips. Is this true? We are concerned about being able to get cash from an ATM. Thank you!

>>We are concerned about being able to get cash from an ATM.<<

First of all, the AAA rep didn't know what s/he was talking about. The Chip and PIN issue is re <i>credit cards</i>, not debit cards. Your debit/ATM card will work just fine in any ATM/cash machine.

Re credit cards . . . There are essentially no (VERY few) US-issued Chip and PIN credit cards. When you see a chipped credit card in the USA it is almost <i>always</i> a 'Chip and signature', not 'Chip and PIN'. Your regular credit cards (chipped or magnetic stripe) will work 95+% of the time (probably more like 99%)

They may not work in some unmanned petrol pumps or in some ticket machines -- but other than at petrol pumps, they've worked in every machine I've ever used in the UK . . . . . .

(I'm curious what was AAA going to do for you since they don't issue chip and PIN credit cards either)

Thank you janisj! I actually read an article in the AAA magazine that provided the information, we are not using their travel agency. American Express is the only chip card we have. Ours is a chip and signature. Thank you for your information, I am relieved to know we will have no issues with our current cards.

I've been using my US magnetic stripe debit card in ATMs in Europe for years (I live in the UK), and never had a problem withdrawing money anywhere I've been.

The new chip and signature credit cards are useful, especially in restaurants where waiters bring the portable card machines to the table. You insert the card in the machine and sign the receipt, then retrieve the card without it ever leaving your sight.

The only reservation I have about chip and signature is that staff who are used to chip and pin payments often neglect to check your signature against what is on the back of the card. Chip and pin is much more secure, because if you lost your card the finder wouldn't know your pin code.

You said you intend to withdraw cash from at ATM using your AmEx credit card. I have have no experience with AmEx since travellers cheques became obsolete. But most other credit cards will require a PIN number to work in an ATM anywhere. And most will extract punishment at an interest rate of 19 per cent or more for lending you cash. Yes, lending -- an ATM/debit card withdraws cash from your own account, but money taken with a credit card is considered a loan. That interest rate starts the instant you push the button. With some credit cards, interest is charged on the entire balance, not just the ATM loan. Very expensive. The only way to dodge this charge is to pay enough cash into the credit card in advance so that it has a surplus to cover what you are withdrawing and of course all other charges to that point. Much simpler: Use a debit/ATM card based on a regular chequing account. Better still, get accounts for two separate banks.

>>You said you intend to withdraw cash from at ATM using your AmEx credit card<<

I don't think that is what batemandg meant. I <i>think</i> s/he merely mentioned in passing that the only chipped card they have is Amex.

I just got a chipped care the other day, a Sears MC (that I never use) so am thinking it won't be long for the others to follow.

When my friend and I were in Paris about 6 years ago, we tried to buy metro tickets from one of the machines at the station and the card wouldn't work. There was a person in the office area so we could purchase. It dawned on me after we got home that her card wouldn't work because it didn't have the chip. My credit union ATM/Debit card worked just fine whenever I needed cash.

Thank you all for your responses. janisj is correct, I mentioned that I have an Amex. I will be using my debit card for cash. Thank you! After your help I feel confident that I will have no issues with my current cards.

I think I read that AAA article, also. I've read similar things in articles elsewhere (some newspaper travel section, etc.). It's surprising how many travel writers don't know that much about what they are writing. I remember sending in an email to one in the Wash Post once as they posted incorrect info on foreign transaction rates/CCs, etc., that whole topic, in some Q&A column. I forget what they were advising, but it wasn't accurate. To my surprise, the editor or author of the article wrote back and said she didn't really know that much about the topic and got confused herself, but that they were going to have a special article on that topic soon. I was surprised someone could write in a national newspaper about something they didn't understand. Some of these mags/papers get canned articles, also.

<i> I was surprised someone could write in a national newspaper about something they didn't understand.</i>

I'm not surprised at all! Just about every newspaper article I read about subjects I know well has factual errors.

You have clearly never seen The Daily Mail.

traveler1959 indicated on another thread ('charge cards at restaurants') that "American Express and Diner's are taken nowhere, not even in first class restaurants." He was speaking about Germany, and it may not be true for England, but I would check out how convenient it is to use American Express credit cards.

...as opposed to Master Card or Visa.

In the UK AMEX is used quite widely -- especially in bigger cities and hotels, major tourist sites. But not as much as visa/MC

Because Amex charges merchants more in fees than Visa/Master.