susncrg

Thanks xyz. I had read about that card and the somewhat negative experiences some people had with a lengthy approval process. So when B of A had a 0% transaction fee it sounded better, though I have never been a huge fan of that bank.

DebitNM

Follow up- Andrews FCU ch and pin card:

It worked in machines to get train tickets in southern France on SNCF trains.

It did NOT work for tolls driving from Nice to Apt. Used cash.

My Cap One credit card ( which worked in restaurants and other places) did NOT work in interMarche supermarkets in either Nice nor Apt but the Andrews worked fine instead.. Not sure why Cap One wouldn't work in only those 2 stores.

MaineGG

Thanks for your follow-up.

Just wondering about the Intermarché stores - did they have the ability to swipe your Cap One card, or was the problem that they only had equipment to read a chipped card?

I ran into this in a few grocery stores in Paris where the checkout clerk said they were unable to swipe. They had no problem using my chipped US Bank Visa, and giving me a slip to sign instead of requesting a PIN.

Were you able to use your Andrews card in fuel pumps? How about parking garages? My chipped Visa would not work in fuel pumps, but did work as a chip and PIN card in two parking garages (in Troyes and Reims).

DebitNM

The cash register at interMarche was equipped to swipe. They tried both my card and my husbands card (different acct) and neither worked.

Haven't needed to buy gas yet, will report back on that attempt. Same for paid parking.

Huggy

Hr

DebitNM

The Andrews FCU pin and chip card worked perfectly at gas station and used in a parking station. Very pleased with the card.

MaineGG

Great! It sounds like this is the best performance by a US-issued chipped card so far.

djkbooks

My husband, brother and myself had a Capital One card each last trip to Paris. At the Montparnasse station ticket window, mine worked, my brother's did not. At a restaurant, his worked, mine didn't. At a pharmacy, mine didn't work in the first machine, but went through fine in the other. Usually, the message was "Invalid Card", not meaning that the card was invalid but that the machine could not read it. Sometimes, the waiter would "clean" the strip and it would work, other times not.

Seamus

Just found on another travel site a link to a list of EMV (chip & pin) cards available in the US-
http://tinyurl.com/9gmv5zw

davispeets

Rome Termini Train Station Update:

I wanted to report in that the Andrews Credit Card worked like a charm at the fast ticket kiosk at Rome's Termini Train Station. It did not ask for a PIN. So glad I did not have to wait in a line to get my train tickets to Perugia.