CarolW12

I'm planning a trip to France with a friend and would like to be able to use a credit card for things like the Metro ticket machine at CDG airport and the like. Does anyone know of a card, available from the US, that has the chip that European credit cards have? It seems like it should be a no brainer, but I can't figure it out. Any suggestions will be tried and appreciated.

janisj

Europeans have Chip & <U>PIN</U> cards. What a (very) few US cc's offer are Chip & <U>signature</U> cards. . . Different animals - so doesn't really solve the problems w/ some machines.

Just take your existent credit cards -- if they don't work -- step to a staffed window and buy your tickets there.

xyz123

Lots of threads here about thi. For the most part, your antiquated US magnetic strip card will work in Paris metro machines and the like. They may not work in self service gas stations and in some but not all automated toll plazas on the autoroutes and the like which take credit cards. But there are banks you can go to in order to get a card with an emv chip Just browse through those threads.

PA_Kathy

Here is the web site I used to start looking for a chip-and-pin card. It as been a real hassle, and I don't have the card yet, but it is promised "in 7 business days."

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...vTUMxdUE#gid=0

november_moon

I just use cash for things like Metro tickets. Avoids the entire issue.

xyz123

Pay cash when on holiday? I haven't done that for at least 20 years whether in Europe or at home. Couldn't survive that way.

flpab

Andrews federal credit union has the chip and pin card.

DebitNM

Andrews FCU.

LOTS of threads on here about this subject; do a search. Type Chip and PIN

ziggypop

I received my chip and pin card from Andrews FCU in less than two weeks. Thanks to DebitNM for the info.

Andrew

Another satisfied Andrews FCU user here. Visa has no currency conversion fees. ATM card has no fee to use, no currency conversion fees. My Andrews Visa worked fine to buy a RER ticket from a machine at CDG and also to buy tickets from a machine at a Metro station.

To join Andrews, all you have to do is sign up for the ACC (American Consumer Council), which is free to join and takes about 30 seconds to do so online.

michelhuebeli

Just make sure it's the kind of PIN that the European cards use - not a PIN that gets verified by making the "call" back to the issuing institution (which those "chip and pin" cards mostly are that the US institutions have begun to issue) but the PIN that is encoded in the card itself - you input the PIN and the machine compares what you input with what's encoded on the card.

Just because you have a card with a chip and a PIN doesn't make it the kind that the unattended machines like vending machines at CDG and toll gates on the autoroutes want to see.

DebitNM

The Andrews Card works, it has been proven by myself and several other posters here to be a TRUE Chip and PIN, the kind that "European cards use" with encoded PIN.

StCirq

Andrews FCU. Also the World Bank credit union, but you gotta work there or be a contractor.

chartley

Just to clarify. The EMV chip & pin system first does a check to see if the pin which is input matches that on the chip, and then checks back with the issuer to see if the card is valid (i.e. not stolen or reported missing) and that there is credit available. That is why the system is more secure than one which relies on a signature being checked.

The first check is immediate, and a note appears on the terminal screen "PIN OK". The second check takes longer, and there may be a delay depending on the technology used - permanent internet connections are quick, while dial-up using mobile phone technology is slow. On occasions, a link cannot be made at all, and the transaction can be automatically declined.

I admire XYZ123 for never carrying cash. With many retailers in the U.K. refusing card transactions for values less than £5 or £10, that can be an expensive bottle of water. Still, principles are important.

xyz123

Chartley...a lot of it of course is country specific but the last time I was in London this past June, I made a £10 ATM withdrawal (no fee and no foreign transaction fee) and still have the £10 banknote in my wallet. Need a bottle of water, no problem. Hop into the nearest Tesco, Sainsbury, Boots or Superdrug pick up 2 and perhaps some chips or whatever to bring the amount just over £1 (my self imposed minimum) and voila. Out comes credit card, into chip reader (yes it's chip and signature), sign the receipt and done. Sandwich for lunch. Well M&S, as you probably know, which one time held out now takes credit cards as does pret a manger. Mid day snack. All the fast food places take credit cards now. Fish sandwich with cheese and a diet coke.

Even at home, ever since the take out place down the street opened an account with square.com, I use my cc's for the luncheon special. Groceries? They all tke cc's. Wal-Mart? Target? Gas? The dry ceaner? My NYC metrocards? Of course, I don't buy newspapers; I read them on-line.

Cash, at least in most of the circles I live in, is a royal pain in the butt. I wouldn't know how to live in this day and age without my cc's and believe me, I am not a person who lives to such a high level...just the usual every day activities.

Now whether I could visit Germany or Holland and do the same things is indeed a valid question. So I don't go to those places!

Pat_in_Mich

We just returned from a trip to Germany and found that only about 50% of stores and restaurants were willing to take a credit card. It was annoying.

flpab

The Germans like cash. You never go to Oktoberfest with anything else.