Honeymoon Discussions

Pin & Chip Credit/Debit Cards

Has anyone been on a trip in europe lately and encountered any issues using US non pin & chip bank or credit cards?

Re: Pin & Chip Credit/Debit Cards

  • It can be inconvenient, but Europeans usually know how to get around the problem.  (They want your money!)  You can't use automated vending machines for things like train tickets.  You need to go to the window, stand in line and buy your ticket from a live person.  Some cards will give you a special PIN number if you telephone them in advance and tell them you will be traveling overseas.
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  • I agree with CMGragain. We have been all over Europe and only had a problem one time in London when trying to purchase train tix. We just went to the Window and problem solved! We otherwise had no issues as they know how to work around it.

     







  • We're traveling around the british isles. I suspect we'll run into some difficulty- we've already purchased some train tickets. We'll have to see if our card companies can assist. 
  • I took my two young adult age children to Paris for a day trip from London.  It is well worth the fare for the Chunnel.  Sometimes tickets bought in Britain are cheaper than on-line tickets bought in advance.
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  • We were in Sweden, Norway and Iceland last month and had no issues. Most of the machines ran both kinds of cards.

  • I've been all over Europe, and the only problem i ever had was trying to buy a train ticket from a self-serve kiosk in Sweden.  But it did allow me to use my debit card (since that had a 4-digit pin).  that may be an option in some cases.

  • I've traveled Europe with just a regular Credit Card, but my trip last June we did use the pin/chip credit cards (mostly bc they were WorldPoints through B of A and incurred no foreign transaction fees).  Why not get one just to be safe?
  • Other than some vendors just being confused with why my card doesn't have a chip, I have no issues. They were a bit more picky on the signature on the card matching the one on my ID though, which was a little annoying.
  • Ask your bank if they can issue one for you. Bank of America does it.

     

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