# Chip and Pin Credit Card



## WinniWoman (May 12, 2012)

Well, I was finally able to locate a Chip and Pin Visa credit card here in the states! It has no yearly fee either! It is called the GlobeTrek Visa and it can be obtained by joining Andrews Federal Credit Union in Maryland. If you do not meet the criteria for membership, you can quickly join the American Consumer Council for free via the Andrews Credit Union website and continue to apply for membership to the credit union for $5.00. You jump through a few little hoops, etc., but very doable, and we quickly received our cards in a little over a week after joining!

There is a foreign transaction fee of 1% US dollars, however, so we plan on using our regular Capital One Credit card and only using the Globetrek when we need a chip and pin card. Happy to not have to bother with the Travelex card or a lot of cash. Will just take a small amount of foreign currency with us now from a local bank and even try to avoid ATM machines, as our bank charges some kind of fees for those withdrawals, too.

The card can be used in the USA as well as just a swipe card.

Found out about the card on forum on the Rick Steves Website. Glad I do a lot of reading and research!


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## Timeshare Von (May 12, 2012)

Just a comment for future readers here . . . we just got back from two weeks in Ireland and used our regular US issued credit cards (no pin/chip) and had no issues.  We used it throughout the trip, running up over $1,700 on it w/o issue.

My personal experience is that the pin/chip type credit card is really not necessary so if it means obtaining a special card and perhaps an added bank or membership fee, you may want to consider if you really need to go to that expense or effort.


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## Talent312 (May 12, 2012)

We had _no_ issues with an old-style mag-stripe on our last trip to Europe.
However, my DW's wallet was nicked outside Buckingham Palace.
Misuse was blocked and I carried another card from a different bank
.... _so the spending continued_.

I recommend that folks carry different cards from different banks in case of loss.


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## dougp26364 (May 12, 2012)

Diners Club, which is now a version of Mastercard, is also issueing pin and chip cards. They sent us a replacement card with pin/chip technology a couple of months ago. 

While they're safer, I can see where they're going to be a PIA. We have our ATM and a few CC's. Each with it's own PIN. Add to that all the passwords I have to keep track of at work and I'll be writing these down somewhere, which helps destroy their security.


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## WinniWoman (May 12, 2012)

Does Diners Club have a yearly fee? Glad to hear that using a regular USA credit swipe credit card was no trouble overseas, as that is what we will basically use. But, other posters here have stated that you need a chip and pin card to access auto ticket booths (like at train stations) and pay at the pump gas stations, etc. The $5.00 fee to join  the credit union was really no big deal in my estimation.....And ...We really only have to memorize our pin # for our ATM card and the Chip and Pin card when traveling.


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## gnorth16 (May 12, 2012)

All CC's (except the prepaid ones) will be chip enabled in Canada once the current ones expire.  It reduces fraud  (until the cons figure a new way to do it) and keeps interest rates on the cards nice and low!:hysterical: 

For our trip to Paris and the South of France last June, some merchants would not accept non-chip enabled cards.  Not many, but it didn't matter since all of our cards (including debit) are chip enabled.


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## isisdave (Jun 8, 2013)

*Marriott Rewards card to be chip and pin upon renewal*

Today the quarterly flyer came ("Beautiful Places. Bonus Points.")  On page 12, it announces "Now when your Marriott Rewards Credit Card is renewed, it will come with smart chip technology! This feature allows you to use your card for chip based purchase in Europe, Asia, and beyond, while still giving you the ability to user your card as you normally do in the US."

And of course, no foreign transaction fees.


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## Passepartout (Jun 8, 2013)

I got notice a short while ago that my AT&T Universal (Citi) M/C can be had as Chip'n'Pin at no additional cost. Just ask.


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## x3 skier (Jun 8, 2013)

Most US chip cards are chip and signature, not chip and pin. Just because it has a chip does not automatically make it work as a chip and pin. 

If it doesn't have a pin for making purchases, the machine will spit out a slip for you to sign. 

Cheers


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## Carolinian (Jun 9, 2013)

Timeshare Von said:


> Just a comment for future readers here . . . we just got back from two weeks in Ireland and used our regular US issued credit cards (no pin/chip) and had no issues.  We used it throughout the trip, running up over $1,700 on it w/o issue.
> 
> My personal experience is that the pin/chip type credit card is really not necessary so if it means obtaining a special card and perhaps an added bank or membership fee, you may want to consider if you really need to go to that expense or effort.



The US swipe cards can be used at most manned locations, but not at most unmanned locations, like train station ticket machines, unmanned gas pumps in rural areas, etc.


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## GetawaysRus (Jun 9, 2013)

There is a long discussion of the Andrews FCU Chip and PIN card on FlyerTalk in the Credit Card forum.  Do a search on the word "Andrews" and you will hit lots of discussion threads.

I have a Chip and PIN card as well, from the State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU).  It is also a no annual fee care wtih a 1% forex fee.  I always bring it when I travel internationally.  Most of my US mag stripe cards work fine abroad.  When the mag stripe card fails, a Chip and Signature card will often work.  But there always seems to be one or two places where I have to pull out the Chip and PIN card.  So it is nice to have as a "just in case" card.

There is someone on FlyerTalk who has posted a list of available Chip and PIN cards.  I don't think the information is 100% accurate, but it's close and it's a good list:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ani-u3tGk5hedGRvcE1ELVg5UmlGZk01SHZvTUMxdUE#gid=0


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## eal (Jun 9, 2013)

To make a chip and pin card extra safe use an envelope that protects it from snooping electronic devices - you can get them a any office supply store.


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