Cityflyer10

I requested a plastic card from an agent for upcoming travel to a place that is known to want imprints in addition to swipes... They had to look up how to even submit the request, so I assumed they wouldn't know the answer to whether the metal version will still work. Number, exp, and cvv are all the same so I assume it's literally a clone (perhaps the chip is different?)

highops

I have old metal, new metal, and plastic Ritz's. They all work.

Smaug

I have a CSR metal and plastic. Both versions work.

SpootyPuff

I have 2 CSR's - both work when swiped but only the most recent one works with the chip

Cityflyer10

That's what I was thinking would be the case as the chip is probably different, otherwise they are identical though!

sdsearch

Does plastic guarantee imprints (sufficiently raised characters) at Chase?

It certainly doesn't a Ctii. Citi makes plastic cards aplenty without raised characters at all.

And even Chase doesn't do "real" raised characters on all of its plastic cards. I have a Chase Freedom which has conventional raised characters which will work with all imprint machines. Same with my IHG card from Chase. But then I have Marriott Rewards card from Chase which has the number just barely barely raised, to a degree that wouldn't work most imprint machines I would think. And yet all of these are plastic cards!

So I'm not sure that I agree your apparent assumption that just because it's a plastic card means that it will work with imprint machines.

Need

Chase CSR plastic has the regular imprint. I don't know if it still works since we have not used it since we got the metal replacement. I did a PC on my CSP to Chase Freedom Unlimited. And the metal CSP cards still work even after I got my plastic CFU cards. They the same numbers but different 3 digit code and different exp date but the metal one still work a month after.

Even with the imprint machine, they don't have to actually imprint the card to process it. It is just an easy way to get the info off the card without writing it down. We used to do credit card that way 20 years ago and once in a while the number won't show at all, writing it down is just fine for the bank.

HawkeyeFlyer

May I ask where you are traveling that requires the imprint? Just curious

KRSW

@sdsearch: The plastic CSR is identical to the Freedom cards in terms of physical layout & raised numbers. The branding matches the metal card, but all of the information is on the front like a traditional card, even with the ISO-style embossed card #.

My initial CSR card was the plastic embossed one, with the metal CSR card arriving a couple of months later. Same #, same CCV2 #, same expiration date. Both still work beautifully. I do tend to take the plastic one with me instead of the metal one when traveling abroad.

When you get further off the beaten path, some merchants still use the knuckle-busters AND the imprint is the extent of their fraud prevention techniques. I'm assuming their merchant processor requires the imprint as proof of having the card present, as these areas don't have on-line terminals. Similarly, these people don't see a lot of American tourists and are often reluctant to accept unusual-looking credit cards, fearing that they're fake.

Here's a pic of a plastic CSR:

rkb2530

In Europe I have had car rental companies that would not accept a card without embossed numbers. They claimed it was fraud prevention.

Cityflyer10

As shown above, my CSP is the same format. Traditional layout and all, with full branding (that interestingly actually matches the color Chase shows for the CSP, unlike the metal version).

I am aware of the Citi new design plastic cards that simply have printed number, which these are not like.

its a few places in Europe where I have anecdotal evidence of them not taking non-embossed cards.

While I'm sure in certain situations you can argue that it is a valid card and MasterCard/Visa agreements dictate they should still accept the cards, foreign language/cultural barriers would probably not be your friend. Better safe than sorry and frankly, it's not the end of the world to be carrying the plastic one all the time.

Need

I just realized that the metal card also have imprint numbers. They are just smaller and not raise as high and not in the front of the card. I wonder if anyone tried to have the merchant run the imprint machine with the turn turned over?

KRSW

I think you'd still run into resistance -- the CSR/CSP cards don't look anything like cards these merchants have seen before. In many countries, the merchant, not bank, is responsible for fraudulent charges, so I understand their reluctance to accept something they're not familiar with. That's why I play it safe and carry the plastic card abroad, and a spare from a different bank as well.

flyershmlyer

Yes, in Europe rentals love to do that. When I asked what they'd do with no raised numbers, they just make a copy of the credit card. So there are other ways.

Need

Maybe because they know those metal cards all over some kind of rental insurance so they won't let you use it. That way you have to fall back on a non-premium credit card and buy their insurance! Maybe if you say.. oh I don't have another card.. let me just go check the other company next door to see if they will take the metal card... and then magically there are other ways to read your card!