Originally Posted by
soitgoes
Unfortunately, I think you are right about your limited options:
SECU offers chip/pin DEBIT cards (membership restrictions are tight)
AFCU offers chip/pin Credit cards with a 1% foreign currency fee (but does earn rewards) (open membership via ACC)
UNFCU offers chip/pin credit cards with an annual fee (membership restrictions are tight)
SDFCU offers chip/pin credit cards (open membership via ACC)
I think that's the extent of US chip/pin offerings right now.
OTOH, one can also look at it as a percentage use basis, or what I'd like to call "use the right tool for the right job" idea.
As the reports have shown so far, a Chip-and-Signature card works in 50-75% of cases. The no annual fee, no forex fee BofA Travel Rewards card or any other Chip-and-Signature card that you like can cover instances where you deal with live merchants and online kiosks.
For the remaining offline kiosk situation, get the Andrews FCU card or the State Dept FCU card as a backup. They both have no annual fee so it costs nothing each year to secure yourself with extra security that you can utilize to cover all grounds.
Yeah, CUs tend to have more tough consideration guidelines to apply for their credit cards, but that's more due to restrictive laws that prohibit them from being more flexible like big name banks so there's not much one can do about this unless the law changes.
But, to cover my butt for the remaining 25-50% of cases where Chip-and-PIN is necessary and if it doesn't cost me anything to maintain the card year after year, I'll go through the hoops and bounds to get one. Once that is done and over (just like the good old days of taking final exams in college!), the rest is smooth sailing, I say.
In my case:
Chase Hyatt w/ EMV Chip & Signature - main card abroad
Andrews FCU GlobeTrek - backup card for Chip-and-PIN instances
These two cards cover me for all grounds now which makes my travel internationally that much easier. IMO, the choices available today are a lot better than what it used to be two years ago.
Sure things could be better. The Andrews FCU card could be better with no forex fee instead of 1%. But, I can also write a letter to Andrews FCU as a shareholder (that's what being a CU member is about) and tell them to re-review their GlobeTrek card policy to waive the forex fee and use the State Dept FCU card as an example. The more GlobeTrek cardholders do this, Andrews FCU may even decide to eat the 1% forex fee that VISA charges.
Compared to the wide variety of options and ways one can prepare themselves for purchases abroad these days, I'll take and make use of what is available today over nothing two years ago! ^