Originally Posted by
Happy
We were in Prague and Italy (Milan, Torino and Rome) in May. I used my cards at every occasion where card was accepted. Never an issue. No need to even speak. At the end I had to stop using the card because I had to spend the $50 Czek currency I got. At the end I still had almost $20 left and spent them all at the little supermarket at the airport. I feel some here are way hyped about the usefulness of the CHIP and PIN cards - yes, they make travel easier, but they are NOT the must haves. Not having them do not mean you would not get going... As for precious time, big deal for the 10-15 minutes if that much.
My experience in Prague and Brno was the exact opposite of yours two years ago when I was there. Lowly paid minimum wage earning cashiers just didn't want to deal with the hassle of processing mag-stripes for the sake of "corporate policy" or "scared I might do it wrong" or whatever they had in mind.
Add in the wasted time in calling a supervisor or manager, arguing with them with the minute intricate details of credit card policies (like they give a ...., seriously
), with the other guy speaking in Czech with me in English, with other irritated customers behind you staring at you like you're hogging up the line, it's soooooo much easier to just whip out a card that has a chip than dealing with all this.
And noting from personal experience that it can be a hit or miss, "but I had no problems using my mag-stripe only CapOne card in _____" versus "but my experience in trying to use the mag-stripe only CapOne card in _____ wasn't the case", heck, I'll just prepare myself with a card that has both the mag-stripe and the EMV. There, now I'm covered for both cases. Problem solved. Simple as that. Whereas the CapOne card used to be my preferred card abroad, it is now at the bottom of the list and my Chase Hyatt with EMV chip is the first thing that I whip out when I travel abroad today.
Like I said, "right tools for the right job." While others maybe fine to make fire by rubbing sticks together, I'd rather just whip out my Zippo lighter.
And if people are fine with wasting 10-15 minutes of their lives everywhere they go where change is happening (we're not the only country making labor cut backs to save a nickel or a Euro cent or a yen or whatever - "anything that can be automated will become automated"), that's their choice. In the meantime, l'll just whip out my Chase Hyatt card or my Andrews FCU card instead. While others who haven't prepared get to enjoy the experience of standing in long lines at the train stations like cattle and seeing their trains go by, I just head straight for the automated machines, use an EMV card and get going.
Besides, for the cost of nothing (Chase Hyatt has $75 annual fee but you get two free Hyatt nights anywhere in the world so net annual in my view is zero, BofA Travel Rewards has no annual fee, Andrews FCU also has no annual fee), it saves me hassle abroad. If it costs me nothing to help make my life easier, all the better.