I've never had any issues with my CSP abroad. Merchants know what a magstripe card is and swipe it accordingly. Yes, I have run into problems at ticket kiosks, but those are isolated incidents (and I had a BA Visa with me, so no problems).

How is Chip & Sig. useless? In the few situations when I have needed a chipped card, it has worked perfectly. More and more POS terminals in Europe and elsewhere are being connected to the internet, making Chip & PIN less useful compared to Chip & Sig.