I only have a regular US credit card without a chip (used for Chip and Pin). My bank offers Chip and Signature cards and there's another US bank that offers true Chip and Pin cards. As I plan to eventually visit Europe/Asia/Latin America I plan in the future to get a card with 0 foreign transaction fees and a Chip (My bank Chase offers them but charges a yearly $75 annual fee, other US banks don't).

Based on what I'm reading since Canada is relatively close to the US, merchants still have the mag-stripe reader active and can take US mag-stripe only cards. This is not like the EU where some countries require the use of a Chiped card in automated systems. Am I correct?