I use the train a lot here in Italy. The lines to buy a ticket at a booth are excruciating. It could be a half hour to an hour wait. The lines at the ticket machines are zero to a few minutes. I have the AA Executive Citicard. The machine always asks for a PIN, and I don't have one. So I have to go to the line and wait to buy a ticket at the booth.

I've kept saying to myself that I'm going to call Citi and get the PIN. I just did. They told me their card has a chip, but no PIN. The only PIN they can provide is for use at an ATM machine, which I don't want. It won't work in any other type of machine except for an ATM.

This can be a serious blow to plans. I was in a small town recently, and there was no booth. Just machines. The machines also take cash, and I had enough cash on me, but buying two train tickets for 63 euros each is not a small matter. I don't always have that much cash on me. Plus, if you put in three 50's, the machine can't give 24E change back. A sign says that it can't give more than 10E change, as I recall. If I didn't have the cash on me I would have missed the train, and as a result, would have missed my plane.

I just wanted to let Italy travelers know that if they have the AA Advantage Executive card, there can be this problem, and it can cause you to miss a train, or not be able to take a train at all if there is no booth at that particular station, unless you can find an ATM in time to get enough cash.

I have a suspicion that this problem is not specific to the AA credit card, and may also occur with other chip cards, and that's why I'm posting it here. It can seriously mess up your plans if you have to wait on line to get to the booth to buy a ticket, or if you don't want to deplete your euros and have to go to an ATM machine and pay another ATM foreign withdrawal fee. I would check your card, and this might be a factor in making a decision about whether or not to buy your ticket online or at the station.