I'm a dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy. I've probably spent almost one year out of the last three living in Italy, mostly in Venice. In Venice I don't need to use a train. I have a resident card that let's me use the vaporetti for a very low price. Occasionally I'd go to Padua, Verona, etc. by train, but not often.

Now I've been living in Torino since June, and the train is a more constant feature. I obtained the American Airlines Executive card because it gives 10,000 elite qualifying miles, double mile per spend on airline tickets, admission to the Admirals Club, and other benefits.

I just didn't know that you couldn't get on a train with it here in Italy, and so I give fair warning to others. I also have a Citi AMEX tied to American Airline points, but it's worthless. Almost no one takes AMEX in Italy.

As far as dealing with conductors, that's a risk. I was on a train from Parma to Modena recently, a local train. I forgot to get my ticket validated using the little yellow box before I got on the train. When the conductor saw that my ticket wasn't validated he said I could either pay him a 50 Euro fine, or he could call the Carabinieri, and I could pay them a 200 Euro fine. He didn't speak a word of English

I wound up not paying anything. I'm fluent in Italian, and had a long enough discussion with him to convince him that it was an honest mistake. He lectured me as if I was in the second grade. If you're in a small town and getting on a train, guaranteed the conductor won't speak english, and trying to convince them that you didn't get on the train without a ticket for legitimate reasons I think is risky.

Lately, when I've gotten on trains here, there has been a public service announcement, only in Italian, saying basically that they take getting on a train without a ticket very seriously, and are strictly enforcing it, so surrender to the conductor right away if you don't have a ticket. Probably fine on some trains with lots of tourists, but I wouldn't want to bet on it: if you don't have the 200 Euro on you, you'll be taken off the train and taken to the police station.

So, I guess the bottom line is, do I need to get a third credit card, one without a chip, to use for the train? I'm not sure I understand.