Originally Posted by
onobond
More and more, shops & ticket vendors will not accept a card without chip... you might encounter a card reader where there isn't any reader insert for a magnetic strip, or it's disabled
I think this is needlessly alarmist and untrue. I have yet to encounter a shopkeeper in Europe that cannot accept a US-issued credit card; the sole issues arise when using unmanned kiosks (for buying train tickets, etc.). Then again I don't try to buy one water bottle, etc. with a credit card in Europe, as is common practice in the US. Chip-and-sign works fine as well; get one of those if you're worried, but you are NOT going to be stuck for a payment channel if you're without chip-and-sign.
Originally Posted by
deputter
I now have a Citibank Card that has a magnetic strip and a chip but it's a "chip and sign" (not pin). Will this card work more easily in Europe?
It works just as well from your perspective. From a shopkeeper's vantage it works slightly better because the protocol is the same as for chip-and-pin (same device used, same transaction time, etc.).
Always insist on paying in local currency, not dollars, and it can pay to say so before handing the card over. It is against the card issuers' rules for a vendor to default to dollars without at least asking you, but some will do it anyway (happened to me a couple of times in Ireland this year before I caught on that the rules didn't influence the shopkeepers so much) and it'll cost you money.