Originally Posted by
sdsearch
Forget the paperwork, especially since you said all it says is "whenever prompted"; it doesn't say
when you will be prompted for that PIN, or that the
only thing you will ever be prompted for is that PIN, does it?
What do you
actually get asked when you use that debit card
pump-side (not cashier-side) at a self-service
gas station in the US? Zip code or PIN? (You don't actually need to buy gas to do this experiment; it asks for the zip code before you pump the gas, and that point you can hit Cancel if you didn't actually want to buy gas with that card, and start over with a card that earns big points for gas purchases

or whatever.)
I've never used that particular card (or really any debit card) at gas pumps, but lately the ones around here ask "Is this debit card?" after you insert/remove a card. I presume this means that PIN would be asked for if I choose Yes to that question, otherwise why ask?