Originally Posted by
snic
I tried to use my CSR at train station kiosks in Bologna and a small town in Tuscany last year. It didn't work. The chip-and-pin enabled card I have from First Tech worked like a charm.
The CSR worked in every restaurant, but for over-the-counter type places I sometimes just used the chip-and-pin because it's almost always faster in Europe.
I strongly recommend that anyone who travels in Europe should get themselves a chip-and-PIN card. There aren't many US-based issuers, but the First Tech card has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee.
I know there were changes to how the chip on the CSR was programmed but I forget how long ago those happened. It may be worthwhile getting a replacement and seeing if that works better.
Also, while PIN preferring is nice, a card with backup PIN (e.g. anything from Barclays) will solve the unattended terminal issue too. And contactless-- either via Apple/Google Pay or
Chase's upcoming cards--will help with not needing signatures as well.