FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Citi AA Executive Card: Is Chip-and-PIN Authentication Possible?
Old Nov 18, 2018 | 1:02 am
  #30  
tmiw
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Honestly, Europe (and other places) are going away from PIN altogether--at least for smaller transactions--in favor of tapping cards/phones. I'd see if adding a card to your phone's mobile wallet (e.g. Apple or Google Pay) would serve the same purpose for you as a card with PIN support; I know it did for ~95% of my transactions when I went to the UK last year--even at ticket machines and for riding the Underground. The only real exceptions where my cards had to be inserted were hotels and the one or two merchants who still had older terminals--and even then, chip and signature worked okay.

If you still feel that you need a card with PIN support, I'd echo the no-AF Barclays suggestions as likely the simplest option. The few available cards that prefer PIN, while nice (I did use my Diners Club MC a couple of times at the places where I needed to insert for convenience), do require more hoops to jump through.

BTW Citi's Mastercards do support PIN for purchases, but not offline PIN (and it's prioritized such that you may never be asked for it unless you happen upon an unattended terminal that truly can't handle anything other than PIN). BofA's credit cards are also configured similarly.

EDIT: I forgot to add that some US issuers are also beginning to offer contactless cards too. All of Chase's lineup will be switched over by the middle of next year, for instance, not to mention that most Capital One and AmEx cards and the Costco card have it available at least as an opt-in feature. The downside is that you won't be able to tap for larger purchases in some countries.

Last edited by tmiw; Nov 18, 2018 at 1:08 am
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