I spent last week in London. In most places I paid with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card as a contactless card via Google Pay on my Android phone. It worked everywhere except on the public transport (tube) gates. Other cards in my Google Pay worked on the tube gates just fine, so it's something about CSR that isn't quite right. I also paid contactless (with the CSR) for a hotel, around 200 pounds in one charge, so I haven't encountered a limit.
The Banco Popular LifeMiles card did not work correctly in Google Pay. All payments were declined. I called them and they stated that the merchants were "keying in" the wrong expiration month. I explained that nobody was keying in anything, but they didn't comprehend. I removed the card and re-added it into Google Pay several times in an attempt to correct this, but nope. To clarify: this card actually worked in Google Pay in the sense that it opened the tube gates in and out the whole day, but overnight, when TFL tried to apply the final daily charge, it was declined and Google Pay showed a message to that effect. Since I don't know the full number of the card (Google Pay has it with a virtual number and only shows the last 4 digits), I'm not sure how to pay my debt to TFL.
BankDirect's Visa debit card worked well as contactless in Google Pay. No foreign transaction fees and same conversion rates as with the CSR.
In France and Spain, self-service terminals that don't use contactless accepted my physical CSR with no PIN or sig required.
Last edited by Maayan; Dec 11, 2018 at 1:03 am