Originally Posted by
DMSFCA
Just came back from two weeks in Australia and I didn't use cash or a regular credit card even once.
That's a good thing, because US credit cards confuse them! If you hand your card to someone to dip/swipe, they will instead wave it over the reader. Then try again at a different angle. Then get frustrated that it's not working and try again. Eventually you'll realize what they are doing and tell them it doesn't have contactless and they'll look at you like you're trying to pay using rocks, and then eventually they'll stick it in the chip reader and it'll work, but prompt them for something called a "signature" which will then lead to a 30 second search for a pen in order to sign it with.
If you're unlucky they'll then try and compare the signature with the one on the back of the card, which will likely result in them claiming it doesn't match, or that the card itself isn't actually signed...