shadesofgrey1x

Why would citi be subsidizing your use of a competing card, by paying for benefits without getting something back themselves?

The competing cards that offer this benefit on other Airlines also require that you book using their card to get the benefits.

What you suggest would be the equiv of calling amex and asking for amex purchase protection on a gift you bought using a non-amex card.

anabolism

I agree that AmEx tends to have much better customer service and smarter anti-fraud. With non-AmEx cards it's always a good idea to call in advance and let them know of your travel plans. However, my own experience with Citi cards is that they do tend to learn one's patterns, so after a few overseas trips using the card, there is no longer any need to call them in advance.

Skype lets one call (800) numbers for free from anywhere in the world, without Skype credit. This is often the easiest way to contact credit card and airline companies when overseas.

My experience all over the world, including Japan last week, Israel the week before that, Europe a few weeks before that, is that almost any place that takes credits cards accepts the mag-strip only (no chip) cards. The exceptions I've found are fully-automated systems that lack any facility for a signature, such as train ticket kiosks in some European countries, but even then there is usually a staffed alternative that accepts the non-chip cards.

Sorry to hear you had such bad experiences. I've had my share of problems with Citi and their CS, but improper fraud declines aren't one of them (they seem to know I travel a lot and use the card).

dallasmombat

I didn't make any suggestions. I inquired about the policy, as I was told on another forum that it was an incentive for Citibank Aadvantage customers, to keep us paying the $85 or $95 annual fee. You seem offended, or to have taken my question personally. So, anyway, if anyone has traveled yet, without having charged their flight to Citibank, please let us know if the other forum I was reading is providing inaccurate information, and in fact we CAN get these features as a return on our annual fee investment.

ossipago

I just called to cancel my personal Visa signature and they mentioned I would be losing my $100 coupon which arrives "at renewal." I asked for more details about that, but the rep said I would have to call AAdvantage. I assume she is talking about the $100 for 30K spending, not a coupon or statement credit that automatically posts after the annual fee is paid? Anyone have any insight? That is a terrible deal and I'll just downgrade to Bronze if that is the case.

TheInternationalLine

Can someone who has used the priority boarding benefit describe what was printed on your boarding pass?

I just checked in for a flight that was ticketed on May 1 and aa.com put me in Zone 2 on all flights. I called AA and they said "Premium Credit Card" is on the reservation and that priority boarding might only print on the passes if I print them at the airport (?).

kebosabi

Except if the person who you're talking to can't speak the same language as you and is reluctant to swipe it.

Except if the staffed alternative ain't open (after hours, weekends, local holidays, labor cuts, etc.).

Alternatives such as whipping out an any of the EMV cards available in the US today is a faster solution.

ccengct

I spend a quarter of my time in England and always renew my travel authorization at the Citi website before I leave the USA. Nevertheless, last week they refused my card in England when I tried to buy a train ticket on a UK website -- after I had already used the card several times successfully there. I was irate. If it happens again, I'm dropping the card regardless of AAdvantage benefits.

anabolism

I have no objection to obtaining and using a chip-and-pin card; I never said anything against it (in fact I look forward to having one of my own from Chase). All I did was point out that, based on my own experience, lack of such a card is unlikely to be the source of the problem reported here. I stand by that. In my experience, swipe cards work throughout the world, including many places where I don't speak the language and the clerk doesn't speak English. Naturally, YMMV.

Sorry to hear you had such problems. One suggestion to consider is the Starwood AmEx, since they seem to be better about such things, and you in effect get 1.25 AA miles per dollar (by transferring in batches of 20k).

aznaphrodite

A chip-and-pin card is definitely handy in Europe. Just went to Paris and London in March. In London, our "home" Tube station was Earl's Court and there was an automatic ticket machine that only accepted chip-and-pin cards or we could join the long line of people waiting for the ticket booth. In Paris, we had even less options. Our "home" station was Luxembourg RER station. No ticket booths. Just automatic machines that took chip-and-pin cards.

Luckily, we brought our British Airways card but we cancelled the card after returning to avoid paying the annual fee. I hope that the chip-and-pin is more widely available for this card soon! I need another one!

anabolism

I recommend an Oyster card, since it's significantly faster than buying tickets and less expensive as well.

aznaphrodite

Yup. I got an Oyster card...at an automated ticket machine using my chip-and-pin credit card. ^ By the way, I did try a regular credit card as well. Didn't work.

sdsearch

Your story as written doesn't seem to make sense. The British Airways card is not a chip-and-PIN card, it's only a chip-and-signature card. If all those places really only took chip-and-PIN cards, you'd have been out of luck! Presumably, if you were able to use your Chase BA Visa card there, they took both chip-and-PIN and chip-and-signature cards, and thus only require chip cards, not specfiically chip-and-PIN.

There are kiosks that only require some sort of chip card, and then there are other kiosks that rrequire a chip-and-PIN card, at which a chip-and-signature card won't work. Furhtermore, chio-and-PIN cards come in two varieties, online verficiation and offline veification. If yours only supports online verification, and the kiosk is offline, too bad, no go. (If your card supports offline verification, you cannot change the PIN by calling the card company; you can only do it in person at a compatibile machine, because chanigng the PIN on an offline verified card requires reprogramming the chip.)

sdsearch

As far as I know, no Chase cards are yet avialable in chip-and-PIN.

Chase so far only supports chip-and-signature.

If you really want a chip-and-PIN card (and you don't already have a Diners Club card), your choices are somewhat limited. Andrews FCU MC is the most practical for most people. See the "EMV cards available now" thread in the Credit Cards forum for more on that.

Travel22

Received and activated my new Citi AA Visa card. The rep said that you have to call and request your Admirals Club passes and that they would not automatically be sent to me. Does this sound correct?

/M3

I received my admirals passes last week. I did not have to call for them.