FTR 787

yeah I dont get the over excitement about EMV on the Freedom either. seems kinda silly, and the last thing I'd be excited about. cause for the ppl here, I assume they all play our fav CC game -- and so should already have a far superior free FTF product WiTH EMV already that they can use abroad.

joshwex90

To me, the biggest reason to clamor for EMV in the USA is that the more Americans pushing their banks/CUs for EMV credit cards, the more cards will be released in EMV. Amex, BoA, and Citi have gone almost completely EMV. If those 3 went from 95% to 100% and Chase moved to 100%, we'd have the largest issuers in the US as all-EMV. This is an important step.
That may be the impetus getting other issuers to finally go to all-EMV.

With an impending liability shift, if most cards are EMV, merchants would have a harder time justifying not upgrading to an EMV-capable terminal OR turning on EMV if they have one already.

FTR 787

and what exactly would be the point of that? ... there is no 'push' or impetus needed for EMV, the conversion will happen by Oct 2015 lest the offenders want liability hassles. merchants will upgrade, theres no pre-req for 'if cards are EMV, only then merchants will switch' ... btw mag strip cards will work and be accepted well into the near future as well (on those very same, new terminals) for various reasons. so once again 'if cards are EMV...' serves no purpose.

its not as if thy are straddlers or its an optional choice. plus EMV cards that dont have free FTF basically serve no purpose. cant use em in the US at very many places and it'd be silly to use em abroad unless it was the last resort.

tmiw

Keep in mind that there are a lot of non-US cards that have FTF as well, yet they all are EMV enabled.

joshwex90

You seem woefully unaware of the reality. Many places won't be ready by October 15. And EMV is needed NOW, not by October 2015. EMV prevents (to an almost complete degree) card skimming. That's not something we can afford to wait for, regardless of travel. In addition, as more cards become EMV, more non-FTF cards become EMV.

In addition, the quicker we get to Chip&Signature in the USA, the quicker (hopefully) the banks realize how much preferable PIN is to signature, and we get real Chip&PIN cards in the USA.

bribro

Even better, it would allow you to have two Freedom cards, effectively doubling the $1,500/quarter cap on 5x categories.

llbad

Hmm I don't think this would work. OP said that chase mailed him saying they will soon turn his MC into a VISA. In which case it is best to cancel it now so he can pick up the signup bonus again. If they ship him the new version then he won't be able to apply. Unless you are saying that he should keep it open, apply now before he is shipped the visa version, and then have 2 feedom visas?

bribro

That's what I'm saying.

FTR 787

that isnt an issue if those non-US cards have native EMV.

so if most places wont be ready by Oct '15, whats the point of having an EMV card right now... you're talking in circles and arguing a point that is only theoretically valid but not useful or practical.... and no EMV is not needed now because you cant even use it in many places around the US.

all my cards that have no-FTF are already EMV... and sure Chip&PIN will be great when it comes, but theres no rush or need in the interim. esp for the Freedom of all cards

UA Fan

When did the offer go down?

beltway

IIRC, this is technically an increase.

As I recall, the latest public 20K offer expired on 6/30, after which the offer dropped to 10K. In the last few days, this new 17.5K offer showed up.

tmiw

Huh?

What's the harm in having it on there if it's not going to be used in the US right now?

BTW, I have run into a few non-Walmart places already that required the card to be inserted.

Nomoneyinmybank

I have both VS and MC and Chase sent a letter informing me that MC will now convert to VS. Interesting to see what happens now that I have 2 Visa.

zorbachs

Man, I really missed out. The 20,000 offer came around a few weeks after I got my freedom card and now this. I only got 10,000 signup bonus... oh well.

joshwex90

Huh?

I can answer you again, saying the exact same thing, and hopefully you will understand this time, as I already clearly explained this.

As of now, we're not going to be EMV by October 15. What will help push us to being EMV by then is by a large number of customers showing a clear interest in EMV. That will help speed the banks up. Which is important because:

1. EMV improves card security
2. A push to EMV means more non-FTF cards will also become EMV, allowing us to use our favorite non-FTF cards abroad, and not be forced to only use what has EMV
3. The sooner we adopt EMV, the sooner people become used to the idea of "chip" instead of "magnetic stripe." That helps speed up the process (should it come, like in the UK and Australia,) of moving from Chip&Signature to Chip&PIN which prevents fraudulent card lost/stolen use.
4. For use in America, there are already stores that have deployed EMV. If I concentrate shopping there, already I can reduce the likelihood of card fraud with an EMV card

There's no circular point. There's I want the banks to only offer EMV cards and places with EMV terminals (a high percentage where I shop) to turn on EMV now. Especially if they start doing this now instead of waiting until October 15, they can work out bugs like Walmart has done.

I'm happy for you. Not all my non-FTF cards have a chip. There's definitely a need to rush as it's ridiculous how far behind the USA is from the rest of the modern world (except Israel who's possibly worse off now).