mtkeller

I think that's the most likely explanation. I used a UK AmEx at the Victoria Apollo Theatre in London last month and was told that their machine didn't handle AmEx chips so they swiped my card. Others using Visa had no problem using the chip reader.

kebosabi

I figure it might depend on where the retailer/merchants are located. If they are in an area where they see many tourists from outside of the US like shops in Hollywood, terminal restaurants at LAX, or the 7-11 near the Holiday Inn LAX I mentioned earlier, employees there are likely to know what they are and it probably makes sense for those terminals to be chip active.

But if you try to do that say at like Ralphs supermarket in Downey, you'd probably get strange looks.


In that light, I'm sure cashiers of Walmart near the Canadian border that sees a lot of Canadian customers taking advantage of the CAD/USD exchange rate are more likely to know what chip cards are over Walmart cashiers in St. Louis, MO.

beltway

Just curious: where have you been recently where a merchant refused to handswipe a mag-stripe card? On a trip through Austria, Cyprus, and France last summer, I had no difficulty using my US-based cards at any store/car rental/restaurant. (The lone exception was the stupid chip/PIN-only vending machine at CDG for train tickets, which I fortunately knew about in advance.)

philwupdx

Happened twice a year ago in two small restaurants (perhaps off the main American tourist circuit) in Amsterdam where the staff didn't know how to process my magnetic strip card (not that they probably couldn't). We went around and around about this until I finally had to leave the restaurant in one instance (while my partner stayed as collateral )to get cash from an ATM. In the other situation the staff finally got it, but not without delay and a little embarrassment on my part.

kebosabi

Following Citi, US Bank also starts issuing EMV cards for their corporate cards:

U.S. Bank to Offer Chip Technology in Corporate Cards for U.S.-Based International Travelers



Don't know anything about SHAZAM network; perhaps someone living in an area where they are more active can shed some light:

SHAZAM Announces Dual-Message PIN Transactions and EMV Card Support


So far the biggest competition from the majors in EMV issuance has been from Wells Fargo, Chase, US Bank, and Citi. Awkward silence from Bank of America and Capital One regarding EMV. Hmm...

chipandpin2011

I got the JP Morgan Select and the US Bank FlexPerks cards with chips for a trip to London and Paris. I got ATM PIN numbers for both. I never was asked to and never entered a PIN during the trip.

The "big" news is that the US Bank card let me buy Paris Metro tickets from the machines repeatedly. The JP Morgan card would not let me do this.

One time when buying train tickets in London they could not get the mag stripe reader to work for some reason. They were very accomodating and tried a couple of readers. I switched to the JP Morgan card so I could get the tickets more quickly.

I used the contactless PayWave feature of the US Bank card a few times at Tesco in London when I was lazy.

I used both mag stripe and chip cards to top up Oyster cards at the machines in London. At least my mag stripe cards (CapitalOne MC and the old Charles Schwab VISA) would not let me top up more than one Oyster card in quick succession. (I had four cards to top up.) This was not an issue with the JP Morgan card. (I did not try the US Bank card.)

philwupdx

Is your US Bank FlexPerks Card an individual or corporate card? The US Bank website doesn't mention EMV/chip technology in their spiel on the FlexPerks Travel Rewards card.

mia

Scroll back to post 83 of this thread to read the FlexPerks EMV announcement, but be aware that the feature is not yet available to every customer.

chipandpin2011

My US Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Card is a personal card. I applied for the card on the website and was sent a card without a chip. I called back to cancel the card because it did not have a chip and they sent out a card with a chip. When the rep asked me why I was cancelling I said I was hoping to get a card with an EMV chip and he said they could send me one.

DLNYC

Happened to me recently (once this week) in London--at a Nicolas (wine store) and Sainsbury's of all places.

Ord Liza

some gas stations in France

DLNYC

Wait so the JP card did not work with the Paris Metro, but was fine with the tube? You said you were never asked to enter the pin, so I'm assuming it just read the mag? Have you tried the cards in a standard chip and pin reader at a store? Would be interested to know if the ATM pin functions for chip and pin.

chipandpin2011

Whenever I used a chipped card at a store, I put it into the chip reader portion of the terminal. The terminal then printed out a receipt to be signed.

DLNYC

So these cards won't do anything to solve the growing number of inconveniences faced when traveling abroad

Sticman

You just have to request the EMV card from US Bank after you are issued the normal Flexperks card. That's what I did.

That's huge news. It's what we've all been wondering about...whether it works in the unattended machines.