jdowney3

I spoke to a J.P.Morgan/Chase representative, who confirmed that this card is not a chip and pin, but rather a chip and signature card; she definitely seemed to know the difference.

kebosabi

Thanks for the confirmation. PIN or Signature, it's still a far better improvement than a year ago when we we're discussing that EMV deployment in the US will happen "when pigs starts flying." Looks like all we needed was an announcement by one major bank (Wells Fargo) to kick the banks into competition again.

OTOH, it seems like the direction the US is taking is Chip-and-Signature instead of PIN. Better than nothing as some countries that use EMV use Chip-and-Signature as well. Of course, that doesn't leave out the possibility of the PIN feature become active later. At least the EMV chip is making its way to our cards making the PIN option to be "turned on" if the financial institution decides to do so in the future.


So we now have two really good rewards earning chipped cards to choose from that's open to anyone:

US Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature Card
Low $49 annual fee
Retains the mag-stripe, has contactless VISA Paywave and EMV Chip-and-Signature ^
But adds 3% foreign transaction fee

vs

JP Morgan Select VISA Signature Card
Reasonable $95 annual fee
Retains the mag-stripe and has EMV Chip-and-Signature, but has no contactless feature
No foreign transaction fee ^


YMMV whether the $46 annual fee difference between the two cards is worth it for the pros and cons of each card. In order to break even on the $46 annual fee difference, one needs to charge more than $1,534 outside of the US for the no forex fee JP Morgan Card. If not, then the US Bank FlexPerks would suffice.

richarddd

I'm still not clear on whether the US Bank and JPM cards will work at unattended kiosks. Is there a better answer than "maybe"?

kebosabi

We'll just have to wait and see until a FTer who gets a Chip-and-Signature card to insert it at a train station kiosk in Europe and upload it onto Youtube to see what happens.

richarddd

Is this the card: http://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/f...ks-travel.html?

It has the same title and description, but it doesn't seem to have a chip.

kebosabi

The image on businesswire suggest that it is: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/s...60&newsLang=en

richarddd

Obviously a different picture than the one on their web site.

Either they haven't updated the picture and description on their web site or they haven't rolled out the new features yet.

mia

Scroll back to post 83 to read the original announcement from US Bank which mentioned issuing 20,000 EMV cards to existing accounts. I would not assume that new applicants would receive an EMV card automatically.

jpark1982

Not sure if they verify the information before you're accepted or not but read the first 4 lines of the application.

Before completing the application, you should be able to answer "Yes" to the following statements by checking the boxes:

Yes, my credit history is clear of bankruptcy.
Yes, my credit history is clear of seriously delinquent accounts.
Yes, I have NOT been denied credit by Chase within the last 6 months.
Yes, I am a current client of JPMorgan.

cityboy340

I called in and asked specifically if you need to have an account with JPMorgan and I was told no, the card is available to the general public.

dw

Before they updated the web site last Friday, it did specify that the card was exclusively for JPM clients, but those references have since been removed. It looks like they just never updated the application.

Gekko

yes, the t&c's in the disclosure have changed as well, to more closely match the sapphire. when this was a jpm card, the apr was 10.24%, but now 13.24%. this card doesn't have the 7% annual dividend that the sapphire does, but used to have a 25k bonus after spending 100k annually (no mention of that anymore, so not clear if it still exists). it also has no nuisance fees (late/return payment, return check). most other card benefits seem comparable.

unavaca

Woohoo, ^ for competition. for Chase wanting an annual fee for a chipped card; let's see who will offer one with no annual fee and hopefully no forex fee.

mia

Thank you, I had overlooked that part of the application, but I would answer yes because I have a credit card issued by Chase and therefore consider myself to be a client of JP Morgan Chase & Co.

However, I am not yet persuaded that having a Chase Chip & Signature card is materially better than having a swipe card.

greatwave

I have to think Amex will introduce a chip in the platinum and cent cards very soon. They already do in the UK, so it can't be that hard to replicate in the states.