If the chip wasn't working and I saw someone trying to force fallback, I'd look at the card. When it became obvious the card was counterfeit, I'd follow the network guidelines to attempt seizing it.

People who work at store don't try that hard. They just wanna get paid and not annoy or be annoyed by people. You're thinking too hard.

The network guidelines outright say things like this are supposed to be seized, they're clearly counterfeit cards. The banks get some blame too. The fact fallback almost always gets approved is ridiculous. The network guidelines are clear fallback should be declined.

You are definitely trying too hard. Try seizing a card like this.

I just applied for and received a duralumin (aluminum alloy) credit card here in Singapore. Given that the numbers and name are engraved and not embossed, the card does state its for "electronic use only".

I understand "electronic use only" cards are only accepted at terminals which can receive a electronic authorization from the issuing bank. Hence this card might not be accepted if the POS terminal has no data connection (merchant is in isolated areas, is experiencing network outrages or for purchases in the air and on trains). My question is whether purchases for food, drinks and duty free purchases while on planes on those portable terminals used by airline crew are considered electronic or offline purchases?

I often carry at least one Visa, MC and Amex, (and usually from different banks) when I travel, and the other cards have embossed numbers/names, so this is not a big deal. But the duralumin card does offer 2x points on foreign and dining transactions, so I hope to maximize its use.

In the past those universally ran offline, but US-based airlines (can't comment about ones in other countries) now generally run them electronically at least while the aircraft is over the continental US.

Thanks! I read that airlines generally run them as offline transactions, and batch-processed them once on the ground. If planes flying overland are able to process them as electronic transactions with a data connection, its fair that they might not be able to do so while flying over bodies of water.

Over the weekend I made a purchase from a merchant in the Florida Keys who still uses a manual imprinter and made a voice call for authorization.

http://www.creditcardsupplies.net/im...lg-250x250.jpg

Electronic use only doesn't mean that the card has to be authorised online. It just means it has to be used via an electronic manner for card present transactions (I.e. Card swiped, dipped, tapped etc). If its a credit card it will without a doubt allow transactions offline (If its a debit card, its possible its online only). Santander in the UK used to issue non-embossed credit cards (and still does for some debit cards) but they still worked offline.

As mentioned elsewhere, the US version of AmEx Platinum is now a metal card. I wonder how this changes their contactless strategy; it's always been opt-in since the switch to chip and has never been promoted all that much, at least relative to the mobile payment systems anyway.

On that note, does metal seem like all that desired of a feature among the general public? I haven't looked through this thread recently but I remember only Chase and AmEx offering it out of the major banks and definitely not on all of their cards at that.

A long time ago, fresh out of college, I worked retail for six months. The couple of times I tried to withhold a card because the agent on the phone told me to, the customer got very irate. I stopped trying, because minimum wage and physical security are orthogonal.

CapitalOne
 

I just got a new Capital One Venture metal card. I was told that it would also be contactless like my previous plastic card, but so far I have not gotten the contactless to work with the card. Do you think that their reps just don't understand the features? THey double checked to validate (so they said) that I wouldn't lose this feature.

I thought Capital One was still testing contactless and didn't actually release it to the public. Or maybe they decided it was no longer worth the trouble and that people would rather have metal cards? I honestly wouldn't be surprised.

I rather have a metal card than a plastic. Metals are hard to get worn out like plastic cards. Whenever my card gets worn out, I order a new card cause numbers are hard to see. Lol

My CSR got scratched up very quickly after getting it so I'm not so sure about that. I will give you that it's far more difficult to snap such a card in two but that doesn't seem like something that happens all that often (and has definitely never happened for me in the entire time I've had cards).