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Traveling to the UK and Ireland next March - should we get a proper chip & pin card?

Traveling to the UK and Ireland next March - should we get a proper chip & pin card?

Old Dec 9, 2018, 12:14 am
  #1  
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Traveling to the UK and Ireland next March - should we get a proper chip & pin card?

Hi,

My wife and I are traveling to the UK and Ireland next March and currently have the CSR. We're planning to book several rental cars for when we're there with UR (to spend UR and get the $75K CDW) but will have other expenses to pay for while we're there and we understand that the UK and Ireland is very chip & pin-centric. I am aware that the CSR (which is currently the only travel CC we have) is only a chip and signature card and was reading online that having a proper chip and pin card might be advisable; particularly for automated machines that don't accept chip and signature. Should we get such a card and if so, which card would you recommend? I saw that the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard is a proper chip and pin card that could be a potential option.

Many thanks,
Jon
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Old Dec 9, 2018, 3:30 am
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Yes.

Im fairly sure you can still swipe and sign at most places, but youll likely encounter sales clerks who have no idea what to do - many of them will not have been born when we swapped to chip & pin.

There are some places (self-service gas stations, buying train and tube tickets etc) where one would almost certainly be needed.

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Old Dec 9, 2018, 4:37 am
  #3  
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Thread moved to Credit Card Programs forum because the question pertains to cards from various issuers.

Be aware that Barclays cards will function as Chip & Signature cards in most contexts, even in countries where Chip & PIN is the norm. Their cards will only switch to PIN verification in the rare instance where the payment terminal cannot accept Signature verification.

Consider obtaining a card with Contactless payment feature. These are widely accepted in the UK for routine transactions, and (usually) require neither a PIN nor a Signature.

Last edited by mia; Dec 9, 2018 at 4:50 am
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Old Dec 9, 2018, 5:24 am
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I have had situations where payment terminals decline signature. My work around is contactless. The UK allows up to 30 GBP on contactless, so I normally have my cards on my Apple Pay.

I have found AmEx works fine on the self service ticket stations in London, but I rarely use self service as I use contactless (Apple Watch with Apple Pay) to travel on London public transport.
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Old Dec 9, 2018, 1:44 pm
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Originally Posted by Ryanardo_daVinci
Im fairly sure you can still swipe and sign at most places, but youll likely encounter sales clerks who have no idea what to do - many of them will not have been born when we swapped to chip & pin.

There are some places (self-service gas stations, buying train and tube tickets etc) where one would almost certainly be needed.
OP has chip and signature cards, so the chip part's taken care of. Signature will basically be required for every single transaction, though, with their cards (unlike in the US)--which might get inconvenient after a while. Hence why contactless/mobile wallets are generally a good idea.

Speaking of contactless, I'd check back closer to March to see if Chase manages to make it available on the CSR by then: https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-cards/contactless. If not, you can always add it to your NFC-enabled smartphone.

Originally Posted by Sintaku
I have had situations where payment terminals decline signature. My work around is contactless. The UK allows up to 30 GBP on contactless, so I normally have my cards on my Apple Pay.
Out of curiosity, where were these places? I suspect I wouldn't have had issues the few times I had to insert last year had I used my chip and signature cards more often (I used my Diners Club MC out of convenience, except at hotels).

BTW there's no limit for mobile wallet transactions, at least at most merchants. I also didn't have issues with contactless at National Rail ticket machines.
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Old Dec 10, 2018, 2:27 am
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You could already get a capital one 360 account. I used their debit card in Poland at a automated machine with chip and pin and it worked fine. The account is free but my personal opinion is opening a credit card just for limited use on a trip is overkill.
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Old Dec 10, 2018, 3:42 am
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Originally Posted by tmiw
Out of curiosity, where were these places? I suspect I wouldn't have had issues the few times I had to insert last year had I used my chip and signature cards more often (I used my Diners Club MC out of convenience, except at hotels).

BTW there's no limit for mobile wallet transactions, at least at most merchants. I also didn't have issues with contactless at National Rail ticket machines.
I was declined on mobile at Superdrugs and Tesco for transactions greater than 30 GBP, then the confusion ensued when I inserted my card and it gave the cashier a bunch of signature prompts that they had never seen in their lives. Often involved them calling their manager and/or running around looking for a pen. I probably should be carrying a pen in those cases.

Signature is often declined at nightclubs, unfortunately. So I keep my costs under 30 GBP. I think the reason for declining signature at nightclubs is the fast paced sales of drinks, so they don't have to deal with cards that don't fit the norm.
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Old Dec 10, 2018, 7:34 am
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Originally Posted by Sintaku
I was declined on mobile at Superdrugs and Tesco for transactions greater than 30 GBP, then the confusion ensued when I inserted my card and it gave the cashier a bunch of signature prompts that they had never seen in their lives. Often involved them calling their manager and/or running around looking for a pen. I probably should be carrying a pen in those cases.

Signature is often declined at nightclubs, unfortunately. So I keep my costs under 30 GBP. I think the reason for declining signature at nightclubs is the fast paced sales of drinks, so they don't have to deal with cards that don't fit the norm.
Had that happen as well. But if I have my passport on me, I have a pen, but I try to leave it at the hotel for safety reasons (of passport, not mine).
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Old Dec 10, 2018, 9:22 am
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Originally Posted by choff5507
You could already get a capital one 360 account. I used their debit card in Poland at a automated machine with chip and pin and it worked fine. The account is free but my personal opinion is opening a credit card just for limited use on a trip is overkill.
It could still be useful on return trips. Plus, if enough people use such cards for day to day stuff in the US (even if their PIN support is only as a backup instead of primary), issuers will take notice and possibly start including it as well.

That said, I'm not sure how many non-FT, non-frequent travelers would actually care enough. Not to mention that issuers seem to think that contactless/mobile wallets are the future and not anything requiring insertion.

Originally Posted by Sintaku
I was declined on mobile at Superdrugs and Tesco for transactions greater than 30 GBP, then the confusion ensued when I inserted my card and it gave the cashier a bunch of signature prompts that they had never seen in their lives. Often involved them calling their manager and/or running around looking for a pen. I probably should be carrying a pen in those cases.

Signature is often declined at nightclubs, unfortunately. So I keep my costs under 30 GBP. I think the reason for declining signature at nightclubs is the fast paced sales of drinks, so they don't have to deal with cards that don't fit the norm.
FWIW, you can report them to the networks as they're supposed to accept signature (though that only possibly helps for the future and not right that moment):

https://usa.visa.com/Forms/visa-rules.html
https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/cons...-shopping.html

Also, the networks do have mandates requiring that there be no limit for all mobile wallet transactions. I believe 2019 or 2020 is the deadline to switch things over but I'd have to look it up to confirm.

BTW I seem to remember that Tesco receipts actually had "verified by device" on them, implying that there was no 30 limit. I never tried buying anything more than that amount, though, so it very well could have still declined the transaction.
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Old Dec 10, 2018, 10:45 pm
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I spent last week in London. In most places I paid with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card as a contactless card via Google Pay on my Android phone. It worked everywhere except on the public transport (tube) gates. Other cards in my Google Pay worked on the tube gates just fine, so it's something about CSR that isn't quite right. I also paid contactless (with the CSR) for a hotel, around 200 pounds in one charge, so I haven't encountered a limit.

The Banco Popular LifeMiles card did not work correctly in Google Pay. All payments were declined. I called them and they stated that the merchants were "keying in" the wrong expiration month. I explained that nobody was keying in anything, but they didn't comprehend. I removed the card and re-added it into Google Pay several times in an attempt to correct this, but nope. To clarify: this card actually worked in Google Pay in the sense that it opened the tube gates in and out the whole day, but overnight, when TFL tried to apply the final daily charge, it was declined and Google Pay showed a message to that effect. Since I don't know the full number of the card (Google Pay has it with a virtual number and only shows the last 4 digits), I'm not sure how to pay my debt to TFL.

BankDirect's Visa debit card worked well as contactless in Google Pay. No foreign transaction fees and same conversion rates as with the CSR.

In France and Spain, self-service terminals that don't use contactless accepted my physical CSR with no PIN or sig required.

Last edited by Maayan; Dec 11, 2018 at 1:03 am
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Old Dec 12, 2018, 2:30 pm
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Old Dec 12, 2018, 8:53 pm
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Originally Posted by Maayan
I spent last week in London. In most places I paid with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card as a contactless card via Google Pay on my Android phone. It worked everywhere except on the public transport (tube) gates. Other cards in my Google Pay worked on the tube gates just fine, so it's something about CSR that isn't quite right. I also paid contactless (with the CSR) for a hotel, around 200 pounds in one charge, so I haven't encountered a limit.
I had no problems on the Underground with my CSR and Apple Pay last year, though I re-added my card before leaving. I'm on Android now but scanning Google Pay's version of my CSR shows many of the same offline authentication related data elements as Apple Pay's did, so I suspect there won't be issues as long as your phone gets an internet connection occasionally. (Unlike with Apple Pay, Google Pay is implemented using HCE, so the number of offline/airplane mode transactions is limited.)
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Old Dec 13, 2018, 2:25 pm
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Originally Posted by Maayan
I spent last week in London. In most places I paid with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card as a contactless card via Google Pay on my Android phone. It worked everywhere except on the public transport (tube) gates. Other cards in my Google Pay worked on the tube gates just fine, so it's something about CSR that isn't quite right. I also paid contactless (with the CSR) for a hotel, around 200 pounds in one charge, so I haven't encountered a limit.
My experience last year was that CSR and other Visa cards did not work on the Underground loaded on Apple Pay. My Barcley MasterCards worked. I had read in advance of the trip that only MasterCard was working so I made sure to have a MasterCard loaded on my Apple Watch.. My Apple Pay had no limit at any terminals but I read then that there had been a limit and all terminals might not be converted.
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Old Jan 5, 2019, 7:11 pm
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Certain pay at the pump stations won't work. And certain automated fare stations (although Ireland is fine). If you use an automated check out line at a food hall or such, an attendant will have to get a pen, you can sign the paper, and slip it in the coupon slot. I had only swipe cards in Ireland for 6 months back in 2016 and had next to no issues, except for the named. The biggest issue is drinking at pubs. If you don't purchase food, they typically won't let you start a tab. If you pay with a signature card each time, they will get very annoyed. As a rule of thumb, I just used cash unless I purchased some food.
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Old Jan 6, 2019, 2:01 am
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Originally Posted by trmbn65
certain automated fare stations
Is there anything to indicate as to whether a particular one won't allow it? I suspect that the ones in London won't have issues, anyway.
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