Chase MR Visa -- doesn't work in UK?
 

Arrived in London yesterday... I've tried to use my new Chase Marriott Visa 5x and it hasn't worked at all. Failed at two restaurants, Selfridges, on the Underground, and at Zara (my wife's transaction with her duplicate card).

The Selfridges attempt was straight out of Catch-22... The screen said that the cashier couldn't swipe it because their system recognized it as a chip card, but the chip intake wouldn't work either.

This worked at the hotel while checking in, but nowhere else.

I've already called Chase, who assured me that the card is active and works perfectly, but clearly this is not the case.

Any tips from the FT experts? Brought this card to Europe specifically to avoid incurring FTFs with other cards in my wallet, but I've failed miserably at this so far and as a result, I'm burning through cash at an unsustainable rate....

Sorry to hear. Sounds like a card-specific issue. I have had no trouble using my Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa in London/UK. Were you able to use the card successfully in the US before your trip to the UK?

Thanks for your reply. Not card-specific as my wife is experiencing the same thing when trying to use hers here. Thinking of canceling the card... Tonight's dinner makes seven failed attempts. No knock on MR, but a huge black eye for Chase that their cards can't function properly overseas.

Did you tell Chase you were in London? Some years back my card was initially denied in England because their fraud detection program sees the card being used in a different location without notice and refuses to accept the transaction.

I was in London last week and had no problem. There's a place on the Chase website to enter travel plans, and after doing that I got an automated phone call the next morning saying "we've been notified of travel plans, if you did not tell us this please call, if you did tell us this you don't need to call."

At the last minute I called Chase to ask about a new card with a chip like the ones they use in Europe, although as reported elsewhere on FT the US one is not "chip and pin" like over there, but "chip and signature." They sent the new card overnight and I had absolutely no problems with it. I was told that I can still use it here as well because it has a magnetic strip on it as well, but now that I think about it I haven't tried to use it since I've been back.

It seems the new card was overkill, at one pub the server asked if we were American, saying she had originally thought we were Canadian because Americans do not generally have the chip cards. She told us most places have card "swipers" for reading the magnetic strips as well as the chip readers, which is what leads me to ask if Chase knows where you are.

I agree with kar120c. I just received my C&S card last week and called Chase to inquire about it since I did not get the usual call this 800 number to activate card sticker.

They said the following:

1. Both chip and mag stripe work on card.
2. Card # does not change, so old card will continue to work (I will take it as a backup to the new card on my next trip to EU, just in case)
3. Call Chase with travel plans (countries and dates of travel) before traveling abroad. Having spent months overseas each year this is something that I have always done. But the next comment from the Chase CSR came as a surprise...
4. Especially for the UK as fraud is very high there. Your card will be blocked in the UK unless you have called and put UK on your travel list. She didn't say "might be blocked" she said "will be blocked".

Of course it sounds like the OP actually spoke to Chase while in the UK, so I would hope that Chase and/or the OP would have specifically checked that during their discussions, but perhaps it didn't occur to either of them to do so. If not, then I would highly recommend the OP call Chase back and verify that UK is on his travel list and that the dates for travel to the UK are correct, as it sounds like that may be what the issue is.

And FWIW, my Chase MR Premier Visa has worked flawlessly overseas for the past few years, ever since they got rid of the FX fees.

I've had no problems with my card working in the UK, among other countries in Europe, either. Of course, I had the foresight to advise when and where I was going to be out of the country.

Thanks for all the responses. Yes, of course we called Chase and advised we would be out of the country. Yes, the card worked well in the States prior to our trip to London. Yes, I feel like I'm going mad with this card in my wallet.

Adding to the madness, it works in some places. The hotel, two department stores, and a restaurant near the Notting Hill Gate tube. Each time, we advised that we had issues but the swipe worked.

Striking out everywhere else, particularly on mobile readers that waiters carry (aside from the one in Notting Hill).

Another call to Chase found me speaking with a rep who vehemently argued that this was a merchant issue. Right. Fool me ten times, shame on Chase.

Canceling as soon as the bonus points post / sharing the experience widely.

I would agree that it is a merchant issue. If the merchant is processing it as a chip and sign card but swipes the card, it is not going to work. There are other scenarios as well (the merchant may not take Visa but may take a European version of Visa that is different) that could be resulting in a decline. Many merchants (especially small ones) may not know how to process the credit card correctly which Chase cannot do anything about.

All of the mobile readers that I saw waiters carry (and some non-mobile readers as well) had a slot for inserting a card with a chip, I don't remember seeing any "swipe" slots on the mobile readers, but then I wasn't really looking for them either, so I don't know if they could do that at the table or would have to take a "strip only" card back to the counter to swipe.

I've used my MR Chase card all throughout Europe with no issues - with the exception being public transportation. That is hit or miss. Did fine in Dublin and Amsterdam with the trains, but no chance in London or Paris. I only have the strip CC, not the chip and strip version.

I am sorry to hear of your troubles, that would be driving me crazy!

Strip version works in the London Tube but only at the manned ticket buying venues.