CSP Holders - International Travel Experience

[WhiteCollar]

Hello My Fellow CSP Cardholders!

I've traveling to Europe in a few months and would like to know has anyone had difficulty using their CSP card abroad? This is my only travel card and I did not plan to app for any cards this year. I'm concerned because is does not have EMV technology which is supposed to be widely accepted abroad.

Thx!

[longtimelurker]

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@WhiteCollar wrote:

Hello My Fellow CSP Cardholders!

I've traveling to Europe in a few months and would like to know has anyone had difficulty using their CSP card abroad? This is my only travel card and I did not plan to app for any cards this year. I'm concerned because is does not have EMV technology which is supposed to be widely accepted abroad.

Thx!

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In "most" places, you will be fine.    Problem spots are things like unmanned kiosks (train tickets, toll booth, gas stations) which might require chip&pin (chip & sig isn't enough).   Some cashiers might not be familiar with swipe cards, and there have been a few reports of registers where swipe slots do not exist.

But in touristy areas, and in most areas, you should be ok

[lg8302ch]

Most card terminals in Europe are set up for dual read  that means chip and magnetic stripe. Acceptance at unmanned terminals depend on card issuer and merchant. While Cap1 works with magnetic stripe and pin my Barclays Arrival gets rejected with magnetic stripe and pin (both have no chip) Discover and Amex even get processed without pin at certain unmanned locations which is a real security issue  (no signature and no pin but simply enter the card that's it) 

Merchants that have a lot of international customers have dual processing terminals. European merchants that do not deal with international customers like grocery deliery, courier services, etc have mobile card readers and these are chip readers only. So you should be fine as a "tourist" but if you intend to live in Europe for a while then a card with a chip is mandatory.

Have a nice trip

[pats23]

I went to Europe 2 weeks ago I can honestly say I would have been in trouble without chip n pin. Unfortunately my CSP was near useless. I visited Sweden conpenhagen Munich Rome Paris London Amsterdam zurich if that helps you in any way. Maybe I was unaware of the dual terminals. But definitely chip n pin seemed almost necessary

[longtimelurker]

Which chip&pin card did you use?

[MidnightVoice]

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@pats23 wrote:
I went to Europe 2 weeks ago I can honestly say I would have been in trouble without chip n pin. Unfortunately my CSP was near useless. I visited Sweden conpenhagen Munich Rome Paris London Amsterdam zurich if that helps you in any way. Maybe I was unaware of the dual terminals. But definitely chip n pin seemed almost necessary

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I go to Europe most years and have never has a problem with my person or business cards, neither of which have a chip

[armbenderc]

Depends on where you are going. Many places have dual chip and swipe. If you have concern, ask them before going in places of business.

[CreditScholar]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@WhiteCollar wrote:

Hello My Fellow CSP Cardholders!

I've traveling to Europe in a few months and would like to know has anyone had difficulty using their CSP card abroad? This is my only travel card and I did not plan to app for any cards this year. I'm concerned because is does not have EMV technology which is supposed to be widely accepted abroad.

Thx!

---

In "most" places, you will be fine.    Problem spots are things like unmanned kiosks (train tickets, toll booth, gas stations) which might require chip&pin (chip & sig isn't enough).   Some cashiers might not be familiar with swipe cards, and there have been a few reports of registers where swipe slots do not exist.

But in touristy areas, and in most areas, you should be ok

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+1. This about sums it up. I've rarely come across a situation where I absolutely needed a chip.

In many ways I see it similar to Lounge Club/Priority Pass. Most of the time I'll use the lounge of the airline I'm flying on, but on rare occasions I'll need something different. It's good to have "just in case", but definitely not mandatory.

[WhiteCollar]

Good to know having chip & pin is not critical....whew! Thanks all!!