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AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)

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jsucool76
Super Contributor

Re: AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)


@flowfaster wrote:

Yeah it just doesn't make sense to me.  I have a cap1 and BoA with no FTF, I think Im going to pass.  You would think at least the Blue Sky would be NO FTF but I guess not.


I know plenty of people who have travelled overseas and not even realized that they got charged a fee for using their cards there, and a lot of the people who did know about the fee didn't care. It is an easy way for CCCs to make money. 

Message 21 of 39
steve23111
Frequent Contributor

Re: AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)


@jsucool76 wrote:

@flowfaster wrote:

Yeah it just doesn't make sense to me.  I have a cap1 and BoA with no FTF, I think Im going to pass.  You would think at least the Blue Sky would be NO FTF but I guess not.


I know plenty of people who have travelled overseas and not even realized that they got charged a fee for using their cards there, and a lot of the people who did know about the fee didn't care. It is an easy way for CCCs to make money. 


For the frequent traveler, it would add up over time.  For someone like me who has never left the country (and only has plans to do so for a brief period about 6 months from now) the 3%-ish FTF is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall travel expense, so I really don't mind it one bit.

 

Interestingly, about two years ago when I closed my Capital One rebuilder card, the FTF came up in the conversation as about the only thing the card had going for it.  The rep emphasized that not many cards had zero FTF.  I told him it was a good point, and if he would give me more than just a $500 CL I'd keep the card.  Naturally, being Capital One, he declined.  And so did I.  Went out and applied for an AMEX, and here I am.

 

Message 22 of 39
Cdnewmanpac
Established Contributor

Re: AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)

I agree that this would be muuuuuch more useful with waived FTFs. I keep hoping Amex will match Citi's HHonors card and drop FTF. In the meantime, I have no EMV cards and a sister in the foreign service that I visit with some regularity. I have a card that doesn't charge FTF and my USAA is only 1%, but I don't have any EMV cards. So while I would only use it in an emergency or if a merchant flat out refused to swipe, I went ahead and asked to have my HHonors surpass swapped out. They asked if I needed it overnight and I said no. Should arrive in 7-10 days.

In wallet: Ink Plus 10k, AMEX TE 25k. In bag: CSP 16k, USAA WMC 15k, Hyatt 13k, United MPE 12k, AMEX HHonors 3k. In SD: Cap 1 QS 5k, Discover IT 7k. FICO 08 says my EQ is now 844, was 510 in 2010.
Message 23 of 39
nenuco
Frequent Contributor

Re: AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)

So I just spoke with 3 representatives + a manager and was told that the only cards that were offered with an EMV chip were the Centurion and the Platinum (more cards in the future). They assured me that the other cards are eligible to  receive the "nfc" style chips that allow for wireless payments, which aren't the ones I believe most people are talking about. Again all the people I spoke with may be incorrect, but I think you guys are getting the quick pay style chips and not the sign/pin style used mostly around the world.

Full on Garden Mode (•‿•)
Message 24 of 39
steve23111
Frequent Contributor

Re: AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)


@nenuco wrote:

I think you guys are getting the quick pay style chips and not the sign/pin style used mostly around the world.


My thoughts exactly.

 

Message 25 of 39
Cdnewmanpac
Established Contributor

Re: AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)

Certainly possible, although it would be weird, since I asked if emv was available (never said "chip") and his reply was, "are you planning to travel overseas?"
In wallet: Ink Plus 10k, AMEX TE 25k. In bag: CSP 16k, USAA WMC 15k, Hyatt 13k, United MPE 12k, AMEX HHonors 3k. In SD: Cap 1 QS 5k, Discover IT 7k. FICO 08 says my EQ is now 844, was 510 in 2010.
Message 26 of 39
ryanbush
Valued Contributor

Re: AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)


@steve23111 wrote:

@nenuco wrote:

I think you guys are getting the quick pay style chips and not the sign/pin style used mostly around the world.


My thoughts exactly.

 


 

 

I would agree with you, except for the CSR after putting my on hold came back and said "you said most of your international travel is to Mexico, and the Chip cards are only really helpful in Europe"  but that she would send me one if i felt i needed.... it didn't so i declined 

Chase Sapphire Perferred | Chase Freedom | AMEX Platinum | AMEX Delta Platinum | AMEX SPG | Capital One Venture | Capital One Quicksliver | Discover IT | ABFCU Visa | Citi AA WEMC
Message 27 of 39
steve23111
Frequent Contributor

Re: AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)


@ryanbush wrote:

@steve23111 wrote:

@nenuco wrote:

I think you guys are getting the quick pay style chips and not the sign/pin style used mostly around the world.


My thoughts exactly.

 


 

 

I would agree with you, except for the CSR after putting my on hold came back and said "you said most of your international travel is to Mexico, and the Chip cards are only really helpful in Europe"  but that she would send me one if i felt i needed.... it didn't so i declined 


What flavor of AMEX?

Message 28 of 39
ryanbush
Valued Contributor

Re: AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)


@steve23111 wrote:

@ryanbush wrote:

@steve23111 wrote:

@nenuco wrote:

I think you guys are getting the quick pay style chips and not the sign/pin style used mostly around the world.


My thoughts exactly.

 


 

 

I would agree with you, except for the CSR after putting my on hold came back and said "you said most of your international travel is to Mexico, and the Chip cards are only really helpful in Europe"  but that she would send me one if i felt i needed.... it didn't so i declined 


What flavor of AMEX?


 

just the normal green card... i do have the business platinum through my familys busines but it wasn't that card that i called in about and i never mentioned it to them at all

Chase Sapphire Perferred | Chase Freedom | AMEX Platinum | AMEX Delta Platinum | AMEX SPG | Capital One Venture | Capital One Quicksliver | Discover IT | ABFCU Visa | Citi AA WEMC
Message 29 of 39
CommonD
New Member

Re: AmEx Chip and Signature - October 16th (It's not chip and PIN but it's a start!)

Who cares if the chip is only useful in overseas. These cards are backwards compatible as it still retains the mag-stripe like every other card with an EMV chip so it's useful both here in the US and overseas. I have a Chase Hyatt VISA Signature card and it does exactly that: has the mag-stripe on the back like any other US issued credit card, but it also has the EMV chip on the front for use abroad. Two features in one, simple as that. I can use it anywhere from a convenience store just down the block from my home to a convenience store when I'm in Prague, Czech Republic. 

 

It's like saying "are you sure you need a camera phone? It only takes pictures...." So what, I can use it as a phone and a camera in one device! 

 

I'd rather get a card with a chip even if I don't plan to visit outside the US for a while. It still retains the mag-stripe so it's as good to use in the US, and should I ever visit abroad I can use the chip portion of it. 

 

And no, despite what those agents tell you, EMV isn't just Europe only. They use it in with our neighbors to the north (Canada) and south (Mexico). It is also prevalent in Asia. Processing by EMV is now a defacto global standard that the only country left using mag-stripes is the US, Mongolia, and Sub-Sahara Africa. Our cards are outdated compared to the rest of the world. But you don't see tourists from around the world who come to the US have trouble using their cards here because it still retains the mag-stripe. OTOH, we get screwed when we travel abroad because we only have the mag-stripe stand alone without the chip. Their cards are backwards compatible, our cards are just backward. 

Message 30 of 39
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