@Anonymous wrote:
If needed, is one able to use a debit card at unmanned kiosks overseas?
I thought chip and pin would provide additional security here in the US, but it does not appear so.
Thank you.
Only if the terminal is set up for use with that debit network, or if it is used as a credit card through the network appearing on the card (i.e. Visa), but in that case it would be processed as signature credit.
@Anonymous wrote:
If needed, is one able to use a debit card at unmanned kiosks overseas?
I thought chip and pin would provide additional security here in the US, but it does not appear so.
Thank you.
I would question the desire to swipe a debit card anywhere TBH; if you're going to be in Europe get a C+P card imo, but if not, I wouldn't bother. They don't really serve any purpose in the US, which is why there's been virtually no implementation and we can still count the C+P issuers on one hand.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Revelate wrote:
What I was referring to was Corey's and other's comments over time in Europe: you swipe the card, the cashier is confused, and anytime you promote confusion you're slowing everyone else down (assuming there's a line); I might not stick out like a sore thumb in Europe and therefore be easily identified like I did in some parts of Asia, but that sort of blithe disregard for others is a hallmark of all the historical stereotypes of American tourists with various insensitivities, and I don't want to be that.
Right. As an expat-Brit, I was at a supermarket (Waitrose) in North London, using my US issued credit card. It spat out a signature slip, and, since outside major tourist areas chip&pin is universal, the cashier didn't have a pen for me to use to sign, and it took some time for one to be found. So apart from slowing others down, it also slowed me down. So PIN priority (I don't think mine was even pin capable at the time) would have been good.
But this is all just inconvenience. The issue people worry about is unattended terminals, such as toll roads, ticket machines at stations, some parking etc. A US card without the correct settings won't work at all, and this can be a big issue.
Great take on this. I spent a week in London about 5 weeks ago, and was very pleasantly surprised that almost everything had become contactless at this point and my Altitude Reserve really racked up the rewards! For chip/swipe use, I generally had no problem using my Sapphire Reserve* which I fortunately know the PIN for, and it wasn't too often that the pen was needed for signing this time around.
* I did a day trip to Belgium, and the kiosk at the train platform at BRU did not have contactless and would not accept my CSR PIN, yet surprisingly my Amex Delta Reserve worked with no problem!
France last year was a lot of punching PINs with (then-)Sapphire Preferred for automated machines (but it always worked), and lots of fumbling to find a pen for me to sign the mysterious receipt when not in the high tourism areas.
At this point, as long as you know your PIN, most of Western Europe at least should be fine with a Chip+Signature priority card, and we'll see fewer issues going forward as contactless becomes more widely rolled out.
This is a stark contrast to Ireland and Amsterdam a few years back before chips became common in the US, and I found myself seeing credit card terminal after credit card terminal with masking tape over the magnetic stripe reader and "NO, NEE, NON" written in Sharpie.
@Revelate wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
If needed, is one able to use a debit card at unmanned kiosks overseas?
I thought chip and pin would provide additional security here in the US, but it does not appear so.
Thank you.I would question the desire to swipe a debit card anywhere TBH; if you're going to be in Europe get a C+P card imo, but if not, I wouldn't bother. They don't really serve any purpose in the US, which is why there's been virtually no implementation and we can still count the C+P issuers on one hand.
+1 Also, I forgot to mention that I don't believe I've seen foreign transaction fees waived on any Visa/MasterCard debit cards. (Although it would not surprise me if some credit unions waived those fees.)
Chase Sapphire Checking offers no FTF on their debit cards, but does have a $25/mo maintenance fee for most people.
Total Loan Balance: $43k / $65k
Total SL: $78k
I have one on my CSR. Definitely entered it many times over the past year or so. Maybe because mine began as a CSP?
At any rate, you should be able to request one here:
https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-cards/card-resource-center/passwordpin
At any rate, you should be able to request one here:
https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-cards/card-resource-center/passwordpin
@Anonymous wrote:So that's full service! If you can't use the card abroad, you can use local currency instead.... (And that actually works too even in the US!)
Hahaha
Even in the US, I hardly ever have "local currency" on me 
Truth be told, this is an example of why I always carry a variety of cards from a variety of banks when I travel abroad. Too many times, I've been in the awkward situation where my card is getting declined for some unknown reason, and I need to pay for something right then, and don't have cash.
Crossing a highway toll in France one time, they wouldn't let me through because my card was declining and I had no cash. Eventually convinced the guy (who didn't speak english) to let me pass through so I didn't have to hold up traffic any longer.
Paying at a restaurant by myself in Germany, card was declined for no apparent reason and I had to leave my cell phone behind as collateral while I wandered around town looking for an ATM (and praying that my card work for that, which thankfully it did.)
Sitting in a taxi at my destination after a 1 hour ride to the airport, my card was getting declined for no reason. Had to convince the driver to take me to an ATM, where again I had to pray that my card would work in that.
It's unavoidable - when you're travelling abroad, cards get declined, often for no apparent reason. Sometime's the bank's fault, sometimes the processor's fault, sometimes the card reader's fault. And sometimes nobody speaks english and sometimes your phone and internet coverage are too poor to resolve the issue on your own. I've now (finally) learned to have backup plans, and backup plans for those backup plans. I have credit cards from 3 banks, both Visa and MC, a debit/atm card, and these days I even try to usually pull out $100-worth of local currency upon arrival in case I run into a situation where plastic just ain't working (or isn't even accepted). It took me entirely way too long to learn that lesson.
I think it's nuts for people to travel abroad and plan to use just one card with no real contingency plans for when it fails to work.