International travel is like parenting. They’re both transformative experiences that bring great joy and unforgettable memories. They can also both be expensive, challenging and fraught with headaches.
The good news for travelers is many of those headaches can be minimized with forethought. One prime example: your credit card. Get a Visa or MasterCard chip-and-PIN card and you can minimize — maybe even eliminate — the chances of your card not being accepted.
Finding that card, however, can feel as challenging as finding a Taylor Swift song on Spotify. Most smart-chip or EMV credit cards in the U.S. are chip-and-signature cards, meaning that you sign for your purchases the same way you signed with your magnetic stripe cards.
The problem is that most European countries rely on chip-and-PIN technology — which requires you to enter a code, as you would with an ATM, rather than signing — and sometimes a chip-and-signature card won’t be accepted. It probably will be accepted in the gift shop at the Louvre or at a gelateria in Rome. It might not be accepted at a self-serve gas station in a small town on the German Autobahn or at a ticket kiosk at a train station in London.
So where do you find chip-and-PIN cards in the U.S.? Again, they’re not everywhere, but you can find them. Here are a few possibilities to consider before your trip:
Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard
This is my top recommendation among cards with chip-and-PIN capabilities. It comes with a signup bonus of 40,000 miles, which can be redeemed for a $400 statement credit on a travel purchase. It also gives you 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, with no rotating categories or opt-ins required. When you redeem your miles for travel-related purchases, the card returns 10 percent of them back to you instantly. And the robust selection of specials at its online mall let you double, triple or even quadruple your points if you spend through its chosen partners.
In addition, the card features an APR as low as 14.99 percent, an annual fee of $89 that’s waived in the first year, no foreign transaction fees and a 0 percent balance transfer APR for 12 billing cycles.
One important quirk to remember: To activate the PIN, you must first use this card as a chip-and-signature card. After using it as a signature card once, you will be able to use it as a chip-and-PIN card when needed.
“Hold on a second,” you might say. “Aren’t cards either chip-and-PIN or chip-and-signature? I didn’t think they could be both.”
Well, they can be, and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus is one example. If inserted in a terminal that can accept both PIN and signature cards, the Arrival Plus card will default to being a signature card. However, if only a PIN card is allowed — say at an automated kiosk at a train station — it will work as a PIN card.
It’s unclear exactly why the Arrival Plus card must be used as a signature card first to activate the PIN. However, if you follow the necessary steps and successfully trigger the PIN, the card can be a great travel companion.
Wells Fargo Visa Signature Card
Like the Arrival Plus, this card is mainly a chip-and-signature card, but it can be used with a PIN when necessary. (And I have seen no mention of this card having the same “first purchase must be with a signature” quirk that the Arrival Plus card features.)
It isn’t as easily available as the Arrival Plus card, though. If you aren’t already a Wells Fargo customer, you can’t apply online for the card. You have to visit a Wells Fargo branch.
The card gives you 5 points per dollar on gas, grocery and drugstore purchases for the first six months and 1 point per dollar on everything else. You also get 50 percent more value when you redeem points for airfare via Wells Fargo’s rewards portal at MyWellsFargoRewards.com. Add in no annual fee, a standard APR as low as 12.15 percent and introductory APR of 0 percent for 15 months and it sounds like a good deal.
The chief reason why I can’t recommend this card over the Arrival Plus card is that it comes with a foreign transaction fee, while the Arrival Plus does not. That fee means that the bank will tack on 3 percent to every purchase you make while overseas. That percent may not sound like much, but if you spend $10,000 on a family vacation to Europe, that 3 percent can add to up $300.
Other Chip-and-PIN Options
While most major banks have yet to roll out chip-and-PIN options, several credit unions have. Some of them include:
— Wings Financial Credit Union, which serves members of the U.S. air transportation industry
— Andrews Federal Credit Union, which serves members of the U.S. military but consumers may be eligible to join through a partnership with the American Consumer Council
— United Nations Federal Credit Union, which serves employees and families of the U.N. and related organizations
There are undoubtedly others offering them as well. If you’re a member of a credit union or a small bank, make a phone call and ask when your financial institution is planning to offer chip cards and whether they’ll include a PIN. (It’s a good idea for customers of the nation’s biggest banks to do that, too, if they haven’t yet been notified of their banks’ plans.) And if your bank is planning to roll out chip-and-PIN cards soon, it might be worth your while to just wait until one appears in your mailbox as a replacement for your old-school magnetic stripe card.
If you’re traveling this summer, you might not have the luxury of waiting. In that case, I’d recommend picking up a Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard. Even with its quirks, the card can help you avoid some payment headaches on your trip, while also keeping fees to a minimum and offering some substantial rewards.
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Chip-And-PIN Credit Cards to Consider Before Traveling to Europe originally appeared on usnews.com
