That works out to $500 in credit toward hotels and airfare booked through Chase’s rewards program. It also comes with an introductory offer of 40,000 bonus points after you’ve spent $3,000. It has no foreign transaction fees and is chip-enabled. Other cards recommended by the experts include the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. These credit unions allow members of the public to join by making a small donation to specific non-profits. government workers and military, including USAA, State Department Federal Credit Union and Pentagon Federal Credit Union. You might have the best luck with banks and credit unions aimed at serving U.S. Carry a back-up card in case you lose one or have a problem with the main card you are using. Larson suggests getting two cards instead of just one. Because they’re aimed at travelers, cards associated with hotels or airlines are more likely to be available with chips. Some examples of cards that offer chip-enabled versions and also reward loyalty program members are Marriott Rewards Premier and Citi’s Hilton HHonors Reserve. Larson suggests looking for cards associated with a loyalty program. To find a new card, Ray, of, says consumers can visit credit card comparison web sites to find information. While U.S.-issued cards with EMV technology and a PIN are hard to come by, they do exist, and most major card issuers have a card that has at least a chip, if not a PIN.īefore traveling, consumers should ask to replace an existing card with one that has the chip technology, if available.
“It is your responsibility to ask if that merchant takes your card before proceeding,” Hardekopf says. If you end up in a store or restaurant that doesn’t accept a credit card with a magnetic strip, you could be washing dishes.
card, but there’s simply no reason to limit yourself like that. Larson adds that in some areas that cater to tourists, you’re more likely to find places that will still accept the standard U.S.
Chip cards, particularly those requiring a PIN, are much safer from fraud, says Erik Larson, president of, which compares cards and services. A traveler who charges $10,000 on a trip would be looking at about $300 in fees.Īs far as security technology goes, many credit card processing machines are set up for cards that have a microchip embedded in them - commonly known as EMV - and require a PIN from the user. Ray, editor-in-chief of .įoreign transaction fees are typically about 3 percent, says Bill Hardekopf, chief executive officer of. “There’s really no excuse any more to travel abroad carrying an ugly American credit card,” says Daniel P. The good news is that a little pre-trip planning can help avoid such snafus. The most persistent problems are reported by those who try to make purchases at kiosks for such things as train tickets and bicycle rentals. Travelers say the problem is becoming more pronounced. travelers to Great Britain, Denmark, France, Italy, Brazil and other countries tell similar stories of being unable to make purchases with their old-fashioned credit cards, secured only with a magnetic strip and their signature. The waitress looked at one of the cards and commented: “It’s an antique.’” “I had a Visa, an Amex and a MasterCard on the table.” and then another,” says the co-author of the Travel Addicts blog (). That’s what happened to Lance Longwell, 37, of Ambler, Pennsylvania, when he tried to pay for a meal in Ireland in October. You may even get stuck without a payment method in places that won’t take your low-tech American card. Pay attention: if you don’t plan ahead, you’re going to run into extra charges while traveling that could add up to hundreds of dollars. In the wake of a large data breach at retailer Target Corp, you’re going to be hearing more and more about embedded chip technology used overseas, along with personal identification numbers for credit cards. January 14 (Reuters) - Americans run into big problems when they travel outside the country because their credit cards are not high-tech enough and because some issuers charge high fees for foreign transactions.
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