Best option for chip and PIN Mastercard

"I have a Chase Visa card, with a chip, but no PIN"

As someone with a Chase Visa card (AARP) and a Chase Mastercard (United Airlines), I have to ask you "why" you have no PIN? Have you inquired (at the 800 number) about being issued one? Were you offered one in the original mailing, but overlooked it because there were so many inserts in the envelope? Or do you mean, "Whenever I use this card in the U.S., I get asked for a signature"? Have you read past posts here about how there is a priority order for the verification method used with any given card?

I just received my replacement (un-requested) AARP Visa card (from Chase) with a chip in the mail. It gives a phone number for selecting a PIN.

I'm inclined to separate your desire for a Mastercard from your desire for a PIN. You should be working with whatever aspect of credit card (APR interest rate, rewards, your credit rating, predominant places of use for your personal needs, Foreign Transaction charge (1%, 2%, 3%), etc.) rather than flagship name. (It has always appeared to me that "Chase" issues both Visa and Mastercard, both in large quantities.)

To answer the first part, it is a Chase Sapphire Card. Every time I call customer service, they insist it is chip and signature only. I have checked numerous times with them.

For a second card, I don't care about reward points. I would only use it when the Chase Visa doesn't work, either because it is one of those rare circumstances where they only accept MasterCard, or I really do need to use a pin. I want both features.

Sadly, I have a great chip and pin MasterCard, but it is issued by my workplace. Last time I was in Europe for business, it was very useful. That is from Citibank.

I will try calling them again and enquiring specifically about other cards.

American banks offer what is called a chip and signature card. For some reason they think we are not as capable as foreigners and will forget the pin and get upset and befuddled over having to use a pin.

My chip and signature card also has a pin that supposedly would work with automated machines where there is no signature option. But, my experience last year was that my card (Barclays) did not work with the automated machines that required a pin. Not once was I able to purchase a bus ticket or train ticket from a machine using the card. I simply carried lots of cash and found a machine that accepted cash as well as cards. Or I waited in a long line for a human teller.

I'll second that observation by pdb.

Having a chip/pin card issued from the U.S. still means the automated petrol dispensers will not accept your foreign card and you'll have to find a gas station with a live attendant to swipe your card personally.

The folks on the phone are sort of right.

With your Sapphire card the PIN would only be used if you were putting the card into an ATM to get cash out (no dont do it it's expensive but if there is an emergency it's worth the cost) or if you are using it to buy train tickets etc at a kiosk at least that was the case for me in Italy.

Having a PIN won't change the coding on the card to require a PIN to make a purchase.

Too bad you're hung up on MasterCard. Andrews Federal Credit Union has a very good Visa Chip & PIN.

I'll second Andrews. While its first priority authentication is signature, you can use it in automated machines where a PIN is needed. I've used it many times at unattended gas stations and train station machines.

Thank you.

This has been a helpful discussion. I appreciate the suggestions about the Andrews card. This may be useful for other readers to know, so I'm glad it was posted. However, I already have a Visa, so for me, it makes more sense to complement that with a MC, in my case.

I did call Chase customer service and learned a few useful things:

1. I can get a PIN for my Chase Sapphire card, but its use would result in a hefty fee. According to the customer service rep I spoke with, using it at an unmanned kiosk, with a PIN, would result in the transaction being treated as a cash advance.

2. The good news: They expect to convert the Sapphire card from "chip and signature" to "chip and PIN" by the end of 2015. (When I called to enquire last month, they did not tell me this, so this may be a new policy, or this customer representative was more informed than the last one.)

3. The Chase United Explorer MasterCards are being migrated to Visa.