Chip & pin from Andrews credit union

First off, CALL Andres credit union and ask them for the details of the card. Second, search this site. There was a recent posting somewhere about the card.

You want the Globe Trek Visa Rewards Card. That has PIN & chip. Open a share account, that makes you a member. To pay off your credit card balance, you make a transfer from your share account to your credit card payment account, (that account will be set up as soon as your credit card is approved). Then that account will pay the credit card balance on the due date. Andrews FCU is not the easiest to understand, but call during business hours and they will be happy to explain everything and help you out.

I just got one and it was super easy.

I got one last year, and while it took awhile (mainly because I'm self-employed and they wanted plenty of paperwork), it was worth getting. As someone said, it's the Globe Trek Visa. All you have to do is deposit at least $5 in the savings (share?) account that you first set up.

Nancy , if you go to the Andrews site and click on the page for online application , you will see clearly the choice for a regular card AND one for the Globe Trek Visa . As Sam says ,that's it !

Hi Nancy, You have to become a member and have a checking account before you can get a credit card. The process to get an account set up took a while for me because I am both retired from a job and now self-employed. Don't wait for them to contact you if you don't get approved right away. Call them a few days after you apply and see what they want in the way of paperwork. I had to fax a bunch of stuff.After that, call again in a few days. They won't call you. I think they have been innundated with applications. After you have an account, you can apply for the Globe Trekker credit card. That also takes a while. They told me that is because it is actually issued from Canada. THat is why it can have true chip and pin technology. The only way to pay the credit card bill online is through your Andrews account. (You can get an address to send payment through the mail, but I've never done that.)As a previous poster stated, you transfer money to the Visa account which will show on your account summary. So that means you have to fund your checking account. You can set up a transfer funds account to electronically transfer money from an account at another bank. That request was easy to fill out online, but it took a few days before being approved. It took at least 6 weeks to get all that set up. You can set up an e-mail alert for the credit card bill being due, but you have to go to the Andrews site and your account to pay it. Its not like paying other credit cards. Has something to do with the Canada link I was told. PM me if you need any help. It is not the easiest site to maneuver. I spent a good while figuring it out.
Best regards, Thomas

I obtained a chip and pin credit card through Bank of America and used it without a problem last month in France. It has no annual fee, no extra charges for exchange fees and if you have an account with them you earn cash back into your bank account. Previously, I had a Capital One card but without the chip it became too difficult to use in Europe.

For those that are interested in trying the Bank of America "Chip" card, you may find this article interesting..... http://blogs.seattletimes.com/northwesttraveler/2013/05/02/trying-out-the-new-u-s-issued-chip-credit-cards/ If I read the article correctly, it sounds like it's not a true "Chip & PIN" card.

I haven't read the article, but it's true that the BOA card (which I now have, in addition to my Andrews card) is a chip and signature rather than chip and PIN. So presumably it won't be any good for situations requiring a chip and PIN, such as unmanned train ticket machines and gas stations.

That is an excellent question, Elle. I just checked out " true" chip and PIN card from USAA. Guess what? NO magnetic strip.

My Andrews FCU Global Trek Rewards Visa has a magnetic strip, and it is a PIN & chip. If it did not have a magnetic strip, you couldn't use it in the States.

Lola, Did you actually see the USAA card? I find it really hard to believe that it doesn't have a magnetic strip because then it wouldn't work in most of the U.S. The U.S. doesn't have the infrastructure in place yet to read the chip. True chip and pin cards still have a magnetic strip so that they can be used in places that don't have that technology yet. I have a chip and pin card issued by a UK bank and it has a mag strip.

Close examination of my wallet reveals, among other things, one black USAA MC with both stripe and chip. The chip/pin was used to buy gas this morning. It was swiped when I paid for lunch before my wife dumped me at the airport last week. It was swiped again this afternoon when the hostel warden assumed that Americans didn't have such things. End of wallet report. Pocket lint report to be posted tomorrow.

Hmmmmm. Am I not seeing the magnetic strip because it is black on black? My other black credit card ( BofA) has a silver magnetic strip, so I was expecting that. USAA sent us two cards for the same account, one with a magnetic strip and no chip, and one with a chip and PIN. I'll try swiping it next time I am at the grocery store and find out if there is a magnetic strip, but I sure can't see it.

I think the only way to tell if a chip card is a true chip and PIN is look at the materials the bank sends with it. The materials I got with my BOA chip card made it clear it was chip and signature. And I knew ahead of time that my Andrews chip card was chip and PIN.

Errrr........Couldn't you also take it along and give it a test whirl? It's not an emergency if its a dud. Contrary to popular postings, my AmEx (no chip) gets a hell of a workout in even small places.

The blue card has a passive RFID chip. It's kind of useful for places with long lines - - coffee shops, newstands, supermarkets, etc. It's a no-touch gizmo and has nothing to do with C&P. M Schneider Himself is the only one I've seen talk about using one. These things are what prompted the boom in protected wallets, which is probably hokum, and would defeat the expediency idea to boot. The Pais bikes used to (still do?) take a regular AmEx since the two companies were in cahoots. That might be over, but it was true a couple of years ago. The work-around is to get a bike card which you pre-load. They're readily available.