Credit/Debit Cards

No -- The standard US credit card is chip and signature. Not the same as a chip and pin card that is common to Europe. However you need a pin for your debit card at an ATM for cash withdrawal. I would NOT use a debit card for routine purchases because it carries more risk. You should only use your debit to obtain local currency at a bank owned ATM. After either use a credit card or cash for routine purchases. You US credit card will work fine as long as a live person is running the card through their terminal. The problem with US chip and signature occurs when using toll booth, gas stations, etc., and no attendant is available to process the card. But you should get a pin for your credit card so that it can serve as an emergency back up card if you need cash from an ATM. An expensive way to go but if it is an emergency, well worth it.

PS Don't know how much time you have before your trip to look into getting another debit card from a difficult bank/credit union. WF has a reputation for charging substantial fees to use their debit card. Something like 3% plus $5 for each transaction. You can find debit card that charge nothing or very low fees. My credit union charges a $1 for each transaction after the fist six that are free.

As I read the question, you are asking whether you can use you debit card with PIN in situations where a PIN is required, such as some ticket machines and unmanned kiosks. I do not know if this always works, but we were able to use our debit card with PIN to buy train tickets from a Swiss ticket machine a few years back.

Your credit card company SHOULD give you a pin. I deal with both CitiBank and Bank of America and neither gave me trouble about this. I just called the customer service number on the back of my card. They do need at least a week to process and send to you though so you may not have time if your trip is soon. Also, there are many cards out there (debit and credit) with no international transaction fees. My Fidelity account has a debit card which reimburses me any atm fees anywhere in the world and I always get a good conversion rate with it.

You will have no issues using your credit card to make purchases such has hotels, restaurants or shopping. The little machines used to process your transaction "knows" it is a signature card and print one copy for you to sign, and another copy for you. Some merchants do not ask for signatures. (we were at a large supermarket today, and they did not ask for a signature for a 22 Euro purchase.

The only time you may end up with issues, as suggested in previous post, are kiosk, self service purchases such as tolls, gas stations, and train tickets. Seems to be hit and miss on these type of purchases. If credit card doesn't work, and cash isn't an option, then try your debit card, which does have a PIN #.

Also a reminder to let both your credit and debit card banks know about your travel dates and countries (even if just connecting on a flight). If you purchase train tickets on line, or even hotel deposits in advance, and your credit card isn't working, call the 800# for your cc, advise them you are making a purchase with X merchant, and tell them to authorize the transaction. I've had to do this multiple times with Chase, even though they know the dates and countries in Europe. I usually stay on the phone with them, attempt the transaction again, and they can make sure the charge goes through.

In Portugal, I had to sign receipts with my chip card. People with PIN cards just key in the number. When I tried to use the card at a gas station, the attendant explained that the machines don't accept any foreign cards, you must go to the attendant to pay. One oddity with that - with some pumps you must pay in advance, so you can't fill up. You have to drive around to another pump. I never quite figured out which was which.

Here's some info on the differences between European and American credit card technologies.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/03/us-determined-to-have-the-least-secure-credit-cards-in-the-world/473199/

That article is over three years old and out of date in some areas. Most of us are well aware of the differences and, I thought, we were trying to explain it to you. Again, I would continue to discourage you from using your debit card for routine purchases.

I have a true Chip and Pin card from Andrews AFB Credit Union. They're a pain to work with, however, so I wouldn't recommend them. The only thing a real Chip and Pin card buys me is the ability to use automated gas stations in Europe. Other than that, I've been able to use our American Chip and Signature cards (all my other credit cards) virtually anywhere. Merchants (from convenience stores to restaurants to boutiques) know what to do, they'll print a receipt for you to sign and off you go. They may ask if you want the transactions in dollars (the answer is no, you always want the transaction in the local currency or you get charged an additional fee)? Use your credit card for purchases, tolls, hotels, meals, etc. For cash flow purposes, more than anything else, I'll use a credit card for anything I can and use cash when I can't use a credit card.

I use my debit card only to get cash from ATMs (and only bank owned ATMs). It's the least expensive way to get cash.

You don’t say where in Europe you are going but we just got back from France after a 2 week trip. We used our chip/signature card with success to refill our metro passes as the train station, at stores, hotels, and at gas stations. There was only ONE gas station that declined our card and we just used another chip/signature from a different bank and it worked. We had to sign at the car rental agency and hotels. But for the unmanned stations, it asked for a PIN and we just let the card sit there and the machine bypassed the PIN and went ahead and processed.

We did NOT attempt a card at toll stations. We paid cash because we didn’t want to hold up the line or have to change lanes because our card wouldn’t work.

I had an Andrews chip and PIN Visa card for a while too; unlike most US credit cards, it actually has a usable PIN in Europe. (If you get a PIN for a standard US credit card, most likely it is for ATM CASH WITHDRAWALS only, not for purchases!!! And you usually DON'T want to use your credit card at an ATM to get cash - that's an expensive loan!!!

The Andrews visa is technically not a "true" chip and PIN - if there's a human involved, you'll still need to sign a slip like you would with other US card cards. But it can be helpful at machines, where it will revert to accepting a PIN if one is required. A true chip and PIN card never requires a signature in Europe - e.g. if you try to use the Andrew's card at a grocery store, you'll still have to sign - but with a "true" chip and PIN you would just use the PIN. Minor inconvenience.

Still...you won't need a chip and PIN even at most machines in Europe. I just got back from Italy and was able to use my chip and signature card everywhere even at ticket machines at train and bus stations. You may have trouble making purchases of large amounts, though. And occasionally, some machines (e.g. gas pumps) will not accept cards that are not chip and PIN.