New Bank of America Travel VISA

Sorry to bear bad tidings on Christmas , but this is a chip and signature card , not a chip and pin card . Very few North American institutions offer a true chip and pin ( Andrews Federal Credit Union ,USAA ,are two that come to mind ) . Bank of America clearly states in its explanation of use for this card , that the obtainable pin used in conjunction with this card will be considered a cash advance subject to the (onerous ) interest rates that they charge . While the chip will provide some additional flexibility over the magnetic stripe , it will not function in what are termed off-line transactions ( i.e. ticket kiosks , self service gas stations , and the like ) I have two Andrews cards which do function as true chip and pin , and have been quite useful overseas . On the other hand ,standard US cards and cash will also do the trick !

Some people have reported here that, very occasionally, chip and signature cards do work in automated applications, but I would never count on it.

I assume that the card you received is a credit card. Be sure to see how much they will be charging you if you ever get money out of an ATM with it which should be considered a "cash advance" along with its notorious huge fees.

This assumes that BofA won't 'protect" you by allowing you to use the card. They "protected" me one to many times so now I "protect" my money from them :)

I used my Bank of America corporate card with a chip in France in the spring of 2013. It was chip-and-signature, but it worked with its PIN at a restaurant, at a gas station with an attendant, and at a self-service gas pump. However, automated gas pumps may have different security settings, so don't assume that the card will work at every gas station you encounter.