Southwest Chip and Pin Card

Frank, in looking at the cards on the Southwest and Chase sites, I see nothing about it either. Seems to me that if it were a true c & p they would make that abundantly clear, since it would set it apart from most other cards. The fact that they don't tells me it's not a c & p.

That is my assessment also. But they are not calling it chip and signature. And I know that Chase is offering some chip and pin with other branding.

That's weird. If I were a credit card company and had it, I would shout it from the mountain. I bet it's not.

Frank, credit card companies are required to upgrade all their cards to include the new chip. In Europe, the credit cards are true chip and pin. Unfortunately, in the US the credit cards have decided to offer the chip and signature as they felt it would be too hard on the consumer to memorize another PIN and it would be cheaper for them. Chip & signature is not a secure as chip & pin but way better than magnetic stripe card. Only changing as merchants will now be on hook for any fraud rather than banks.
I have a Wells Fargo Visa card and in early 2014 I was able to upgrade to a true chip & pin card. I was talking to WF about another matter and mentioned chip & pin card conversion when the banker told me it was available. WF was already in the process of upgrading their existing customers as their cards expired. My card arrived and the PIN arrived separately. We traveled to Scandinavia last July and were able to use it in automated ticket machines easily.

We recently opened an American Express co-branded with Delta as Amex was severing their ties to Costco. The new AE card arrived and the letter stated chip & signature. I called Customer Service and he did not know the difference when I asked for my PIN. I was put on hold while he spoke with his supervisor and gave me a phone number to call for the PIN.
Just contact Southwest credit card customer service and if they know the difference between a chip & PIN and chip & signature. They should be able to give you a PIN.

Sharon, I am pretty sure it is not an chip and signature card. Have continued to probe the Chase site and found this statement
Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico and South America have already embraced chip technology — so your card will be easier to use outside the U.S. Plus, on this web --

https://www.chase.com/chip

It refers to Chase cards in general but the operative words are "will be easier."

All:

About mid-way down the page after clicking the link to Chase, it has a link to the question "How to Use Your Chip Card" and differentiates between a credit card chip and a debit card chip. I think it looks like a real chip & pin card.

Linda

If you read through the FAQ's on Frank's link, it says the PIN is only used at ATM's. Then, under "what do I do if a merchant asks for a PIN?" It says the following:

"A. If a merchant asks about a PIN code, you can say that your card only requires a signature for verification. If the merchant card reader prompts for a PIN code, it may allow you to “Cancel” out of the prompt so you can sign. You may also be able to select “Enter” or “Continue” to bypass the PIN request."

Sounds like chip and signature to me.

At the risk of adding confusion, most CCs I am familiar with, have a PIN for withdrawing cash from an ATM (something they charge a lot for). That is not the same thing as having a Chip & PIN for any purchase transaction.

We're in a transition stage. Cards with chips will have to be signature cards even if they have a PIN, because not all merchants have equipment with PIN pads. My guess is that within 2 years they'll all have PIN's. Then hopefully, within a year of that, we can completely phase out the signatures.

It doesn't hurt to let your card issuer know that you want a chip card with a PIN, though.

I'm seeing customers that have gotten a new chip card, and don't even realize it. This will take some time and adjustment.

Even if a chip card has a PIN, it may be for use with the magnetic strip (to withdraw cash from an ATM machine as a cash advance---a no-no unless you like throwing money away). My Chase chip card is like this. We tried using the PIN in a machine in Italy and it didn't work. OTOH, our "true" chip and PIN card from USAA works just fine in the machines.

I now see lots of credit card machines in stores here in the US that have a slot for the chip card at the bottom, as well as the "swipe" slot on the side. Our grocery store has them, and Nordstrom, and others. So they are getting ready. But the chip slot doesn't work yet.

I am waiting to hear of any "true" chip and PIN cards besides the ones already discussed many times---USAA, Andrews FCU, State Department FCU, and I think one other.

Regarding chip-and-PIN cards, according to a spreadsheet prepared by members of the Flyertalk website, Wells Fargo does indeed offer true chip-and-PIN cards that work offline, such as ticket machines and gas pumps. However, most of them charge a 3% foreign transaction fee, unlike the chip-and-PIN cards offered by credit unions. See

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ani-u3tGk5hedGRvcE1ELVg5UmlGZk01SHZvTUMxdUE#gid=0