We are going to Italy and Germany in December, Reading Rick's book, it gave me the impression you have to have a pin number with your credit cards. A friend said only for your draft card. She never had to have one with her credit cards, Visa, Master Card or American Express.
I would appreciate anyone's experience?
Dan
Dan,
We've never had to use a pin with a regular magnetic strip credit card. ATM cards, YES! The only exception, in our experience, is that we have a chip and pin credit card (not chip and signature) card that does require a pin. Hope this helps.
TC
Last month -- on Aug. 15 and again on Aug. 17 -- I used my Capital One Visa credit card (no PIN) to buy Bayern Tickets from the red DB kiosks in the Marienplatz S-Bahn station. It worked every time. The machine asked for a PIN, but when none was entered it processed the transaction after a few seconds anyway.
The green MVV kiosks nearby do not accept US credit cards -- use cash for those.
As to Italy, that same card worked in a Trenitalia kiosk in Assisi in September 2013; don't know if anything has changed there since then.
Jeff - good to know. We'll be using our Capital One card for the same thing in December.
Thanks.
My Master Card is the strip type, but I'll have to get a new one since it's getting old. The American Express seems to have a tiny chip embedded. Doesn't seem to have a strip. I just hate to get over there and then have a problem.
What about Debit cards. Did anyone use one?
I believe RS recommended getting the PIN for each credit card in case you have to make a cash withdrawal from an ATM using your credit card. I always memorize my credit cards' PINs in case of an emergency. That's the only time you should use a credit card to withdraw cash from an ATM: in an emergency. Credit card companies consider a withdrawal to be a cash advance and they apply very high interest rates immediately. You don't need a PIN to use your card for purchases.
I use my ATM/Debit card ONLY to get cash from the ATMs. I would never use it to make a purchase overseas.
For purchases I use cash or my credit card which is a normal old US mag strip card. I only use the credit card when the purchase is pretty pricey and I don't want to use up all my cash. Several years ago I did get a pin for my credit card, but so far I have never needed it.
I have been doing this on trips for the past 5 years. Others on this forum have been doing the same thing for much longer than I have.
Thanks! It gives me piece of mind! Being so far from home I don't want to get stranded on a three week trip.
Dan
The one place where having a PIN for your magnetic strip credit card is useful is Scandinavia. Rick says you will often be asked for it when you make a purchase, and there was a report here recently confirming this.
In other places, you only need the PIN for cash withdrawals, and as said above this should only be for emergencies, as it comes with high fees. You will not need it for purchases. However, if you do want to get your credit card PINs, be aware that they often must be mailed to you (I couldn't get one over the phone), so allow time for this.
Dan -- we are leaving for Germany in about 12 days. Here is a link to my post over on the Packing board about the issue of getting a PIN for a credit card.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/packing-credit-cards
I really appreciate the help. It's been ten years since we were in Italy and Germany.. I have a pin on my debit card but nothing else. All so far said they never had a problem using their credit cards for purchases and only used their debit for cash withdrawals.
Hi,
My last trip in Germany and Austria was this past May. I used the magnetic stripe credit card (Mastercard) for purchases, ie hotel bills, train tickets, etc and a few dinners,... no problems going through, always accepted. No pin number was needed.
Great. I appreciate it. I hate to be gone three weeks and be marooned with no cash. Plane, hotel, rent car is paid for, I just need food, fuel and items we buy and maybe a few train tickets.
