Has anyone had a issue paying for hotels, etc., in Germany without a chip and pin credit card? My wife and I had a tough time paying for hotels in Norway without a chip and pin and talking with other travelers it seems the problem is spreading to other countries.
Thanks
Had no problems in Switzerland or France last year. A card's a card, really. It is said that Euro systems don't like non-PIN cards but there is a way to accept them, if the person working the machine is willing and knows how.
No problems in Berlin and Hamburg with our plain old mag-stripe CapOne Master, that was July 2014.. By same token, when we then got to Copenhagen, they wanted only PIN cards, at least the first places we tried, so we just used cash.
We had one issue in London. Chip and pin only.
Hi,
I don't have a chip and pin credit card. This past May/June I used the ordinary US credit magnetic stripe Mastercard to pay for the hotel in Frankfurt and Berlin Ostbahnhof...no issue at all, the same in Paris.
No problem for me in the last 10 years in 12 different countries in the East and the West.
No problems at hotels, restaurants, merchants in Germany (Berlin, Bavaria, Black Forest, Bonn, Cologne) last month. Ironically, I could not get my chip & PIN to work in Deutsche Bahn ticket machines, but it took the magstrip card no problem.
Ironically, I could not get my chip & PIN to work in Deutsche Bahn ticket machines, but it took the magstrip card no problem.
Its possible that was an EC card interface (electronic cash). EC cards look like chip and pin but they are not. Many ticket machines in Germany take cash or EC card only but not chip and pin credit cards (Ikea in Germany is cash or EC card only too).
But for the original poster's question, no I have not had any issues using credit cards without chip and pin in Germany.
DJ
Just got back from Germany (Munich and Rhine). I have a chip and signature card and it only failed me once at the Frankfurt RMV machine. Worked in every other machine and place of purchase. Many banks will have a chip option now if you call and ask. I was using Chase Sapphire.
Also, every where I used my card (except for automatic machines for train tix etc) the machines that took the chip cards all had a place to swipe for magnet cards too, so you should be fine, especially for hotels and such. I also used the DB app so you can use this to by most of your regional train tix and not have to worry about the card type. (you will need to use the purchasing credit card as ID to show with the code on your phone if you use this option).
Also had no problem with my magnetic debit card for retrieving cash at ATMs in Germany.
