Using a Contactless- enabled Credit Card to make purchases in Italy

Yes, some stores use contactless. All United cards now have a chip so whether they have contactless or not is irrelevant. My local supermarket in Liguria approved my United card with chip automatically now whereas they formerly had an employee check my id. I've never needed a PIN with the chip card except at a couple of crappy old machines at unmanned gas stations where I had to use cash. FWIW, I recently gave up my United card as the combination of annual fee and mileage accumulation no longer made sense versus a cash-back card.

It's very common in Milan

I'm glad to see this thread. We just got a British Air Chase card, and it is contactless. I've never used one of those, although of course I've heard of them.

Do we also need a PIN? Ours didn't come with one, but I'll check their website. I had to request a PIN for our Capital One card several years ago.

We're trying out the BA/Chase card, but I'm not sure it'll be worth our while. Like Mike, we might be better off with a no fee card. But I've already paid the first year fee, so we'll see how the points accumulation goes.

My United card has all three -- chip, mag strip, and contactless. It should work under all conditions. Had no trouble using it in Oct in northern Europe. I would take another card as back-up but you should be fine.

If your card is like a European card, then the amount you can pay contactless will be limited to €25/30 per transaction depending on where you use it. Amounts over this require insertion of the card and putting in your 4 digit PIN number.

When we were in Ireland last month, I made multiple transactions with my contactless Capital One credit card. There was no limit on the amount. When I tapped my card, there were some cashiers who were surprised that the transaction went through because my purchase was larger than 25/30 Euros. Multiple other cashiers who weren't surprised said that there is no amount limit for contactless for cards from the USA.

ETA: I also used the same contactless card in Italy this summer without any issues.

said that there is no amount limit for contactless for cards from the
USA.

My experience as well.

If you have a Galaxy or Iphone you can also load your card into the wallet app and use the phone's contactless payment feature. I find it more convenient to use the phone for these type of purchases. My experience is that if the merchant accepts contactless, they will accept both the physical card or phone.

All ... cards now have a chip so whether they have contactless or not is irrelevant.

No it is still very relevant. Chip and contactless are two completely different things. Having a chip which is inserted into the terminal for approval does not automatically mean you have contactless where all you do is wave the card or tap it lightly on the reader. Cards can have contactless without the chip you insert as well. When all the technology is considered the contactless option is the most secure currently available.

Contactless is PIN-less. Chip works better if you get a PIN for those places that require it like the unmanned gas stations in Europe (even though your actual success rate using it may be low).

We’ve been using Apple Pay on our last couple trips and you don’t even have to deal with getting a card out and you don’t have to deal with receipts. We love it!

We've used them for years here in Canada and in Europe, including Italy. No problems. For larger $$ amounts, you have to insert the card and use your PIN

Also- love the Apple Pay Idea and also cash- back credit cards! Thanks, for future reference. Great tips. Happy travels!

"and you don’t have to deal with receipts. We love it!"

I would not use any form of CC payment for which I did not get a receipt. I always check my CC bill against the receipts. Errors are not common, but they do occur.

As others have mentioned, contactless (tap) transactions may have a per-day limit. This seems to vary according to which bank issued the card. For example, with TD Visa cards here in Canada, they state.....

"Paywave per transaction limit is $200 and it is set by the bank."

If the transaction amount is above that, the card must be inserted in the machine and the transaction completed as usual for "Chip & PIN". Cards still have the archaic magnetic strip, so I suppose "Swipe & Signature" is also an option.

Any time anyone has used apple pay on our machines at work, there is still a receipt that comes out - both the register and the debit/credit machine. I guess you could walk away with out the receipt.

Regarding giving up the United card vs. a cash back card, I should have added that we fly from Boston and get fairly low fares to Europe. If we had to pay fares like those from SFO or Indianapolis, the calculus would likely go the other way.

I would not use any form of CC payment for which I did not get a receipt. I always check my CC bill against the receipts. Errors are not common, but they do occur."

We have our AMEX account set up for text notifications. You can set the amount that will trigger a text. When I use Apple Pay, I see the charge amount immediately. If the amount is wrong (I don't think it has ever happened), I'll know.

The nice thing about Apple Pay is that the vendor never sees your card number. There's a unique token issued that can only be used once.