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Credit cards and PINS

KittyloverCA
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KittyloverCA

KittyloverCA

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i called my main credit card today to put in a travel alert. I also asked about getting a PIN. It seems at this point it’s too late to get one as it has to be mailed (she claims I would have received one with my card but I don’t recall that) she also mentioned that if I did use a pin I might be subject to cash advance fees. I thought the PIN with a cc was an extra protection not something that would trigger a cash advance.

 

How common is it to have to enter a PIN with a CC in Baltic countries? Just wondering if it would be an issue as I don’t and can’t get a PIN

 

I will also call my bank for my ATM card who h of course does have a PIN but I try to avoid using my ATM as debit for purchases.

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kentuckycruiser

kentuckycruiser

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yes a pin on a cc is treated as a cash advance. A regular cc with no pin is just fine. We are taking both a visa and an amex that have no foreign transaction fee. I also called our debit card (Chase) and they do not allow debit withdrawals in Denmark or Russia. All other countries on the cruise are just fine.

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aquidneck1

aquidneck1

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We have a CC with a pin that does not debit or charge a fee. We used it in many Baltic companies but the machines never asked for the pin - rather they asked for a signature. AX was not accepted in a lot of places but Visa and Mastercard without pin were fine.

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KittyloverCA

KittyloverCA

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yes a pin on a cc is treated as a cash advance. A regular cc with no pin is just fine. We are taking both a visa and an amex that have no foreign transaction fee. I also called our debit card (Chase) and they do not allow debit withdrawals in Denmark or Russia. All other countries on the cruise are just fine.

 

But I suppose you can use it as an atm card in Denmark as russia to withdraw money? I never make debit card purchases due to a fraud issue many years ago, but I thought some European countries, esp i. Scandal via have pins assigned to cc’s

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KittyloverCA

KittyloverCA

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We have a CC with a pin that does not debit or charge a fee. We used it in many Baltic companies but the machines never asked for the pin - rather they asked for a signature. AX was not accepted in a lot of places but Visa and Mastercard without pin were fine.

 

 

Ok perfect. Our card has no int’l. fees

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KittyloverCA

KittyloverCA

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I’ve never heard that using a CC with PIN is treated as a cash advance. We in Canada have been using PINs for years.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

You use a PIN with a cc or a debit card? We use one in the US to use a debit card, but can also use a debit card as a cc with no PIN

 

I’m just talking about a straight CC. I had understood that in Europe in some countries when you use a CC in certain transaction you need a PIN. I do already have chip cards, but my card doesn’t have a pin, only my atm/debit card does and I won’t use that for transactions, other than at a bank based ATM.

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LHT28 Holiday Sharing Rare

LHT28

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In Canada we have CC with pin & Wave technology

 

also our Debit cards have both

Never had charges for cash advances when making a purchase with a CC If we use a CC to withdraw cash from an ATM yes the cash advance fees kick in ASAP

 

 

The USA has some strange banking systems ;)

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aldavid18

aldavid18

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My understanding is the Canadian bank credit cards are similar to the European cards. They have a PIN verification chip and use them the same way we do. The American banks are behind in that technology and thus the grief with their cards. Various YouTube videos (Rick Steves included) and books we've read to date about the Baltic states warn about this frequently.

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tring

tring

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I have not heard of using a card of any kind without a pin in Europe for many years now. All our cards are now pin and chip, but the really new cards can now be used by tapping the machine for small purchases - but that has the be a fairly new card that is designed to be used that way, some of ours that have not been set up for that (when cards are replaced the tend to be ones that can be tapped for small purchases (less than £20 usually).

 

We were on a river cruise to Eastern Europe about five years ago and there were people from the US who found they could not use their cards because they did not have a pin. Even then pins were common place in Europe and had been for a while.

 

May be wise to have some cash with you to cover essential costs. At least that could be changed into local currency. You should be able to change US dollars easily. Some shops will accept US dollars, but obviously that will be at a pretty bad exchange rate.

Edited by tring
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aldavid18

aldavid18

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I have Capital One and they said they are chip and signature and don’t require a pin for transactions

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

But there lies the problem. You have to have the PIN system. I've seen various US travelers here in Canada that cannot pay at the pump for gas because it has to have a PIN code to work. They had to go to the kiosk and physically sign the receipt. I believe that system originated in Europe and Canada adapted quickly to it as well.

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Tabatha1988

Tabatha1988

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But there lies the problem. You have to have the PIN system. I've seen various US travelers here in Canada that cannot pay at the pump for gas because it has to have a PIN code to work. They had to go to the kiosk and physically sign the receipt. I believe that system originated in Europe and Canada adapted quickly to it as well.

 

 

 

Yeah I was afraid of that

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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LHT28 Holiday Sharing Rare

LHT28

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I have Capital One and they said they are chip and signature and don’t require a pin for transactions

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

only if you want to use an unmanned ticket machine then it may be a problem

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KittyloverCA

KittyloverCA

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The same can be said about a lot of things in the US ;p (to say nothing of our president)

 

In Canada we have CC with pin & Wave technology

 

also our Debit cards have both

Never had charges for cash advances when making a purchase with a CC If we use a CC to withdraw cash from an ATM yes the cash advance fees kick in ASAP

 

 

The USA has some strange banking systems ;)

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