brit_usa2014

So a colleague of my husband is planning on going to Europe on a Cruise sometime in March/April. The cruise starts from Europe but he'll be transiting through LHR. He asked my husband whether non chip & pin cards are accepted in LHR/Europe. Hubby replied that only cards with PIN are accepted. He has one no foreign transaction credit card which is not a chip and PIN card and another BofA Debit card which has a PIN, but will obviously incur charges if used abroad.

Would he be able to use his credit card which has a no transaction fee on it or is he better off using his BofA debit card (this is only while at LHR as he's planning on taking Euros for the cruise).

Olly_

You can happily use Chip and Signature cards in the UK.

I always use my US cards with no foreign transaction fees when I go back to the UK and haven't had a problem.

Just watch out for dynamic currency conversion - if they ask which currency you'd like to pay with always say the local currency.

Pollyana

UK retailers will still take cards with no chips, just explain its foreign and needs a signature. I have two Aussie ones which often won't work in the UK chip machines so I have to sign. Its not something that retailers publicise but they can do it.

tom169

May get a disgruntled look from the cashier as he/she scrambles for a pen, but they should support it.

rpjs

Is the card chip & signature or swipe only? (I'm guessing the former as all of my US cards now have a chip.) I've had few problems using my US chip & signature cards in the UK at shops, restaurants etc. It's worth telling the clerk/waiter that the machine will probably spit out a signature slip, as they'll be expecting the holder to put in a PIN. Ticket machines etc will mostly work with a chip and signature only card in my experience, but not always.

yellowroom

THe only place I've had problems with not having a chip was a petrol station, and they claimed not to be able to swipe cards any more. If you can swipe still, you should be ok. Other payment options such as ApplePay are becoming more widespread, particularly for chain shops and in large, tourist areas.

tom169

Apple Pay is accepted anywhere in the UK that accepts contactless (which is now probably the majority of terminals)

Olly_

Indeed, I used it almost everywhere. No chance of getting DCC'd with Apple Pay either.

The Shell gas station near LHR took it actually

Pulaski

So long as he's sticking to the tourist areas it'll be a none issue, there are enough Americans to ensure that retail staff are used to chip&sign cards.

As recently as the summer of 2015 we visited the UK and had no issues with swipe-only cards, and I doubt that all the hardware has been replaced since then, so even a card without a chip should be widely accepted.

Wintersong

Same here. Never had an issue with using a swipe card in all the years since chip & pin was introduced in the UK. Since he's transiting, the only place he'll be using it is the airport - I can't imagine he'll have any issues at all whether it's chip & signature or swipe.

livinginnyc

The crazy thing on this was, last time I was in the UK - I paid for fuel with my *UK* Amex (which has a chip), and it demanded a signature.

Disgruntled look from the guy behind the counter, but I had a pen so was all good. He never bothered to check for a signature on the back of the car which was good as I never bothered to sign that card

Asg123

The only issue I've had has been my card being blocked because I didn't tell my card issuer that I'd be using it abroad. Do you still have to tell them that you'll be travelling or is this not required any more with the new chip cards?

Olly_

I've never bothered to tell Chase, American Express or Capital One I'm going abroad and they've not blocked my cards.

Pulaski

It depends entirely on the issuer. One of my Visa card issuers still requests/ recommends that you tell them before using the card outside the US - even using it on a UK website is blocked until I tell them about it.

Wintersong

BofA is terrible for this - even when we've told them in advance, my card has been blocked just about every single time I've used it abroad.

As a result, we now have another credit card for use abroad - it's an Arrival+ Barclaycard.