Problems with Plastic Abroad

The Washington Post's "Coming and Going" column reported that some US travelers are having problems using their credit cards in Europe. While major American credit cards have a magnetic strip and are swiped through a reader, Europe has switched cards with embedded microchips. The cardholder must then enter a PIN for the transaction to be processed. According to the Post, "MasterCard, Visa and American Express representatives say every business that accepts their cards must agree to accept 'swipe and sign' as well as 'chip and PIN.'"

I just returned from three weeks in England, the Isle of Man, Portugal and Spain and never had a problem. Hotel cashiers, restaurants, shops and gas stations all knew that they had to manually input the number of my "swipe and sign" cards. No big deal anywhere.

The Post also quoted Mark Ashley, editor of a blog called Upgrade: Travel Better "that occasionally buzzes with complaints from frustrated card users. His advice: Ask to speak to a manager. That usually works. Also, beware of self-service machines, particularly at train and gas stations. Plan ahead; buy train tickets when stations are staffed, and don't wait until your gas tank is empty to look for a place that takes your card or cash."