Chip or pin on american express cards?

[Kraken]

As a result of fraud, my replacement plat card arrived without a chip. Amex customer service told me chip is being rolled out gradually across OZ. FWIW, I'm based in WA.

 

[Chicken]

Amex customer service told me chip is being rolled out gradually across OZ. FWIW, I'm based in WA.

Right, no wonder. They are upgrading Australia only, not WA.

 

[wafliron]

Mine is a renewal and it has been here about 2 weeks.

Maybe you just missed out? Or perhaps for a renewal they print the cards a bit earlier than required.

Either way, I'd find that annoying - much prefer PIN to sign and contactless (the few times I've used it on another Visa card) is great.

 

[straitman]

Maybe you just missed out? Or perhaps for a renewal they print the cards a bit earlier than required.

Either way, I'd find that annoying - much prefer PIN to sign and contactless (the few times I've used it on another Visa card) is great.

Not really a problem for me as I expect to cancel the card in June.

 

[wafliron]

Not really a problem for me as I expect to cancel the card in June.

Heh, fair enough. Due to TI change I assume? Bloody annoying, I need the card anyway but was liking the look of the TI - until they changed it a few weeks before I signed up :-/

 

[Flashback]

Right, no wonder. They are upgrading Australia only, not WA.

WA actually stands for Wait A-While, not Western Australia. Don't worry.. it's a common misconception

 

[straitman]

WA actually stands for Wait A-While, not Western Australia. Don't worry.. it's a common misconception

... and here was me thinking it was West of Australia :!:

Silly me.

 

[RichardKopf]

In the past 2 weeks, I have received QF Ultimate Amex and Plat Reserve cards with chip and PIN and was told that the replacement Cent has a chip, even the titanium cards.

 

[greenfrog86]

In the past 2 weeks, I have received QF Ultimate Amex and Plat Reserve cards with chip and PIN and was told that the replacement Cent has a chip, even the titanium cards.

The Centurion Card certainly can be issued with a chip now - my friend has one already.

As I've mentioned earlier in this thread, if you want a chip and your card isn't due for replacement yet you can ask them to issue you a new card however this will require a new card number...

Anyone who is thinking of doing this and is worried about their direct debits - I've been assured that they will continue to run on your old card until its current expiry date so that should give you plenty of time to get them changed over!!

 

[TonyHancock]

As I've mentioned earlier in this thread, if you want a chip and your card isn't due for replacement yet you can ask them to issue you a new card however this will require a new card number...

Anyone who is thinking of doing this and is worried about their direct debits - I've been assured that they will continue to run on your old card until its current expiry date so that should give you plenty of time to get them changed over!!

Thanks for the info. I have a new card coming later this week. (It is becoming a pain in the UK without chip and pin.)

 

[greenfrog86]

Thanks for the info. I have a new card coming later this week. (It is becoming a pain in the UK without chip and pin.)

I haven't used many cards overseas because I'm cheap (or 'educated' as many on here might say...) and so use my 28 Degrees card. In the UK I found that it was a bit hit and miss as to whether terminals would actually work with chip & pin as many still made me sign, despite having the chip. Many of them also have dynamic currency conversion which I always refuse when using the 28 Degrees card.

I noticed that some terminals in the Euro zone worked with Chip & PIN but many still asked for a signature anyway which was quite annoying.

Therefore I always carry a passport with me as many places where you are required to sign will require proof of your signature (back of your card means nothing) which meant I had to use my last few pounds to pay for my Nandos as they wouldn't accept my card because I didn't have my passport with me....! Come on guys - it was less than 10 pounds and if you had paypass terminals you wouldn't care!!! :shock:

 

[RichardKopf]

My way around this is to have an A/C card. I keep the primary card in my pocket and only use it for counter transactions. The card number isn't important to me. The A/C card is used for all monthly payments and online transactions (which is most of my spend). This came in very handy last month when one of the card numbers was used fraudulently and had to be changed. It allows things to continue , without hiccups, unlike, say Westpac cards, which all have the same number, per account, and you have to stop using your cards if there's a problewith one of them.

On another note, the plastic Cent card was confirmed to me this week. I would have liked to carry one for the places where the metal card doesn't fit in the reader, but they told me it's one or the other, so my ego made me stay with he metal.

 

[greenfrog86]

Maybe you just missed out? Or perhaps for a renewal they print the cards a bit earlier than required.

Either way, I'd find that annoying - much prefer PIN to sign and contactless (the few times I've used it on another Visa card) is great.

Just a note regarding the contactless on Amex cards - I'm yet to find a terminal in Australia that is programmed to accept Amex contactless payments...

Totally agree that this will be a significant increase in convenience as PayPass and PayWave are both great and make small purchases so much more convenient.

Simply cannot wait for Amex to get their house in order and implement this technology in more terminals ASAP!

 

[TonyHancock]

I haven't used many cards overseas because I'm cheap (or 'educated' as many on here might say...) and so use my 28 Degrees card. In the UK I found that it was a bit hit and miss as to whether terminals would actually work with chip & pin as many still made me sign, despite having the chip. Many of them also have dynamic currency conversion which I always refuse when using the 28 Degrees card.

I noticed that some terminals in the Euro zone worked with Chip & PIN but many still asked for a signature anyway which was quite annoying.

I do have a Citibank Business Gold Visa card with a chip and on the few occasions I have used it in the UK I have still been required to sign. I have had my Amex card refused in the UK because it did not have a chip. :shock: The Amex card is used for business expenses....and my 28 Degree MC is used for personal.

 

[RichardKopf]

I haven't used many cards overseas because I'm cheap (or 'educated' as many on here might say...) and so use my 28 Degrees card. In the UK I found that it was a bit hit and miss as to whether terminals would actually work with chip & pin as many still made me sign, despite having the chip. Many of them also have dynamic currency conversion which I always refuse when using the 28 Degrees card.

I noticed that some terminals in the Euro zone worked with Chip & PIN but many still asked for a signature anyway which was quite annoying.

Therefore I always carry a passport with me as many places where you are required to sign will require proof of your signature (back of your card means nothing) which meant I had to use my last few pounds to pay for my Nandos as they wouldn't accept my card because I didn't have my passport with me....! Come on guys - it was less than 10 pounds and if you had paypass terminals you wouldn't care!!! :shock:

I agree that it's annoying when you have to enter a PIN and then sign, too. It's poor implementation, but it is that way in many countries.

On the other hand, I think it's a terrible idea to ever carry your passport, unless crossing a border. It can be lost, stolen, or detained to extract police bribes. The latter two have happened to me, and since then, I carry a color copy of my passport, license, and both sides of the Amex, when in a suspect place.

 

[greenfrog86]

My way around this is to have an A/C card. I keep the primary card in my pocket and only use it for counter transactions. The card number isn't important to me. The A/C card is used for all monthly payments and online transactions (which is most of my spend). This came in very handy last month when one of the card numbers was used fraudulently and had to be changed. It allows things to continue , without hiccups, unlike, say Westpac cards, which all have the same number, per account, and you have to stop using your cards if there's a problewith one of them.

On another note, the plastic Cent card was confirmed to me this week. I would have liked to carry one for the places where the metal card doesn't fit in the reader, but they told me it's one or the other, so my ego made me stay with he metal.

I've also thought of doing this, however given I've only got a few direct debits and I know they will continue until the old card expires, I'm not too worried.

Agree that the A/C is useful for allowing you to have a backup should something happen to your main card. This will of course only be a benefit for those Amex holders who are eligible (only Platinum and Centurion isn't it?)

I thought with the Centurion card you could have a titanium main card and if you wanted an A/C card then this would/could be plastic....?

 

[greenfrog86]

I agree that it's annoying when you have to enter a PIN and then sign, too. It's poor implementation, but it is that way in many countries.

On the other hand, I think it's a terrible idea to ever carry your passport, unless crossing a border. It can be lost, stolen, or detained to extract police bribes. The latter two have happened to me, and since then, I carry a color copy of my passport, license, and both sides of the Amex, when in a suspect place.

Totally agree with you regarding that and if I was in a busy market in Thailand for instance I wouldn't have my passport with me for all of those reasons.

I was referring to recent trips in Europe (UK, Berlin, Amsterdam etc) which I'm not particularly concerned about.

Being a (young looking) 25 year old means you HAVE to carry your passport in some situations

And I guess I'm in a unique position as I have two passports - I'm a dual citizen so I select which passport makes more sense to carry around with me (ie the one I didn't use to enter that particular country) and the other one stays in the safe.

 

[RichardKopf]

I thought with the Centurion card you could have a titanium main card and if you wanted an A/C card then this would/could be plastic....?

My cards, primary, supp, and A/C, are all titanium. They said if I wanted to switch to plastic, I could. This may all change when the new business Cent is released, next month. I'm told it will really be invite only, unlike the current Cent

 

[rowdy]

I thought with the Centurion card you could have a titanium main card and if you wanted an A/C card then this would/could be plastic....?

I think you can request a platinum card as the A/C on Centurion, if so you could get the chip on that card.

 

[delfredo]

Does anyone know if the contactless payment logo ")))))" at the back of the card is just a generic logo for this feature or is it unique to Amex's contactless payment system? I often see this on the merchant's device but I soon found out that it may not necessarily mean that it works on Amex card. I still have to insert or swipe.