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Chip & Pin Now Available for British Airways Visa

by on December 5, 2011 · 13 comments

in British Airways, Chase

Update: The current sign-up bonus offer for the British Airways Visa is 50,000 Avios. 25,000 upon first use, and another 25,000 when you spend $2,500 within 90 days.

The United States of America may lead the world in many things, but it sorely lacks when it comes to credit card technology. For years, Europe has used credit cards that are enabled with Chip & Pin technology, which is much more effective at reducing credit card fraud since it requires a user to enter a pin that matches to the microchip. To me, this makes a whole lot more sense than trying to match someones signature up to the back of their credit card (I don’t think any of my credit cards are even signed and I’m rarely asked for ID).

Because it is costly to overhaul the point-of-sale technology, we are stuck with old-school magnetic strip technology until the credit card industry comes together and makes a collective change to the new system.

However, you can now have a magnetic strip card and a Chip & Pin card since Chase just launched one for their British Airways Visa card (which many of us got this past April when they ran the amazing 100,000 mile sign-up bonus).

All you have to do is call the number on the back of your card (1-800-577-0633) and request a Chip & Pin card. It might make sense to have as a backup card, especially since the British Airways Visa doesn’t have foreign transaction fees and awards 1.25 miles for every dollar spent.

Hat tip Jaunted.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author.s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.

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  • Jimmy Yoon

    Hopefully they make the Sapphire Preferred as the next Chip & Pin card…

  • Anonymous

    I second and third that!

  • Anonymous

    It’s not Chip & PIN, it’s Chip & Signature. They’re both EMV cards, but have different processes.

  • Jon

    I requested a new Chase BA card online at https://cards.chase.com/CustService/OrderReplCard.aspx when BA first announced this last Monday. I automatically received a new card with the chip built in. Apparently there is no need to specifically request a card with a chip anymore, as it is the new standard for the BA card.

  • Jon

    Good point. There is apparently no way to set a PIN with these chipped cards. Should still work many places in Europe, but some merchants may give pushback without using a PIN.

  • HoKo

    @Brian So will the Chip & PIN (or perhaps Chip & Signature as AceTracer pointed out) still work at all the normal spots in the U.S.?

    Also will this card still work well in Europe since it is Chip & Signature versus Chip & PIN?

  • http://profiles.google.com/eheinz Erik Heinz

    As noted, it’s chip & signature. That’s more common in Asia, as far as I understand. The issue with chip and signature is the likely potential that it still won’t work at “offline” kiosks like petrol stations and unstaffed train stations. Recent experience in the FlyerTalk thread indicated this was a problem even in larger Italian stations like Florence, requiring the user to wait in line for the staffed ticket window instead of quickly using the ticket machines.

  • TravelandCredit

    Oh wow, this would be really nice to have! A lot of the public bike renting stations in Paris, as well as metros and certain restaurants in Europe only take credit/debit cards with the chip so most Americans have been out of luck! It will be worth ordering the replacement just to have with me overseas just in case that option presents itself.

  • Jon

    Yes…the chipped card will still work like a regular credit card in the US. It just has a chip on it for compatibility overseas.

    I can’t speak to European compatibility, though per Erik’s post above yours, it appears there may be some difficulty using the chipped card without PIN capabilities at self-serve kiosks (like train stations or gas stations).

  • Elizabeth

    Does the credit card have a PIN for cash advance from ATM? I ran into difficulty in the Netherlands buying train tickets from automated kiosks; there was a place to swipe a card in addition to the chip reader, but a PIN was required. Swiping my debit card and entering its PIN worked. So wondering if this strategy would work for the BA card. (I have one, but don’t remember if I got a PIN with it; will have to go digging through the filing cabinet.)

  • Caroline

    Thanks for the tip, Brian! But I’m shocked you haven’t even signed your credit cards with as much traveling as you do. I spend a lot of time in the UK and vendors check my signature *all the time* here. … I’ve gotten into trouble for my inconsistent signatures on multiple occasions (although they’ve always let me try again!).

  • DLF

    Chase did this first several months ago with their JP Morgan card…..it’s chip/signature…..not pin. Just back from Europe, and it did help.

  • http://www.stevethornton.com/ Steve

    Erik, I tried to use my Capitol One cerdit card to buy a train ticket in Como and it did not work. Neither did my Diners Club/Master Card. But My American Express Delta branded card did work.

    Capitol One & Diners Club both said they do not know why they did not work.