2019's Full List of the Best Chip-and-PIN Credit Cards

Credit Card Issuers That Offer Chip-and-PIN Cards

Issuer	Offers PIN Cards?	Preferred Verification Method
American Express	No	–
Andrews Federal Credit Union	Yes	Signature
Bank of America	Yes	Signature
Barclays	Yes	Signature
Capital One	No	–
Chase	No	–
Citi/Citibank	Yes	Signature
Diners Club International	Yes	PIN
Discover	No	–
First Tech Federal Credit Union	Yes	PIN
HSBC	Yes	Unknown
Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU)	Yes	Signature
Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed)	Yes	Signature
State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU)	Yes	Cardholder decides
Store Credit Cards	Some	PIN
U.S. Bank	No	–
United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU)	Yes	PIN
USAA	Yes	Signature
Wells Fargo	Yes	Signature

Getting a Chip-and-PIN Card in the USA

If you’re traveling outside the U.S., particularly in Canada or Europe, it’s useful to have a credit card with Chip-and-PIN technology.

The EMV chip is in addition to the magnetic stripe on the back. Every credit card issued in the U.S. has the Chip-and-Signature verification method, but only some cards also have Chip-and-PIN.

Although many merchants and checkout terminals outside the U.S. will take Chip-and-Signature cards, in some cases you might find a card reader that only accepts PIN cards. Or, you may want a card that defaults to the PIN verification mode to speed up checkout, because that’s what merchants outside the U.S. are generally familiar with.

Most cards that have both signature and PIN capability will default to signature for the verification method — these are called signature-preferred or signature-priority cards. But there are a few issuers that provide cards which default to PIN to verify the transaction — they’re called PIN-preferred or PIN-priority cards.

Many credit card issuers now offer cards with Chip-and-PIN capability, with three notable exceptions.

These issuers do not provide Chip-and-PIN cards:

American Express
Discover
Chase

This isn’t a very big deal for American Express and Discover, because those cards don’t have very wide acceptance outside the U.S. anyway. So you wouldn’t choose them for traveling abroad.

But it’s quite unfortunate that Chase doesn’t offer Chip-and-PIN with their cards. They have some much-loved travel cards that would be even better with PINs, like the Sapphire Preferred (Review) and Sapphire Reserve (Review), along with quite a few airline and hotel co-branded cards.

For trips outside the U.S., check out our picks for the Best Travel Credit Cards. Many of the top issuers of travel cards now offer PIN capability.

If your chip card doesn’t offer PIN capability but you’re traveling outside the U.S., consider loading your card into a mobile wallet, like Apply Pay or Samsung Pay. This will let you use the card at NFC contactless payment terminals, regardless of the EMV status of your card.

Card issuers take PIN security pretty seriously. Some won’t let you see it online, and will only mail it to you. They may require you to call customer support to set or change your PIN. Others are a bit less secure, and will let you change it online.

Credit Card Issuers That Provide Chip-and-PIN Cards

The following issuers provide cards with Chip-and-PIN functionality. Some of them are Signature-preferred for the verification method, while others are PIN-preferred.

We’ve highlighted some of the best travel cards from each issuer (some issuers don’t offer good travel cards, so we show whatever they might have). These cards may offer rewards and valuable perks in addition to being PIN-capable. Many of them have no foreign transaction fees as well, which is what you’ll want for traveling outside the U.S.

Andrews Federal Credit Union

You’ll need to join Andrews FCU to apply for its credit cards. Certain people will be eligible to join, such as if you live or work in Washington, D.C.

Or, you can become a member of the American Consumer Council for free with promo code “Andrews”. This will let you join the Andrews FCU, which requires a minimum $5 deposit in a bank account.

Credit cards from Andrews FCU are available as PIN-priority if you request it specifically. We heard from a reader who requested a PIN-priority card, which Andrews supposedly provided, only to find that it was Signature-priority after traveling to the U.K. But we’ve also heard from other readers who say you can get PIN-priority cards if you make it clear that this is what you want.

So we recommend testing your card to make sure it’s PIN-priority before traveling abroad. If you find that your card is Signature-priority, you can request a new PIN-priority card from customer support.

To set or change your PIN, call 1-888-886-0083.

There are a few cards from Andrews FCU that would be good for traveling because they have no foreign transaction fees:

Visa Titanium Signature Rewards: No annual fee, 0% intro APR for 12 months for purchases and balance transfers, 3X points on gas and groceries, 1.5X points for other purchases.
Visa Platinum Rewards: No annual fee, 1X point per dollar, 5,000 bonus points after making the first purchase.
Visa Simplicity: No annual fee, no rewards, a very bare-bones credit card.

Bank of America

Bank of America credit cards come with Chip-and-PIN capability, but are signature-preferred for the verification method.

You can set or change your PIN online. Just log in, go to your account settings, and select “Create or Change PIN.” Or you can choose to have your PIN sent by mail.

There are several travel cards from BofA worth noting, which don’t have foreign transaction fees:

Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card

Credit Card Issuers That Offer Chip-and-PIN Cards

Getting a Chip-and-PIN Card in the USA

Credit Card Issuers That Provide Chip-and-PIN Cards

Andrews Federal Credit Union

Bank of America

Barclays

Citi/Citibank

Diners Club International

First Tech Federal Credit Union

HSBC

Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed)

Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU)

State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU)

Store Credit Cards

United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU)

USAA

Wells Fargo

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