Just got back from an amazing 11 day driving trip around France.  There
were a few places where I tried to use my Visa card (from Bank of
America) in automated machines and they were rejected.  One was in an
SCNF machine trying to buy RER tickets into Paris, another was in a Gas
Pump in Amboise, France, trying to refill the car.

In both cases, all of my cards as well as my girlfriends were all
rejected, even though the machines stated that they would accept those
card types (Visa, Mastercard, and AMEX in a few places).  I've never
had this problem before (haven't been to France for about two years).

A woman at a B&B where I was staying mentioned that a lot of European
credit cards are including a PIN number now, similar to those found on
debit cards in the US.  When using the cards for a transaction in an
automated machine it asks you for the PIN.  Does that sound like a good
explanation for why our credit cards wouldn't work?  It was a bit
nervewracking at times...

Anyway, putting a PIN on credit cards is a fabulous idea and I hope we
do that in the US soon.  However I wonder if this will cause a set of
new frustrations for americans traveling in Europe now?

Jason