Chip cards are so 2009. (By the way, that was ten years ago.)
These days, chip cards can be great... for waiting the receipt to print out, signing the paper slip, and waiting for the cashier to actually check the signature. At least the one theme consistent throughout time is that American finance technology is still significantly behind.
The best way to avoid pissing everybody off in line and from getting annoyed yourself, is to use mobile pay. On all the occasions that we opted to pay via phone (through Apple Wallet or Google Pay), the signature step was completely removed, saving us up to five minutes per transaction.
Spend faster, travel harder. 😅
There was only one cashier in a four-week period of traveling who did not insist on checking our card's signature, for those unaccustomed to swiping American cards.
If you've never paid through phone before, TechRadar has a pretty quick guide:
All you need to do is place the top of the iPhone (or Android) screen near any NFC card terminal and rest the finger on the phone's Touch ID sensor, or if you're using an iPhone X simply glance at your phone.
Technology.
