BINGO ... the banks are probably capping PIN transactions because they get a minimal cut from the merchant ... the same purchase is made as a SIGNATURE transaction the bank get a much higher piece of the action. The one's taking a hit are the merchants ... not the shoppers. That's why when you use a debit card at most merchants, it defaults to asking for a PIN.
I get a lot of money back from Chase doing it this way. It’s a no-brainer. The only difference is that you sign the receipt (now only if it’s over $25 usually anyway) instead of putting in the pin.
I’d rather do it that way and not type in my pin all over the place too. There’s no downside. You also tend to get covered by fraud protection as well. ALWAYS use it as a credit card!!