@Bill: The reason you normally enter expiry dates on credit/debit card transaction forms via a drop down list is to stop that date information from being captured by a keylogger if the worst happens and someone uses a machine with one on.

It's a small measure, but as far as the trade-off between convenience and security goes, not a huge deal. The example with the entire card number being entered is probably a misguided attempt at protecting the card number itself in the same way.