We are traveling to Normandy in October and will be picking up a rental car at the Caen train station. A friend told me she had difficulty buying gas at non-attended stations using a credit card and also had trouble finding stations with attendants. Has anyone had experience with this? Looking for advice. I have two credit cards with chips that can be used for purchases or withdrawing cash. It never occurred to me that these cards could not be used to purchase gas. Thanks for any input on this. The forums I have read are too old to be valid.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6616 posts
I’ve never had luck paying at the pump. However, the same cards declined at the pump work fine when I pay inside. Just don’t let your petrol level get too low in case your card is declined at an unattended pump.
Posted by
Middletown, RI
1151 posts
Chip and PIN worked fine for me in Normandy. Even at the unmanned pumps at the grocery stores. Just verify with your bank ahead of time that that is what you have.
Posted by
OP
Charlottesville, VA, USA
22 posts
Thank you, all!
Posted by
316 posts
We drove throughout Normandy two weeks ago. We used our credit card with chip (no pin) with no problem at all.
Posted by
Normandie
277 posts
I use my French debit card to buy gas, so I can't comment on your interest in using an American card to buy gas, but I thought I'd mention that you generally can find staffed places to fill up at Total stations during regular business hours (not so much on Sunday), on Autoroute aires with fueling islands (though you'll pay dearly for the privilege) and at E. Leclerc stores with gas pumps, again during normal business hours (i.e., not on Sunday and not in the evening other days). Other grocery chains, such as Intermarché and Carrefour, seem to be focusing on unattended fueling areas.
With Leclerc be careful -- the fueling area often is split with some lanes (usually the right hand lanes) for unattended credit card payment only whereas the other lanes funnel you into a single lane after exiting the pump where you pay the attendant (during normal business hours).
Posted by
Berkeley, California, US
621 posts
Just be sure to check with your credit card company before departure regarding fees attached when buying petrol and using a pin number. I had one representative tell me "oh no, no extra charges involved". Then the supervisor said the same thing. When I told her I had information to the contrary she researched further and found that I was correct: it was treated as if it were an ATM withdrawal, i.e. a big service charge and/or interest rate starting immediately. That said, my Chase Sapphire card worked fine at about 50% of the places without putting in a pin number.
Posted by
Ohio
1491 posts
Use a DEBIT card with a PIN at unmanned stations in Europe. I had a car in Normandie and paid inside with a credit card or at the pump with a DEBIT card.
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
I don't know!
20 posts
We have been in France for about 4 weeks with mixed luck. One card is a Schwab Visa debit and they know we are in France. When the cards are rejected we don't get a chance to enter a PIN. Today we refueled at a E.Leclerec and paid with cash. We still needed to hail an employee to get the pump to read the bar code. Don't run low. Most stations are unattended.
Posted by
Seattle
124 posts
If you have a tap-and-pay credit card, it has a better chance of working. If you don't, use Apple Pay or Google Pay on your smartphone. Be prepared to have every method rejected so that you have to find another gas station. I was in Bayeux once and had to go to three different gas stations until I found one that accepted my credit card with a chip.