toll roads?

My experience in Normandy, just a few years ago, was that some toll machines took my credit card and others just spit it out onto the tarmac. In the case where the card got spit out, a button was available to push that connected you to some distant center with a live person. The person took my information and sent me on my way, without paying anything at the time but with my promise to pay later. Perhaps the more difficult aspects were that you had to retrieve your card from under your car, possibly repeatedly, while other motorists were lined up behind you waiting. My recommendation is to bring euros to pay the tolls.

Driving from Paris to Beaune in 2013, we had trouble with the one of the tolls because we didn't have a credit card with a "chip". I'm assuming most have chips nows, though. The voice coming from the "box" was totally flustered! We somehow managed to get cash together to put into the hopper but never received the cash back that we were supposed to! We didn't care since the whole debacle took @ 15 minutes with angry motorists lined up behind us.

I think the situation with US cards has improved because more of our cards now have chips and pins than several years ago. But we always paid cash for tolls anyway. Why not?

We'd prefer to use credit cards. We've never had a card taken away. We have occasionally had a card "spit" back. On those occasions, if it rejected one, it rejected all of them. We always have cash when necessary. It seems that when its been rejected, it was for smaller tolls.

As I understand it, the toll roads in different parts of France are operated by different companies. Therefore there is no consistency. That a person had no problem in one section is irrelevant to those driving in another. The best plan is to keep a stock of cash ready. Many of the machines will take bills as large as €20 and give change. If you find yourself with insufficient funds, and your cc doesn’t work, there is always a way to summon help.

Do US cards have contactless (NFC) payment these days? If so, do you have one that does? Many mainline tolls have started to accept that, reducing the risk of card being eaten or spit out to zero.

Based on my recent experience, about 50% of the time I was able to use credit cards to pay tolls outside of Paris and in Normandy. However, all the credit card readers I encountered were contactless, so I don't think you need to worry about losing your credit card to the payment machines.

I would suggest having enough cash on hand to pay the tolls but trying your credit card first. It is best to use the cash lane (which takes credit cards, too), instead of a credit card lane that may not take cash. That way, if your credit card doesn't work, you don't have to back up and change lanes.

Here is a nice Youtube video of a toll transaction. He paid with a CC and it was really fast and super easy. Asian couple and his wife is talking on the phone lol! This was an expensive toll. 19.50 Euros.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1AAiGHtWcY

I had meant to say what Jason said about which lanes to be in. Familiarize yourself with the icons. Some lanes are for transponders only, some for cc’s only, and some take cash and cc’s. Recently, in the U.S., we have been offered a car with a transponder, by the rental company. If that is an option in France, I would take it, depending, of course on how much toll road driving you anticipate doing.

Back in December 2019 we drove from Paris to Colmar and back and my credit card worked just fine. Wish the tolls had been a little lower.

We got a transponder a few years ago, which beats the queues and is easier than keeping lots of cash or credit cards handy.

Jennifer, do you mind explaining the process for getting a transponder?

We have a T transponder also but didn't use it for our 1,200 kilometer trip this past week from the Hérault to the Charente and back. We'd have to sit at the booth backing up traffic while it makes contact and updates in order to put it back to work.
Instead, we stuck our US Visa card into the slots at the toll booths and it worked just fine, as it always does.
The transponder was a lifesaver before US cards had chips or any time traffic is heavy and backed up at the toll booths.

We have a "T" transponder and just got its annual usage and maintenance charge. It hasn't been used since I ordered a replacement dongle just prior to our 2020 Spring roadtrip - which didn't happen of course.

Not much to pay though, around just £6.

I get mine through an arrangement with Eurotunnel.

Nice to hear the Visa cards work. Thats what I have. Paris to Bayeux, how much in tolls? We are ditching the car in Caen and taking the train back to paris. Will that be one of them high speed trains? Hope so.

Caen to Paris is an intercity, not a TGV. You can find the tolls on ViaMichelin dot com.
Autoroutes are owned by different companies, but your Visa should be fine. A lot has changed since the US stopped dragging its feet and finally added chips ( almost fifteen years after the Europeans).

Paris to Bayeux is about 15-20€ in tolls if you stay on the A13 and avoid the slightly faster but far more expensive A14 out of Paris.

Same card was accepted by toll gates in the North of France, rejected by gates in the South (within the space of a week.) Another trip a card got eaten by a toll gate -- had to have someone come out from headquarters to unlock the box, while cars behind us had to divert to other lanes. Started carrying cash -- and a plastic bag to hold the change in 1€ coins (felt like hitting the slots in Las Vegas) Good reason to have multiple credit cards!

When you get to the automated toll booth (there aren't any with people), look for the ones with green arrows. These booths take both credit cards and cash. You can start with your credit card, and if it doesn't work, you can always use your cash backup. Also, these cash machines do not take 50 euro bills--be sure you have 20 euro bills or less. As others have noted, autoroute networks are run by different companies, so do not assume that since your card worked on one section, it will automatically work on other sections.

Once I use credit card and it worked over and over and then hit one when it didn't work (didn't take our Master Card for some reason). They had to close our line and move all the cars behind us and have us back out and go to a cash lane. Now we just pay cash. That always works.