Using a magnetic strip credit card for hotels and car rental

You should have no trouble using your MasterCard at hotels or restaurants or for car rentals. It is possible that you could have the bad luck of getting a clerk who has never previously processed a US credit card but that is extremely unlikely and if that happens show them the slot on the side of the machine for magnetic strip cards.

We've had no difficulty in hotels or restaurants with our USA swipe cards. In the restaurants, the servers always had handheld devices that worked either chip and pin cards or swipe cards. Be sure to have some cash with you just in case.

In Paris this won't be a problem; basically everywhere there is a manned purchase interaction it is no problem. Occasionally in the countryside it is. And of course, you can't use them in machines except the rare one. The ticket machines at the Louvre take magnetic strip cards (leave them in as the Europeans do, don't yank them out as we do).

I didn't even have trouble using my cards at neighborhood grocery stores.

As long as you are completeing a transaction with an actual person where they can type your credit card number in, there should not be a problem. The only problem you may encounter is with automated machines and buying gas.

When I was in Paris seven years ago, myself and all of the girls I was traveling with used Mastercard or VISA. We didn't have any issues. We did make a habit of keeping some Euros in our wallets, though... just in case! The only times we ended up paying cash were when we traveled outside of Paris into the countryside.

Hi Buffy, no problem with magnetic strip cards in Paris. Had 1 issue at a store at the mall connected to the Louvre that had only a hand held device - wouldn't accept card, used cash. Other than that, no problems.

This is an excellent question. I used my MasterCard and Amex, both with mag strips, just about everywhere in Champagne, Normandy, Loire, and Paris. The only problems I ever had were at gas stations, some toll booths, and some automatic ticket machines. I successfully used the cards at most toll booths, only 2 or 3 didnt accept it. Every parking garage accepted the cards for automatic payment, except at Honfleur harbor where it said on the machine that credit cards werent accepted at all. As someone said, as long as there is a person there you will have no problems. The European card readers have a chip slot on the bottom, and mag strip swipe strip on the side. Apparently some of the automated machines do not have the mag reader. The tolls are a pain in the butt, because the booths appear at odd intervals and the amounts are always different, and rarely a nice even Euro amount. Beware of the wind at some of these booths. It can rip the ticket or Euro bills right out of your hand.

Hi Buffy, to add to the above info, I was unable to use my VISA today to purchase tickets at the train station (manned booth). Don't know why but it wouldn't work.

First of all, there is a true chip and pin card available in the United States. It is available through the Andrews Federal Credit Union. The process is a bit slow to get one but it is available and it has no fees for foreign transactions. Their ATM card also has no foreign transaction fees. Your magnetic stripe card should work for your rental car and most hotels but when you get to a toll booth, self serve gas station or unattended parking lot exit, life with a mag stripe will get very interesting and/or unpleasant. As for the chip and signature card, it is just as useful as a mag stripe card ... a waste of time.

Used my american Mastercard at the car rentals and the hotels (in Paris and Normandy) without any difficulty.

Absolutely use your card for car rentals as many cards offer low cost Rental Protection insurance. We used our AmEx card which automatically enrolled us when we rented the car for the low cost of $17.95 for the period of the rental or up to 42 consecutive days. The coverage includes Theft and damage to the rental with no deductibles. Check with your card carrier to see what they might offer.