Using toll autoroutes & gas stations without a chip and pin card

Our experience on the French toll routes is that you cannot use your swipe credit card. Cash is the only way to go and, there is always a cash lane. We learned quickly to have lots of 1Euro and 2Euro coins. The machines do take the Euro bills and do make change. A couple of times, the toll has approached 20Euro. The French have some of the highest toll costs per km in the EU. At the toll booths, there is usually a staffed booth on the far right. Here's a snapshot of the sign overhead the lane that you look for. It's the little blue man in the sign that you are looking for. http://gyazo.com/b30447a81e7fae7c61c6946280a4c7d8

We also found out quickly that there are two types of toll booths. On the highways, you usually stop at a booth and pick up a card. At an exit or at the end of the section of highway being tolled (if that's a word), you put the card into the machine and it tells you the toll needed. Occasionally, we would exit and find an exit toll booth that just wants a certain amount of money. We were confused when we first encountered these types of exit kiosks because we never picked up a card anywhere. For this type of booth, everybody pays the same. They just want a few Euro. No card needed. Pay the cash and the gate will lift.

As for fuel on the toll highways, the automated pumps out at the fuel islands will only take the chip and pin card. However, we usually were able to find an attendant inside with a machine that would take our USA swipe card. We didn't have any problems with the fuel.

As Alex says above, the French autoways are very nice and clean. Not too busy either. Expensive - you bet. Many citizens as well as the large 18-wheel lorries (freight trucks) choose to use the older roads that run nearby the autoways to avoid the tolls. We did a lot of these roads as well. Very scenic but it does take longer and they can become quite crowded in places. Lots of trucks.

I always carry a small purse full of one and two Euro pieces and a bit of small change when we are driving distance in France -- that way I can use the baskets where they are or at least have the exact change when going through the cash lane. US cards don't work.

The biggest pain is making sure the car is gassed up. There will be manned sales on the big toll roads, but in small towns and such, it is not unusual for gas stations to be closed for lunch, or at times when they claim they will be open and certainly on weekends. Americans with their obsolete cards need to pay attention to the gas gauge and gas up when they can and be particularly sure to gas up before weekends so they don't get stranded. In a pinch, you can head for the nearest toll road and gas plaza but that is a pain. Locals can just use the machines so it is not a problem for them. Years ago many pumps took cash but I haven't seen that in the last 10 years.

As for the auto routes, we used our regular old credit card, and every unmanned machine took it. Good advice about having cash on hand just in case.

As for the gas stations, gas up whenever you get the chance. Again, when there is a person there, you can use cash or your non-chip-and-pin credit card. I always wondered if I could offer someone else pumping some cash for the use of their credit card at a gas station during those times it was unmanned!

Just got back. We were able to pay cash everytime to an attendant. No card needed (though had one in case). The gas stations we used were always manned but granted they were mostly by the autoroutes or "N" roads.

Thanks for the report, Buffy, we'll be living the life in a couple of months!

Look for Super U or a e.lectric for gas. These are big chains (super U is like Walmart/KMart) that are located in most small towns and have big gas stations with attendants ON EVERY DAY BUT SUNDAY...so make sure you fill up before the weekend. Otherwise you will need a chip and pin card. Note: we never use toll routes as we like to see the Countryside. So things may be a little different if you are on big tollroads, with more accessibility to gas stations.

If you have some time before your trip, I would suggest trying to get yourself a chip and pin card. It just lessens the anxiety about making any kind of monetary transaction. Granted we had issues with our card with just gas, but we never knew if our card would be accepted.

Just got back. All the advice above is good. One other suggestion.....when off the Autoroutes gas stations can be hard to find. If you see one anytime you have 1/2 tank or less, fill it up. Peace of mind. I topped off a lot and never had to worry about running out. Tolls take a little getting used to but just keep a lot of change and 5 E bills and you will be fine.

Melissa's autocorrection kicked in and wrote e.lectric. I'm sure Melissa wrote E. Leclerc, the name of the large supermarket chain.

Thanks, Bets...don't know if it's autocorrect or jetlag. I appreciate the correction!

Just got back and also agree: gas was the bigger headache, since every autoroute we were on (and we were on a lot of them) took cash, both coins (.10, .20, .50, 1, and 2) and paper bills (5, 10, 20, and 50) and always spit out correct change in coins.

Gas stations on the autoroute always have an attendant, although they usually charge more (around 1.44/liter for diesel in June 2014).

One other important consideration is parking - you'll need coins for that, and many don't give change, so you'll want to keep an assortment to get the exact time you need. So we quickly used the autoroute tolls as change machines too. This also came in handy at the Malaucene launderette, which doesn't accept bills.