buying rer tickets at cdg

No. No.

They are PIN & chip cards only. You'll have to wait in line at the ticket counters. Not as bad as it looks. 15 minutes maybe. They take US credit cards. You can pick up your Metro pass or buy a carnet book while you're there as well.

Susan, There ARE automated ticket Kiosks at CDG but as mentioned they ONLY accept Chip & PIN cards, and also Euro coins if I remember correctly. If using an older magnetic stripe card, your only choice will be to wait in the queue at the ticket office. As mentioned in a previous reply, the lines can move quickly, however the wait can be considerably longer if a lot of flights arrive at the same time. You may find it helpful to have a look at the excellent parisbytrain.com website as it provides a great description of the transportation options from CDG. Happy travels!

There are machines that accept Euro coins . As well there are machines that will take a 20EU note and spit back 20 EU in coins . Made it simple for us to buy two RER tickets to town without waiting on line . Of course you will either need to hit an ATM first or have Euro with you when you arrive .

Susan, There are RER machines that accept US credit cards (not chip & pin) at CDG. I was just there in March of this year, and purchased my RER tickets from CDG to Paris at an automated ticket machine at the airport. I think most machines require the c&p though. The catch is that while some machines note on them that a chip & pin card is required, just because it isn't noted doesn't mean non C&P cards are accepted. I stood in line at two different machines before hitting the information counter, the attendent told me to 'try a different machine', which I did, and it worked. I also used my non-C&P card at several metro stations. If you are in a hurry and/or the lines are long go to the ticket counter where they are sure to accept your card. If you are not in a hurry (or the lines are not long) try the machines. One other thing, at the Gare du Nord train station, it was chip and pin cards ONLY, and you had to go to the ticket counter to use a non C&P card. Happy Travels!!

We were in Paris last September and waited in the ticket counter line at CGD to buy RER tickets and two carnets. There were only a couple people ahead of us in line at about 8:00am.

Last year we were in Paris and bought the RER tickets at a TI booth. The staffers speak English, and, best of all, no waiting! Not only can you get maps and brochures, but you can buy the museum passes and transit tickets at the booth. They take US credit cards. The CDG guide gives the following locations: TERMINAL 2C, ARRIVALS/DEPARTURE LEVEL, OPPOSITE GATE 5. 7:30>14:30 TERMINAL 2D, ARRIVALS/DEPARTURE LEVEL, GATE 5. 7:30>21:30 TERMINAL 2E, ARRIVALS LEVEL. 7:15>22:00 TERMINAL 2F, ARRIVALS LEVEL, GATE 11. 7:15>22:00
TERMINAL T1, ARRIVALS LEVEL, GATE 4. 7:15>22:00 here is a link to their website: http://www.new-paris-ile-de-france.co.uk/practical-info/tourist-information-desks-100180.html

John has just posted the scoop of the year. You can buy RER tickets at the TI. Thank you John.
This needs to be bumped up to the top for others to see.

Thanks, John! Up until now, my strategy was always to arrive at CDG with a pocket full of €2 coins for the machines.

Glad to share! Funny thing is, discovering this was totally accidental. Jet-lagged after landing, we wanted to get the museum pass so we wouldn't have to wait in line to buy it the next day. The lines are short or non-existent at the airport TI so we stopped in. After getting the passes the guy asked "do you want to buy an RER ticket into Paris?" We didn't even know they sold them there! And to make it more convenient, they put all the purchases onto a single charge on a US credit card.

John , Thanks for sharing . Another great tip for the old travel tool bag!!