Car rental in Provence. How necessary is a chip and pin?

I used gas stations that had a person working there. On the toll roads there is a lane for cash.

I did not have a chip & pin and either used regular credit card or cash. Even the toll roads took my cc and a number of them even took amex. I did just receive a new Amex card in the mail a few days ago which is a chip & pin:))

My husband has been in the insurance business for more than 40 years, and he always buys the CDW for peace of mind. He has seen the enormous hassles that people go through trying to collect on the insurance that the credit card companies offer.

We found a chip and PIN card to be quite useful in France , but not a necessity . That being said , it's a good idea to carry a small change purse with around 40-50 EU in 1&2EU coins as a foolproof backup . I also am in agreement with Janet's comments about the insurance . The peace of mind is worth the additional cost .

We didn't need chip-and-pin card. Spent 5 days based in Lourmarin, but we had leased a car for a month so full insurance coverage was included (except for flat tires-make sure you know how to change one on the car you rent before you leave the rental place (experience :( not so good. Earlier advice on coin purse was good for tolls-we almost always paid for gas with credit card-but usually on the toll roads. In Provence we were on the back roads too.

Unattended stations' fuel pumps won't take anything except chip and pin. Likewise the unattended lanes at the toll booths. Sometimes in busy traffic it can be difficult to get in the lane with an attendant, so have plenty of euro coins as previously advised. In many years of renting and driving in Europe I've not bought the CDW. Now I pay $25 per rental to American Express for the premium insurance which covers the vehicle.

I rented a car in Provence for 6 days this past summer and did not have a chip & pin card, never needed it. I was always able to find a manned station, also I never let the tank get lower than 1/2 full. If I found a convenient station I filled it up. As to CDW, as a rule in the US I normally do not take it but in France I did and thank goodness that I did. I was involved in a multi-car accident at a round-a-bout and the car was damaged both front and back. I was so glad that I just had to report it to the rental agency and they took care of everything (no deductable, no paying up front and recouping from insurance co,etc). It was expensive but definitely worth it.

A chip and pin card is a hassle to get (I know, I did it) and probably not worth the effort. I think we used it a gas station once. We tried 2 other places, but could not get gas (I think they were "members only" type places like Costco) The one thing I would advise is to make sure you have enough gas to get through a Sunday. (That is only if you are out in rural areas, we never had a problem traveling on the highways) I now own a chip and pin card and don't use it here at home...wish I never had taken the time to get it. CDW- I use CSA travel insurance. We get the deluxe package which includes 50,000 in no deductible car insurance. Because we only insure our costs we paid up front (airline tickets is usually about it) it is cheaper than the CDW a car rental place will offer. Unless you get the super CDW, the car rental place will have a large deductible ($1500 both times I looked into it). I can tell you that we did have to file a claim with CSA and they paid it off within 2 weeks. (the car rental place billed us, we had to pay it and then submit a claim) American Express has a car rental insurance program that sounds pretty good. I may look into it next trip, but I would like to hear from someone who actually had to file a claim.

For 6 days renting a car, it may not be worth your while to get a chip and PIN. However, more and more gas stations in France are unattended, which is why I got a chip and pin before my last trip. So just make sure to keep an eye out for gas stations before you get too low, especially on Sundays. Chip and pin also came in handy at tolls, but as long as you keep plenty of coins handy, it's not necessary.

There are plenty of manned stations. I've never seen a station on the freeway that wasn't manned. Top-to-bottom, straight-line, France is about six hundred miles long. A small car holds nine gallons and gets about forty per - - three hundred sixty miles is about the distance from Paris to Bordeaux. Noodle the rest of the math yourself.

Thanks everyone! Looks like I have one less detail to worry about. :)