buying fuel in france

citykid5

hi all.my 2 sons are of on a snowboarding trip to france in 2 weeks time,and to get it whitin thier budget thier driving to the resort just outside of gronoble.it's about a 500 mile drive from calais.thing is myself and the wife are regular travelers to france,and have never managed to buy fuel at the stations useing our cards? so a bit of advise would be much appreciated on how what type of cards will work if any,
thanks gary:money:

knightstyle

Hi, look here for up to date road and traffic info. http://www.bison-fute.equipement.gouv.fr/diri/Accueil.do?langue=en
Fuel can be bought at every main road service station and almost every supermarket where it will be cheaper using a UK debit or credit card. We have found the best card is the Halifax Clarity credit card, no charges for purchases if you settle in full at end of month, small interest charge on cash withdrawals and good rate of exchange.
When driving in France make sure you have all the correct stuff with you, car docs, insurance doc. hi-vis within reach of driver and soon you will need a breathaliser, check on other forums for complete list.

citykid5

thanks knightstyle.so they should be ok to use thier halifax debit card? we've never managed buying fuel at supermarkets with our santander debit card in the past.i've told him that he will need hi viz,spare bulbs,triangle and because he's going into the mountains snowchains.don't think the breathalizer is comeing in till july? and there should be a amnesty on fines till november.also beam converters.thanks again gary

benjus

Are you talking about the automated pumps where you pay directly at the pump with a credit/debit card? Those seem to be notorious for rejecting foreign cards.

I've definitely used one of those successfully at least once - I think I used my Nationwide Visa Credit card, but it was some time ago so I can't remember exactly. As a rough rule of thumb, I'd say that credit cards have a higher chance of being accepted than debit cards.

Bob_the_Saver

knightstyle wrote: »

Hi, look here for up to date road and traffic info. http://www.bison-fute.equipement.gouv.fr/diri/Accueil.do?langue=en
Fuel can be bought at every main road service station and almost every supermarket where it will be cheaper using a UK debit or credit card. We have found the best card is the Halifax Clarity credit card, no charges for purchases if you settle in full at end of month, small interest charge on cash withdrawals and good rate of exchange.
When driving in France make sure you have all the correct stuff with you, car docs, insurance doc. hi-vis within reach of driver and soon you will need a breathaliser, check on other forums for complete list.

I think that the OP is asking about the automated pay at the pump systems which I can't use because I run on LPG/GPL.
The VERY best card for France is the Metro Bank debit card for TWO reasons.
Firstly, wholesale exchange rate and no charges/interest or ATM charges. But secondly it's a Mastercard debit card so can be used in Lidl, Aldi and other places where UK non Mastercard debit cards are not always accepted and I am guessing that all the automated fuel pumps would like it too.

Bob_the_Saver

As for their new idea of a little bag to tell you when you've drunk too much!
I've got one of those waiting for me at home.

hermanmunster_3

When I last went a year or so ago many of the petrol stations would only take "Carte Bleu" cards - quite a trek to find one that would take anything else!

benjus

hermanmunster wrote: »

When I last went a year or so ago many of the petrol stations would only take "Carte Bleu" cards - quite a trek to find one that would take anything else!

In general (i.e. not just talking about petrol pumps), most places that show the Carte Bleu logo will also take standard Visa cards.

citykid5

thanks for all the replys.i was talking about the automated pumps,as he will be traveling down there on the sunday and i've told him to be mse and to try to find a supermarket for the fuel.should be able to make it to his destination on 1 tank,so shouldn't have any probs finding fuel on the monday.
thank 2 all gary

knightstyle

OK to be clear we have lived in France for many years and things have changed recently. There are about 10 petrol stations around here with 24 hour card in machine dispensing. Only 1 does not accept the Nationwide Visa debit card and the Halifax Mastercard credit card. All the others do. So look for main road service stations or Leclerc or SuperU supermarkets as these seem to all accept UK cards.

citykid5

thanks again knightstyle.i'll point him in the direction of e'lecerc and super u.do they work in the same way as the ones in the uk? i.e press pay at pump,insert card then fuel up.like i said i don't know if it's me and the wife being a bit thick,but we've never managed to get fuel from the supermarkets without paying in cash.gary