# Paying for Tolls/Gas



## 14335nj (Mar 13, 2014)

Go4aRide said:


> Another place that we've had trouble with our US "swipe" credit cards is in parking garages in France.


Yup, same problem here.


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## claud 3 (Jun 27, 2005)

14335nj said:


> Yup, same problem here.


So did you just pay cash or was there no attendant? Doing France ED this summer including Paris.


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## 14335nj (Mar 13, 2014)

claud 3 said:


> So did you just pay cash or was there no attendant? Doing France ED this summer including Paris.


I learned on the first day to always have about 100 euros in cash on me, by the end you have a pretty good feeling for which machines won't accept your card.


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## hbdunn2003 (Jun 3, 2007)

1JDM911 said:


> I didn't read much of anyone mentioning about toll within Germany, is there any? In the Southern part of Germany to be specific.


There are no toll roads in Germany, that i know of.

Edit: The Nurburgring is a toll road.


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## Go4aRide (Mar 8, 2014)

*French parking garages*

We found that not all have attendants, although at least some pay stations accept euro coins.


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## pmacd55 (Apr 6, 2011)

I drove from Munich to Paris and back last summer and France has more tolls than anywhere I have ever driven.

I rented the French equivalent of EZ-Pass here http://www.tolltickets.com/ and had no problems whatsoever. Just look for Tt lane on the left. I even forgot it in the car at drop off and didn't return it until after re-delivery - no problem.

Also not toll related but I rented an underground garage space near the Louvre from these guys in advance http://www.saemes.fr/en ... no problems left the car 5 levels under next to a merc for 3 days.


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

Dave 20T said:


> Citicard / Citibank offers chip and PIN cards.
> Capital One stays they have no immediate plans to do so but they have no 3% foreign exchange fee.
> Nearly all or all cards in Canada have chip and PIN but most change a foreign exchange fee.


Citi cards are chip and signature, they do not have chip and pin yet


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## 1JDM911 (Mar 28, 2014)

hbdunn2003 said:


> There are no toll roads in Germany, that i know of.
> 
> Edit: The Nurburgring is a toll road.


gotcha! that's good to know! :angel:


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## 323power (May 23, 2005)

I learned the hard way during my first ED, and now have the Andrews FCU chip & pin card. No annual fee, no foreign transax fee, and chip & pin. Hard to beat.


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## Kief (Dec 6, 2007)

SJAPoc said:


> The PenFed card seems to be the best choice. Easy to qualify (see options), you say true chip and pin (sent email for verification) and no transaction fees. I'm getting one as I intend to park in Paris


Which PenFed cc do you/guys recommend? The Platinum Reward Visa Signature or the Promise Visa?
Have both these cards been verified to be both CHIP and PIN? And no more confusion over the PIN # for transactions vs. ATMs, like what was reported in an earlier Thread on this topic?

BTW, I PM'd you also...


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## SJAPoc (Apr 14, 2007)

Kief said:


> Which PenFed cc do you/guys recommend? The Platinum Reward Visa Signature or the Promise Visa?
> Have both these cards been verified to be both CHIP and PIN? And no more confusion over the PIN # for transactions vs. ATMs, like what was reported in an earlier Thread on this topic?
> 
> BTW, I PM'd you also...


I never received a reply to my inquiry  but I'll give them a call when I can. Just been busy and with my ED still months away not a top priority. Perhaps you can send CS a note as well and we are bound to find out


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## Kief (Dec 6, 2007)

SJAPoc said:


> I never received a reply to my inquiry  but I'll give them a call when I can. Just been busy and with my ED still months away not a top priority. Perhaps you can send CS a note as well and we are bound to find out


I'll call them now. But as others have mentioned before, the ladies that answer don't seem too knowledgeable about this topic. But I'll give a try and will report back


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## Kief (Dec 6, 2007)

I just called and inquired about the Signature Reward card. The guy said, "Yes, CHIP and PIN." But I have a gut feeling that folks confuse the PIN to mean a PIN number for just an ATM, not both ATM and transactions.

Regardless, I applied (and joined). I needed a VISA cc anyway since AMEX is not as widely accepted. Ironically enough, when applying online, I was never prompted to generate PIN# myself :dunno:


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## footballrunner8 (Mar 12, 2014)

Kief said:


> I just called and inquired about the Signature Reward card. The guy said, "Yes, CHIP and PIN." But I have a gut feeling that folks confuse the PIN to mean a PIN number for just an ATM, not both ATM and transactions.
> 
> Regardless, I applied (and joined). I needed a VISA cc anyway since AMEX is not as widely accepted. Ironically enough, when applying online, I was never prompted to generate PIN# myself :dunno:


I applied for that card myself for the same reason. I got a letter from penfed the same day I received my card with the pin.


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## milepig (Apr 24, 2012)

Just because your US bank offers a "chip card" it doesn't mean it will work with the European Chip/Pin system. That having been said, every place that deals with a fair number of tourists is equipped to use a plain old US Credit Card, they just need to enter in into their machine differently. I've had random things happen - one store in Amsterdam wanted my passport, but when I said I didn't have it with me they took my US Driver's license. Never happened before or since, just that one time.

Manual transactions, of course, won't work in unmanned places - ticket machines, toll booths, some gas stations that allow pumping gas when there is no staff on duty, etc. I've also had problems in small out of the way placed, but suspect that the person just didn't know how to process the transaction with a non-European card.

I've never successfully used my Credit Card in a machine at a French train station, and in the Netherlands it seems like there are fewer and fewer machines that take either credit cards or cash, meaning waiting in line and paying a fee at a ticket window. Last month in Italy the machines mysteriously accepted our cards. It's like playing the Lotto.

I've adopted the practice of always carrying enough cash to cover my estimated expenses that day - Gas/Tolls/Meals/train tickets, etc. (Hotels have never been a problem.) And if I need to use it for any transaction I take out more cash as I go. (My Citibank debit/ATM card charges no fees at any ATM worldwide, so periodic withdrawals aren't an issue for me. And, since my CC does carry a conversion fee I'm actually better off using cash.) Unless I'm saving cash for an upcoming trip I just spend down what I have on the last day, and get rid of the rest at duty free if so inclined.


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## Gary J (Dec 18, 2013)

Kief said:


> AMEX is not as widely accepted.


That is a bit surprising. In what countries in particular?


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## stp80 (Dec 17, 2013)

I just used my Amex at the trenitalia Train station vending machines. It showed up as an accepted form of credit card.


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