Yet another CDG to Paris via RER question
 

A silly question about the ticket machines. I read that the lines are long, and that the the ticket machines will work for credit cards that have a chip, and for coins.

My wife and I have US credit cards with strip, not chips. So that will not be an option.

We have plenty of folding money Euros from the last trip, but only 10 Euros in coins.

I am assuming that if we buy a coke zero and/or cafe, that we can get change in coins if we ask, so that we have the 17 Euros +/- we would need.

Question: do the machines give change, or do we need the exact 8.40Euros (that I have read here is the) fare to anywhere in Paris?

And to get even more specific, can I put all my coins in the machine, buy 1 ticket, and then purchase the second one with the "left over" credit, or do I need to go through the processing of putting coins in two times?

Thanks in advance for your answers.
Steve

I'm pretty sure that the machines do give change, and you can buy two tickets at once. So you won't need to do two separate transactions.

Don't know about the coins, but last spring our US strip credit card worked.

However, an Australian couple's card did not work, so we bought their tickets using our card.

I guess all depends on the machine or the card or your luck!

Byrd

Machines will give coin change.

I should not anticipate finding any large number of SNCF/RATP ticket kiosks accepting magnetic strip credit cards this summer.

All I can tell you about U.S. credit cards is that our credit cards worked fine everywhere in France, Italy and Switzerland--in ATM's and ticket machines EXCEPT the CDG airport. It took trying three machines before we could get Euros to buy bus tickets--really added to our stress after the long flight.

Thanks to all.

Steve

It isn't that hard, sweetie darling.

If I can manage to get on the RER at CDG drunk and with all my Louis Vuitton luggage, I think you can do it, too.

Some of you make a mountain out of a molehill.

Thin

Just returned from Paris last night; had to use bills or coins in Metro machines.

Some of the machines now take paper money -- but not all of them.

Good to know that there are some taking bills (I was also wondering about the "needing coins" dimension).
Thanks!

I was not able to use an American Credit card last August. And since it was 6 AM the ticket office was closed. Plus all I had were "large" bills It was a PIA!

Last Nov. I bought my ticket for the RER from the TI booth, using my US credit card. There was no line at the time, though.

Does anyone know if the RER ticket machines at the CDG station take biils or only coins?

Plafield, count 4 posts up...

I know I'm going to get a lot of criticism for saying this, but I think this is the perfect example of self-fullfilling prophesy, or our expectations driving the actions that result.

The machines at CDG take regular US credit cards without a chip (or "puce"). However, these are machines, and get a lot of use and abuse. So, if you try and it doesn't work, try again. Put it in differently. Put it in and take it out quicker/slower until it works. What happens is that people read here that their credit card does not work, they then arrive jet-lagged, and they try once or twice and give up (it's a little tricky, you have to put your card in and take it out at exactly the right speed so it can "read" your magnetic strip). We had to try about 4 or 5 times until the machine did finally take our US non-chip credit card. I'm sure that by that time, the people behind me in line would have gladly exchanged our bills (freshly out of the CDG ATM) for payment of the tickets.