# Austria/Germany - paying for fuel



## 2Dreamers (Jun 11, 2006)

Hello!
We are going to Austria in June and have read that credit cards are often NOT accepted at filling stations. Is this really true?

Also we are spending a week in the Zell am See area and then hotfooting to Vienna to see the Spanish Riding School. Is there anywhere "up the Vienna end" which offers good walking and places to see? We have looked on the internet and also publications and have drawn a blank.

TIA

Julie & Eddie


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

Hi, Julie, Eddie,

When we went to Austria we found that they tend to use "Mastercard" (or its equivalent) more than "Visa" hence we often had to get cash from the ATM.

In Germany not so bad I have paid for fuel with a debit (visa) card.


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## fdhadi (May 9, 2005)

We have never had any problems in either country paying by credit card.

My wife has a Tesco Visa card, i have a Tesco Mastercard. If you do not see your credit card logo on the board outside, ask the cashier (better to show them your card) before filling up. 
We have not had problems using either card, although my wife tends to use hers more than me :lol: . I always seem to be the one who has to pay whenever we are in Luxembourg :wink:


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi Julie & Eddie,

practically all the big-brand fuel stations (such as Shell, BP, Aral etc.) do accept credit cards. No-name stations, as well as those at supermarkets, both sometimes considerably cheaper than the big brands, sometimes don't. 

Regarding Vienna:
Of course in Vienna itself there is much, much more to see than the Spanish Riding School. And if you want to have a day out walking, then the famous "Wienerwald" is not far: Just take e.g. the bus line 38A to "Leopoldsberg".

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## strathspey (Oct 30, 2005)

Do you intend to stay on the campsite in the western suburbs of Vienna, on Huttledorf Strasse? We have stayed there twice and found it adequate, although crowded. You can get a tram into central Vienna from the bottom of Huttledorf Strasse.
The Schoenbrunn Palace of Franz Joseph is certainly worth a visit. Good walking in the Vienna Woods. and the Donau Park (with the Ferris wheel) is a short tram ride east of the city centre.
Happy travels!
Strathspey


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## Tringy (May 1, 2005)

Hi We have been going to Austria for years and have only once gone to a garage that didn't take visa cards. The cards they take are always on the entrance doors of the small garages. We have been to Zell am See many times and never had a problem there. My avator is actually taken from the SeeCamp site in Zell am See its lovely there and could have spent all day sitting there enjoying the view. Enjoy your holiday


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## Tringy (May 1, 2005)

Hi We have been going to Austria for years and have only once gone to a garage that didn't take visa cards. The cards they take are always on the entrance doors of the small garages. We have been to Zell am See many times and never had a problem there. My avator is actually taken from the SeeCamp site in Zell am See its lovely there and could have spent all day sitting there enjoying the view. Enjoy your holiday


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## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

weve been austria twice in the van and never had any probs with visa, just take euros just incase :wink:


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

Be careful if you use Maestro........... Even though there can be signs on the doors saying they accept them - THEY DONT!!! Austria has a different Maestro system to us and their scanning machines wont accept our PIN's.
Tried to pay for fuel and GO Box at 11pm between xmas and new year and if it wasnt for my wifes French Carte Bleu we would have been very embarassed. The daft thing is that our Maestro cards work perfectly well in the ATM's.
Spoke with HSBC about this problem the other day and they told me that because of the problems with Maestro they are now issuing new cards to their customers with Visa instead - apparently this will get over the problem..........we shall see when we return in september....

enjoy your holiday - Austria is beautiful......
regards
Carl & Florence


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

We have not had any problems paying for fuel with a card either. More problems in Germany buying food where we always carried cash as we could not always pay for our shopping with a card.

We liked this site in Vienna and found it very convenient for the city;

Neue Donau site

We turned up to the free Spanish Riding School display one morning but, we were late there so all the lower floor balcony places were full and we had to go to the top floor. This I found too high - not a good perspective and a bit vertigo-inducing !

We'd definitely recommend buying a Vienna Card and using it to travel the full journey of the Ring-Kai-Ring tram.

I've written about Vienna in our blog ( button below); wonderful place to visit and we'll go again. We also enjoyed Salzburg and Innsbruck and I have put reviews of good campsites there in the MHF database as well.

G


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Hi;

We've been going to Germany and Austria for many years and never had a problem using my card for fuel.....until Nov last year when our card was refused at a large Kaufland Supemarket near Bremerhaven, they only accepted EC cards or cash. 
That was the exception rather than the rule, you shouldn't have any problems normally but keep a cash back up just in case.

As Grizzly says, buying food in supermarkets in Germany is a different matter, the majority won't accept cards. Its better to be prepared and carry cash although some of the larger ones do have cash machines at the entrance.

Pete


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## 100251 (Jul 28, 2006)

*Austria Germany paying for fuel*

I used to operate vans into Germany.
Luxembourg was the cheapest diesel price by far. 
I routed vans for refuelling there, both ways.
Skywriter3


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