# ?Carte Bleu Card Account



## Sundial (May 11, 2005)

I have been busy Googling and found a French Bank who will allow Brits to open an account with them online. CA Britline . I have emailed to ask it the card they provide will be of the Carte Bleu type which could be used at the unmanned fuel stations etc. I will repost when I have a reply.

Sundial


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

I did think you needed to have a French address to qualify for a French card. I'd be interested to hear if you don't.

Gerald


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Me too, please keep us informed.

cabby


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## Sundial (May 11, 2005)

*Carte Bleu*

I have been reading through the paperwork which I downloaded from the website and you can open an account if you have either 1) a French property or 2) if you visit France often. If it is the latter, you have to provide proof of visits in the last six months - not internet based tickets though! Bank statements with transactions in France or boarding passes will be accepted - I am now going to try and hunt around to see what we have kept! 
My sister is a French resident and she says you have to jump through many hoops before they accept your information and judging by the list you have to provide, she is right! But it could be worth doing.

I have yet to know for sure if the card provided can be used at unmanned fuel stations which is our only reason for wanting the account.

Sundial


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## androidGB (May 26, 2005)

Sounds to me as though it may be more trouble than it's worth, unless you are there very often, in which case it shouldn't be difficult to get the evidence they require


Andrew


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

I have a friend who I believe actually went through with this. I will ask and post back. I believe you also need to keep a minimum amount of money in the account.

JohnW


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## 109659 (Feb 2, 2008)

CA chage £20 for debit card, £50/ for credit card, so it would have to of real value. I have a CA account and a debit card from when we had a house in France. Only use has been an easy way to drew Euros at cahpoints and buying ppppppfuel.


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## blondy (Aug 23, 2007)

*carte blue account*

We opened an account with hsbc, they did every thing over the phone then sent some forms to sign, all painless, small yearly charge for debit card, must(by law) have money in account if using cheque or card,
We transferred 2k when rates were very good. We have found it speeds up transactions plus can get fuel anytime.

Cheers Don


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

Finally got round to asking my friend. He opened a Credit Agricole account and has a CA card. It does work in unmanned fuel pumps which is the reason he got it.

Costs €5 a month. The French banks do charge for everything apparently. There's no such thing as free banking but he says the system is excellent.

There's a mass of paperwork to complete but it is all supported in English so no real problems.

Transferring money into the account for the UK is costly too, but someone in another thread mentioned something like a low rate transfer which you have to ask for which you could maybe use? Transferring money from France to other Euro countries also is charged for even though the currency is the same.

Hope this helps you.

JohnW


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## ronin56 (May 25, 2007)

Be prepared to provide a mountain of paperwork including verified passport photos and references for all UK bank accounts. Once you're in it's OK but the application process is a nightmare. 

By the way, any UK bank card with chip & pin should work in unmanned petrol stations in France. There used to be a problem prior to chip & pin but they're much better now. A rejected card is more likely to be a fault with the service station's equipment. I have a Barclay's Connect card which I've used many times without problems.


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## Sundial (May 11, 2005)

*Carte Bleu*

The CA Britline account issue a debit card for 33 euros which can be used at unmanned fuel stations. There is a form to fill out on their website if anyone is interested in opening the account. This is what we plan to do once we have all the necessary paperwork to hand - then no more being caught without fuel in the middle of nowhere on a public holiday or Sunday - or indeed when the French decide to take their meal breaks!!

Sundial


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## Sundial (May 11, 2005)

*carte bleu*

I forgot - we plan to exchange our money here and pay it into our French account when we travel - hopefully this way we will not pay additional charges. All this because our credit/debit cards will not be accepted by the unmanned fuel stations! Hey ho.

When will the Seafrance officers finish their strike is what we want to know - we are hoping to travel soon......................

Sundial


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## blondy (Aug 23, 2007)

*carte bleu*

as my former post said, Hsbc does work for you, I just had to sign a few papers to get account, cart bleu works on self service pumps, and no some british cards will not work on s/s pumps, I have no charges for use of card on card statement. I am not the brightest but I found the whole process a doddle.


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## Sundial (May 11, 2005)

*card*

Thanks for that Don - perhaps it will save a lot of fuss if the HSBC route is so easy! Will see what I can discover.

Sundial


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

*Re: carte bleu*



sundial said:


> When will the Seafrance officers finish their strike is what we want to know - we are hoping to travel soon......................
> 
> Sundial


I heard on the radio this afternoon that the backlog of lorries has now been cleared.
It looks as though Eurotunnel, P&O and NorfolkLine have taken the SeaFrance bookings to clear the backlog.

For latest news see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7286105.stm


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## alunj (Sep 5, 2007)

We have the CA card, very useful, works at all unmanned service stations or other machines.

They also give you the interbank rate when you credit money so you do a lot better than the tourist rate other banks give.
Having said that Nationwide rate is pretty good and mine has also worked in many unmanned petrol pumps !


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