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Which fuel card in France?

I’m going to fly extensively low-and-slow VFR around France this year, so I want to get a fuel card to maximize my chance to get Avgas in rural France.

I thought Total was the way to go in France, but several French airfields I used recently only supported the BP Sterling card.

What is your recommendation for a fuel card for France?

LFHN, LSGP, LFHM
Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Both of course.

The TOTAL card is the more valuable of the two, because there are many airfields where that one is the only way to get Avgas without hassle or delay.

Most „BP airfields“ tend to be the bigger ones, where you can often also pay with credit card instead.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

Get both

EGHO-LFQF-KCLW, United Kingdom

Zorg wrote:

I thought Total was the way to go in France, but several French airfields I used recently only supported the BP Sterling card

Same, turn out BP card works well for places I tend to visit, but honestly as @Capitaine mentioned why not get both?

BP card should come quick (if you can’t get one just stop flying ), Total card is a bit of hassle with deposit/process (deposit = 10% annual fuel uplift) but worth it for some places….

You will have unlimited liberty with both for regional/small airports but you will still need to rely on goodwill people/aeroclubs if you plan for rural France, one guy proposed to ship some Avgas for me if I land on his ULM airstrip near Bergerac in his “next fuel expedition” (as I could not take his Mogas on a C172)

Last Edited by Ibra at 20 Jan 20:05
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Wow, that was quick! I was afraid the recommendation would be to get both, but what can you do …

(And sorry for not reusing that existing thread on fuel cards. I saw it, but I was looking for recommendations specifically for (rural) France, so I didn’t want to hijack it.)

LFHN, LSGP, LFHM

Get both, their usage is distinct from each other. Declare a realistic GA usage upon request and usually you’ll get a waiver for the deposit. Both cards are issued fast and the French account barrier to get the French Total is long gone with SEPA.

I agree with Bosco and others: it’s worth having BP and Total fuel cards in France.

There are also small rural French airfields (such as LFFH, last time I was there) which dispense fuel but accept neither card. For that eventuality, a little old-fashioned folding money is useful.

Glenswinton, SW Scotland, United Kingdom

If you’re going to be in a certain area or definitely visiting certain airfields you can use the official BP and Total maps to maybe choose one or the other. The Total map one is good as it allows you to filter by 100LL only, self-service only etc. If you want to compare the two someone has made this map with both on, plus one for the few airfields that do UL91.

Slightly rewording Ibra, I’d say rural France is the best place to find goodwill (e.g. a lift to a cash machine), but agreeing with Jacko a pocket full of euros will help

EGHO-LFQF-KCLW, United Kingdom

@Capitaine: Thank you very much for the combined cards map link! I did not know that before, but it really is a great helpful tool. Looking at the map it also shows why it is wise to have both cards ;-). One word to rural France, yes, possibility for goodwill is high, but also probability for nobody at the airfield – my experience – and many times at places with Total card self service.

Last Edited by at 21 Jan 10:51
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