Originally Posted by
gtownguy
I cannot remember where it was, but I have encountered a couple of merchants who accepted Visa but not MasterCard. Very rare though. Visa branding (Carte Bleue) seems much more prevelant in France than MC though.
I've said it before on this board and I'll say it again - I live in France and carry an American MasterCard and have never been turned away because the merchant only accepted VISA. IME, it just doesn't happen.
NB: The CB sign that is prevalent around france is often (erroneously) referred to as the
Carte Bleue, a VISA trademark. It is really a French logo for
Carte Bancaire ("bank card") which is the network upon which VISA and MasterCard cards get approvals in France. Since they both use the same network, there's no reason one should be accepted and not the other.