It is possible to use your holiday vouchers to pay for transport, accommodation, leisure or the restaurant during the holidays. Where to use them, how does Chèque-Vacances Connect work, how do I redeem them? Questions / answers on ANCV holiday vouchers.
[Updated on February 17, 2022 at 11:01 a.m.] Each year, more than 4 million French people benefit from ANCV holiday vouchers. Working in the same way as banknotes, they come in the form of a checkbook including denominations of between 10 and 50 euros or in dematerialized form on the Check-Vacances Connect application (which allows you to pay online shopping). Holiday vouchers can thus be used to purchase accommodation, transport, travel, restaurant and cultural services during your holidays.
Who takes holiday vouchers, where to use them? Can I pay for train or plane tickets and all types of rental in France and abroad? How long are holiday vouchers valid for? Can we exchange them when they are expired? Here is the list of retailers that accept them.
The holiday voucher is a nominative voucher, allowing you to manage your leisure budget as well as possible. For employees and civil servants, participation is paid by the employer or the works council. Do you want to know if you benefit from it? Ask your human resources department or your works council for more information. In principle, you can benefit from it whether you are on fixed-term or permanent contract. Please note that holiday vouchers are, in principle, reserved for employees with low incomes. If your company offers it, be aware that part of your salary will have to be paid into monthly savings. The latter is supplemented by the company or another body (EC, public service mutual, etc.). The accumulated money allows you to obtain a right to holiday vouchers.
They are generally in the form of denominations of 10, 20, 25 and 50 euros, and are nominative, but the holder’s children, spouse and ascendants can also use them. Here is the list of potential beneficiaries of ANCV holiday vouchers:
ANCV holiday vouchers can only be used for services: accommodation (camping, hotels, lodges, etc.), leisure (zoos, amusement parks, etc.), restaurants, culture (shows, concerts , museums) and transport (plane, train and boat tickets, for example. In 2020, nearly 200,000 tourism professionals accept holiday vouchers. To find out if an establishment accepts this title, an ANCV label must be pasted on their window. You can also consult the website of the ANCV, which lists all the partner establishments via an interactive map. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the brands that accept them:
If you were unable to use them during 2020 because of the Covid-19 epidemic, be aware that holders of holiday vouchers whose validity date has passed can exchange their tickets for new ones and benefit from a new period of validity. Holiday vouchers, issued by the National Agency for Holiday Checks (ANCV), are valid for 2 years in addition to their year of issue. For example, until the end of 2022 for those issued in 2020 and until the end of 2023 for an issue in 2021.
The next window of opportunity for holders of 2019 holiday vouchers not used by the end of the year will therefore open from December 15, 2021 on the ANCV website. They will have until March 31, 2022 to proceed. Individuals will have to use France Connect to prove their identity on the exchange platform using their identifiers from the tax or social security site. Then send their holiday vouchers if they are in paper format to the following address: ANCV / E TSA 84380 77438 Marne la Vallée Cedex 2. They will receive their new holiday vouchers by post within one month of receipt of their request. Please note that the total amount of securities to be exchanged must be greater than or equal to €30. And the operation has a cost for paper checks: €10 which will be deducted from the total amount of the new titles sent, and which corresponds to the processing costs by the ANCV. These costs are zero for the exchange of dematerialized holiday vouchers.
The Chèques-Vacances Connect mobile app combines both paper Chèques-Vacances and e-Chèques-Vacances in one place. You can thus use your Chèques-Vacances online, face-to-face, by post or at an automatic terminal from your smartphone. Holiday vouchers in paper format will continue to be issued and marketed.
You can pay for your SNCF train tickets (TGV, TER, Intercités) with holiday vouchers. It is possible to pay them with your checks in the SNCF shop or at the station. You can also put an option on the SNCF website, then go to the shop or the station to pay directly. Please note that some purchases cannot be paid for with ANCV holiday vouchers. This is the case for tickets for travel in Île-de-France and international travel, for example. Note: in the case of the annual leave ticket, the reduction granted by this rate (-25% on the standard leisure rate) increases to -50% if you pay at least half of your ticket by holiday vouchers. Bear in mind that, on the other hand, the SNCF still does not accept the e-vacation check.
Holiday vouchers are not accepted as a means of payment for international journeys. The Eurostar connects Paris to London, Brussels or Amsterdam, so it is not possible to pay for Eurostar tickets with ANCV holiday vouchers.
Air France accepts payment with ANCF holiday vouchers but only for certain journeys: “You can pay for your tickets with holiday vouchers, at Air France agencies or at Air France counters at certain airports, for your flights operated by Air France. France, KLM or HOP! in mainland France, from or to overseas France, to countries of the European Union”. Air France specifies that “the number of holiday vouchers that can be used to pay for a ticket is not limited”.
Fuel is considered a consumer good and not a service. Even if petrol and diesel are essential when going on vacation by car, you will not be able to pay for your petrol with ANCV holiday vouchers.
Direct payment by holiday vouchers is no longer authorized during the toll since 2013. Motorway companies refuse this method of payment because it does not sufficiently guarantee the fluidity of motorway traffic. Note that it is still possible to credit your holiday vouchers on an electronic toll badge, called “Liberty-t Vacances”. Beneficiaries can then deposit up to 250 euros per year in holiday vouchers there since June 1, 2021 and thus benefit from the advantages of electronic toll collection (reserved lanes, speed of passage, easy payment, etc.). Information and registration on Autoroutes.fr
Yes, you can absolutely pay for your restaurant meal with holiday vouchers. Check all the same before entering the restaurant that an ANCV sticker has been affixed to the window. Indeed, not all restaurants are partners of the holiday voucher program. McDonald’s, Subway and now Burger King restaurants practically all accept payment by holiday vouchers. On the other hand, giving change is not compulsory.
Remember to check that the agency or service provider is a partner of the National Holiday Checks Agency (ANCV). Then, consult the general conditions of sale. They must detail the terms of payment. If you have difficulty finding this information, contact the customer service of your service provider, hotel, agency… by email or telephone. In general, you must send the holiday vouchers by post or go to a shop to validate the payment.
No. The products marketed by Decathlon are goods and not services. It is therefore impossible to pay for your purchases with holiday vouchers, even if it concerns a diving mask or hiking boots. This rule also applies to other sports brands such as Go Sport or Intersport, for example.
As indicated above, the products marketed by FNAC (CDs, DVDs, computer equipment, etc.) cannot be paid for with holiday vouchers since they too are goods and not services. On the other hand, be aware that it is possible to pay for the services of the FNAC Voyage agency (organised trips, excursions, etc.) with ANCV holiday vouchers.
Good news, movie screenings are considered a service. It is therefore possible to pay for a screening in certain Gaumont-Pathé or Cinéville cinemas. On the other hand, your holiday voucher will not allow you to pay for sweets, popcorn, a drink or ice cream to enhance your session. Remember to join the cinema or consult the website to find out if you can pay for the cinema with ANCV holiday vouchers.
No, online tour operators such as Opodo or Go Voyages do not allow you to pay for your stay with ANCV holiday vouchers.
No, the Airbnb private rental site does not allow you to pay for the rental of a house or apartment with a holiday voucher. Only electronic payment (via bank cards, PayPal, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, etc.) is possible on the Airbnb.fr website.
ANCV holiday vouchers are not directly accepted by merchants located in Spain. On the other hand, it is quite possible to use them with agencies located in France which sell plane tickets to Spain, or which rent holiday accommodation.
ANCV holiday vouchers are simple to use and use. All you have to do is complete the “Name” and “Address” fields. The service provider will add the missing elements himself. Do not detach the top area of the holiday voucher before use. The provider will also do this.
No, it is not forbidden to give change on holiday vouchers. However, ANCV partners may decide not to. You cannot therefore claim change if your payment in holiday vouchers exceeds the amount of your purchases.
Holiday vouchers are valid for two years longer than their year of issue, until December 31. For example, a holiday voucher issued in 2018 is valid until December 31, 2020. If you have expired holiday vouchers in your possession, you can exchange them within three months of their expiry date. Then it’s too late. Let’s imagine for example that in January 2021, you find that you still have vouchers that have expired since the end of December 2020, you will have until March 31, 2021 to exchange them for valid holiday vouchers. To find out more, consult the conditions on the ANCV website, here. You should also know that the ANCV no longer produces e-Chèque-Vacances. However, these can be used until their expiry date.
If you have lost your holiday vouchers or have had them stolen, unfortunately you will not be able to do much. It is not possible to oppose the holiday voucher… The ANCV, however, offers to make a request “to search for missing titles”. As the agency explains, “this system offers the possibility of reissuing the amount of securities that have not been presented for reimbursement on March 31 of the year following the end of validity, by service providers approved by the ANCV”. The terms and conditions are explained on the site.
ANCV holiday vouchers concern both private sector employees and civil servants. The main thing is not to exceed the resource conditions set by the ministry to benefit from it, since the device is awarded on social criteria. It is therefore possible to work in the National Education, in public hospitals, in the territorial public service… to benefit from holiday vouchers. Everything is explained on the ANCV website, under the headings “Obtaining the holiday voucher in the State public service” and “Obtaining the holiday voucher in the territorial or hospital public service”.