I have found a loophole for buying Trenitalia tickets on their website!

Good for you, AC.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks so much!

Thanks for sharing this tip!

acswift/all,
I tried your tip, got a paypal plugin and tried to buy tix on Trenitalia ... with no luck. It STILL rejected the virtual number, as well as my Citi virtual numbers and my regular cards.
Any ideas?? I am trying to buy tix in advance for travel on an Italian holiday. Thanks for any ideas!

bookmarking

Are you a registered Trenitslia user? (I'm assuming so but thought I'd verify...) Did it give you a specific error or did it just say "transaction denied"? I don't think I've ever heard of a virtual card # not going through....

Yes I am a registered user ... I did a Citi virtual card and
the Paypal virtual card.

Justy tried the Paypal virtual card again ...
"The Payment has been denied." was the error message.
Any ideas??

acswift/et al,
Finally SUCCESS!I originally set up Paypal/virtual and tried for 2 days with no success. I changed primary accounts in Paypal and waited 2 days. Now I tried today (Paypal/Virtual Mastercard) and it worked first time! I don't think the events were related, I think it was just the delay (waiting several days) after setting up the virtual Paypal switch. But who knows? I would not have bothered (buying online vs. in Italy)but I'm travelling on Labor Day there (May 1st) which is a big holiday and I wanted to make sure to get the AMICA discount. Thanks all ...

Good to hear! Sounds like the planets were aligned or something....

Thanks for sharing your discovery!
I will try this in the future. I had a terrible time last year trying to get tickets in advance.

Thank you SO much AC, the PayPal single use MasterCard number worked like a charm for me!!! I was getting so peed after many failed attempts I felt like going on a cross-country shooting spree, LOL! Just kidding.... or am I? hehe....

Thanks for the great info. Bookmarking

Ditto - bookmarking.

Anche io!

The paypal plug-in is no longer available! Any other suggestions?

Super to know. Thanks for sharing this info. And that's what I like about Fodor's!

I have never had problems getting tickets on Trenitalia....until now I called them and I was told that they are not accepting what she called "international" credit cards....US included. I don't know for how long or what the story is.

I don't usually get tickets in advance for inside Italy because we don't have problems getting tickets when we walk up the the machines or window. But this time we'll be there over Easter and I didn't want a problem.

I never use Rail Europe because they were charging far above what the prices actually were. I tried them again and they had the exact price Trenitalia (I figured out the dollar to Euro) had and included free shipping. They don't give e-mail tickets which I prefer.

How can Rail Europe be the same price as Tremitalia? Rail Europe is a broker of tickets.

Citibank offers a virtual credit card # that has worked for me in the past. You can use a plugin, or simply get a virtual # online (you must be logged into your Citibank account).

JillDavis; I know Rail Europe is a broker, but it's true. I was shocked. I have never been a fan or Rail Europe because of the excessive charges. For 2 one way 1st class tickets from Naples to Florence on Trenitalia it was 202 Euro. On Rail Europe it was $274. If you figure the 36% more for the euro from the dollar it comes out perfect. I don't have the exchange charge added on my cc either. And on top of that they have free shipping for a while.

Will it be that way the next time? I don't know, but for now I'll take advantage of it.

I don' tknow how they can, but I just checked and Ann1 is correct---at least for the Italian ticket I checked, the advance-purchase price came out the same as Trenitalia (15,70 euro and $25.00 for the run I checked).

I wonder how long their "limited time" free shipping will last?

Ann - thank you so much! I am going to book my tickets! Thanks again! The only thing that may be of a concern is if a better train comes available closer to the summer. For example, I want to travel from Cannes to Venice and I have to make two changes! It used to be that I only had to make one change, but there has been some argument between the french and italian trains. Rumor has it that it might be cleared up by summer???

Rail Europe's rate should be the same - they are paid a commission by the railroads whose tickets they sell.

bookmarking

JillDavis: Hhhhmmmmm really tough call. I know how you feel. I hate those decisions and I drive my DH crazy when they come up Good luck.

travelhorizons: Yes they should be the same, but Rail Europe used to (and possibly in the future will) charge excessive mark-up so you would pay much more for a ticket. Plus they charged a lot for postage and don't offer online tickets for Italy.

As I said, it worked this time, we'll see about the future.

I'm trying to buy tickets using the meno30 discount, for buying in advance. I get all the reservations selected, then when I try to pay, the credit card (I've tried several) is denied. Is it because I'm trying to buy more than 60 days in advance? Is it because they aren't accepting North American credit cards? If so, why does it accept reservation data? Going thru a North American web broker, I can't get the discount. Help!