knoxvillecouple

I posted this question on another's thread but realized that the topic title might not reach the right people, so here goes.

Last week I purchased, for 4 adults, round trip tickets from Chiusi to Florence and one-way tickets from Venice to Milan. I never got an email from Trenitalia, but the tickets do show up on my Trenitalia account and I have printed out the tickets. What's more confusing is that the charge for these tickets have not shown up on my AMEX cc account. Does anyone have any idea what might have happened, and do I need to worry since I've printed out the tickets?

bilboburgler

no if you have the ticket, compost them on the platform at the start of your journey. Trenitalia will get their money eventually.

I normally print my ticket on the platform rather than at home.

Viajero2

I really don't get why people think they have to buy train tickets (specially within Italian rail system!) in advance. It is risky and for the most part, unnecesary. I get it for intraeurope Rail...but to save 5 Euros (if that...) they risk the whole value. Platform ticket machines or waiting in line for a counter sale (never more than 20 minutes...) have always done the trick for me :-?

Rastaguytoday

There are also easy to use ticket machines at the train station. If the line is long, I go to the ticket machine if I have a straightforward purchase.

PalenQ

what about those Trenitalia experts here who claim that problems with trenitalia.com are a thing of the past and it is a breeze to book online?

And you can save sometimes quite a bit of euros by advance online discounted tickets I believe so worth a try - but often at a cost of many hours of frustration.

GAC

I STRONGLY DISCOURAGE people from purchasing Trenitalia electronic tickets through the website, EXCEPT:

the discounted, promotional ECONOMY and SUPER ECONOMY tickets for the "national" (reserved) trains (where you save money, compared to the "BASE" fare).

BEWARE: purchasing an ECONOMY or a SUPER ECONOMY ticket for IMMEDIATE (same day) use after arrival by plane (since you might MISS the train and forfeit the ticket).

Most of the time, I STRONGLY DISCOURAGE people from purchasing just about any other type of Trenitalia ticket through the website (e.g. electronic "BASE" fare tickets for the reserved trains, electronic tickets for the unreserved "regionale" trains). Most of the time, you're usually better off buying these tickets locally in Italy, rather than "locking in" by purchasing them in advance, through the Trenitalia website (since you're not saving any money, and you may later change your mind about the departure date or time).

bilboburgler

do you need to shout

knoxvillecouple

I'm aware of the risks and benefits of online purchases. I purchased "economy" rather than "base" tickets in both cases, at a savings of approximately 75% over the base fare. We're arriving in Rome 3 days before our train to Chiusi (that's the trip rather than than the RT Chisui/Firenze) and in Venice 3 days before our train from Venice to Milan. I really wasn't asking for a tutorial on the risks and benefits of pre-purchasing train tickets. Rather, I was simply wondering if anyone had ever had the experience of receiving (and printing out) their tickets without seeing a charge to their CC.

As bilboburgler says - GOOD GRIEF!!!

tarquin

I'd be more worried if it turns up multiple times on your Amex account. You have your tickets, what can they do to you?

PalenQ

chill!

After you posted
<Does anyone have any idea what might have happened, and do I need to worry since I've printed out the tickets?>

sorry but the way you wrote it sounded like you were flummoxed with the transaction as many many folks have posted here and thus the tutorial response for the benefit of others reading it of these type of problems that are endemic with trenitalia.com. You seemed 'worried' about it all.... chill.

kybourbon

>>>>I really don't get why people think they have to buy train tickets (specially within Italian rail system!) in advance. It is risky and for the most part, unnecesary. I get it for intraeurope Rail...but to save 5 Euros (if that...) they risk the whole value<<<<

If you are traveling with 2-4 people and buying 45€ tickets for 9€ then you're saving 72-144€ on one train ride.

The OP seems to have the ticket code, just not the charge showing on AmEx which could be AmEx blocking/holding the charge. Trenitalia has not accepted US AmEx in the past (only Italian issued) and has stated on the website to use Visa or MC. In the last website upgrade, this info is no longer posted so perhaps they accept it now. Much of the info available on their website before has not been posted in English yet although it might be somewhere in Italian.

>>>>what about those Trenitalia experts here who claim that problems with trenitalia.com are a thing of the past and it is a breeze to book online?<<<

Perhaps it's an AmEx problem, not Trenitalia. I always notify my credit cards in advance when planning a foreign online transaction. Not clear that the OP did that.

NYCFoodSnob

A simple call to Amex should clarify details concerning the charge. I would want Amex to confirm that the charge went through.

In fairness, GAC does offer good advice, especially if you travel light. It's great to get the super discounted tickets when you can get them. My friends in Italy always complain they miss the time slot for purchase and end up over paying.

I prefer the easiest method to get train tickets, because I travel with too many bags and don't want to deal with kiosks, luggage, and lines.

It's true, if you get the Super Economy tickets, you better hope your plans don't change. A lot of tourists are strict planners. It's those who travel by the seat of their pants that might endure a mishap.

But some of those SE ticket prices are so cheap, you can look at any loss from a change of plans as a small donation to Italy's rail system (or economy). Not a huge deal (unless you're a family of five).

GAC

Having posted above my "strong" recommendation not to purchase electronic tickets through the Trenitalia website, unless for one of the discounted promotional fares, let me now state when it might make sense to do so EVEN at the "BASE" (undiscounted) rate:

1. You are travelling in a large party (e.g. four/five or more), and don't want to "break up" the travel group;

2. You are travelling at a busy time of year (e.g. Easter, Christmas, certain long week-ends, or July through mid-September);

3. You are travelling on a busy rail corridor (e.g. Rome/Venice; Milan/Venice) or on a route with infrequent trains (e.g. Milan/Lecce);

4. You don't want to run the risk of either having to pay for first class seats, or alternatively, waiting several hours for a train with enough seats in second class for everyone in your travel party. This applies only to the RESERVED trains, not to the unreserved "regionale" trains.

In the foregoing circumstances, it may indeed be a good idea to buy electronic tickets in advance (for the RESERVED trains) through the Trenitalia website, even without saving any money in the process. Otherwise, as stated previously, it's usually more advantageous to wait and buy paper tickets for the trains once arrived in Italy. Unless, as stated previously, you're aiming to save money with an ECONOMY or a SUPER ECONOMY fare for one of the reserved trains!

BEWARE: Even with a "BASE" fare ticket for a reserved train, you have a GRACE PERIOD of only ONE HOUR (after scheduled train departure) to re-book to a later-departing train, in case you MISS your train owing to a late-arriving plane, or otherwise. Remember this rule when buying "BASE" fare tickets (paper or electronic). The promotional fare tickets do NOT have ANY grace period whatsoever (paper or electronic)!

knoxvillecouple

OP here - and the issue has been "resolved." As suggested by NYCFoodSnob, it did turn out to be an AMEX issue, but not really resolved with a "simple" call to AMEX - it was, rather, a 30-minute call involving an initial agent (who actually saw the Trenitalia charges on my "pending charges" list even though they didn't show up on my screen), her supervisor (who could only read from a script and didn't listen to what I was telling him), and his supervisor, who had to contact AMEX technical support. AMEX tech support told her that foreign transactions will show up on "pending charges" on what AMEX sees on an individual's account but not on what the AMEX customer sees on his/her account. She admitted that that did not make sense and had "initiated" an alert to the tech support side of the house.

So, as it turns out, Trenitalia did accept AMEX, did charge AMEX, and I received my/our tickets at significant savings. And I guess eventually AMEX would have shown the charge on my account, but it was a bit troublesome that this was not transparent.

Thanks to all for your comments and advice. Hopefully others may find my experience and your advice useful.

Saraho

Good information.