Booking Spanish trains
 

I am looking at booking a train from Barcelona to Seville on 4/26/20. I have seen that there is a direct AVE bullet train on earlier dates, but not on the date I need. I am using a variety of sites to check tickets; Renfe, Trainline, Petrabax, Railninja to name a few. Railninja has the direct train for that date. Has anyone had experience booking with a Railninja? I’ve seen some sites book 60 days out or 90 days. Am I being impatient trying to book too early? Just trying to finalize trip bookings!😃

It's too early.
For some reason Renfe hasn't loaded the Barcelona to Sevilla AVE schedule beyond March 1. Renfe likes to keep us guessing as to when fares will be loaded. It's best to check every day.

Thanks, Maribel. I will continue to check daily. What sites do you use for booking tickets?

I use Renfe, the official Spanish rail site because...
I'm registered there, which makes the process easier and my US-bank issued MC is covered by Master Card Secure Code, so my transactions go through without a problem.
For those who have non-Spain bank issued credit cards that aren't part of the Master Card Secure Code or Verified by Visa, the transaction won't work. Or at least that's what Renfe says in fine print on the Spanish page, which is temporarily unavailable today, so I can't cite it here.. But in that case, one can pay using Pay Pal.

Other sites charge a slight processing fee per ticket, such as the former Loco2, now branded as www.raileurope.co.uk and www.petrabax.com, Renfe's official US representative.

fluff224
Here's the fine print, buried deep in the Renfe web site (I finally found it!), about paying with a non-Spain bank issued MC or Visa.

"Si su tarjeta es VISA O MASTERCARD será validada mediante los sistemas de compra segura por Internet Verified by Visa y MasterCard SecureCode. Estos sistemas son ofrecidos por el banco o caja emisora de su tarjeta, permitiendo verificar la identidad del titular de la tarjeta como paso previo al cargo del importe de la transacción. De esta manera se evita el uso fraudulento en caso de robo o pérdida de la tarjeta."

Translation:
"If your card is VISA or MASTERCARD, it will be validated through the secure online purchase systems Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode. These systems are offered by the bank or issuer of your card, allowing you to verify the identity of the cardholder as a preliminary step to the transaction amount. This prevents fraudulent use in case of theft or loss of the card."

Maribel, you seem to be knowledgeable on this. Do you know if the best (cheapest) rates are typically available earlier on, or does the price toggle back and forth like airline prices as you move closer to the travel date? Looking to book this same trip, Barcelona-Madrid then Madrid-Seville a few days later in early June. Thanks.

I booked quite a few trains in 2017 for Spain. Based on my research and memory, prices are the lowest when you book well in advance. They don't go back and forth as you move closer to your travel date. I used Loco2, which as Maribel states is now branded as www.raileurope.co.uk. I had no problems with them. Their booking fee is currently $6.00, I believe. They send you a PDF file, and you can print your tickets.

Yes, as Karen says, prices are lower when you book well in advance. They don't go back and forth.

For example, as soon as the Jerez-Madrid ALVIA fares were uploaded on Renfe, I booked our preferente (business class) tickets for March 13 for €50/p. If I were to book this today, for.a departure day after tomorrow, I would pay €94 in preferente class.

The only exception (and a fairly important one): some AVANT fares (the medium distance high speed trains) never change, such as Madrid Atocha-Toledo. For tomorrow the one-way fare is €13.90 or for March 13, €13.90. And for a day trip, one receives a 20% round trip discount.

Also the MD train fares (not high speed), for example, from Sevilla to Jerez, don't change, so there's no monetary gain from booking them in advance.

Petrabax works in the same way as the former Loco2. You receive your pdf tickets via email. But since my credit card works well on Renfe, I never use either. And on Renfe, you do have the option of paying now using PayPal.

yes, it can be frustrating to wait for the availability. For our January trip, i couldn't book until 4-5 weeks out. I was also looking for express trains. I ended up booking on www.raileurope.co.uk, which for some reason had more availability for the AVE express trains than raileurope.com. Then later i did book some trains with the RENFE site and it had no problem accepting my Chase Visa card. good luck!

According to Renfe, in theory, trains can be booked up to 62 day in advance, but in practice this just often isn't the case. But it's occasionally the case that they upload fares more than 62 days ahead. Renfe is just very inconsistent about this.

Surprisingly, I just checked this morning for Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Sevilla, Madrid-Málaga fares, and they've been uploaded up to and including May 31.

It's just a guessing game. The fares for the most popular routes, Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Sevilla tend to get loaded sooner than others.
Keep checking daily!

Ah ha, the direct train opened up! However, I found the price difference between standard nonflexible & 1st non flexible to be almost 2x as much. Is that common?

For the 8:30 am AVE train I see a Turista Plus promo fare of 42.85 for Turista Plus. Turista Plus is a preferente (business class) car with a 2-1 seat configuration but without the complimentary Mon-Fri and Sun. meal service. and cloth rather than leather seats.