BeckieS

When I order advance discounted train tickets the instructions say you must use the payment card used to buy your tickets+Your FastTicket reference # then go to any FastTicket Machine (self-service machine) at the station to collect your tickets.

My question: Do the FastTicket Machines require a chip & pin card or will my US issued credit card work?

I will have several point-to-point tickets to pickup will I be able to collect all the tickets from one machine or agent?

Thanks

ron

Mag stripe credit cards worked fine last October. I now have a chip card so won't have to deal with the issue when I collect my tickets this Friday.

Yes, you can collect them all from one machine.

GeoffHamer

The system normally asks where you want to collect the tickets, and you have to specify which station you want to use. Big stations have several machines, but a small station may only have one machine.

janisj

If your card doesn't work -- go to a staffed window and get the tickets there.

Last year it wasn't because of chip/pin but because the card I had used was canceled/re-issued due to a security breach. I didn't have the original card (it didn't exist anymore) And I had to collect tickets for 6 of us. I was mildly panicked, but had no problem getting the tix at a window.

BeckieS

Thank you everyone.

We will be arriving at Gatwick then traveling to Bath from the airport. I know I'll have to retrieve my ticket to Bath @ Gatwick, I will also have tickets from Bath to Oxford, Oxford to London and London to Edinburgh.

When I was pricing tickets on the Great Western Website it would have the originating train station as first choice but you could change the pick up location to any station. So should I go ahead and get all the tickets at Gatwick or maybe wait until we arrive at Bath?

Janisj

I read about others that incurred similar problems that you did, so I made sure the card I’m using doesn’t expire before our trip. It isn’t leaving this house until we are ready to depart. It's also the card I'm booking our B&B and Hotel reservations with because it doesn't charge international transaction fees.

GeoffHamer

Personally, I would rather allow plenty of time to get tickets, in case there's a problem with the machine. In this case, I'd get the first ticket at Gatwick, but do the others later at Bath - to keep things simple at Gatwick when you may not have much time.

janisj

In my case my panic was thinking about what to say to the other ladies when I couldn't get our tickets -- If you've read my trip report you'll seriously understand my fears

But there I was in front of the ticket agent prepared to throw myself on his mercy w/ this long sad story about my credit card.

But he didn't blink an eye -- "Not to worry, let me print the tickets. It will just take a minute."

BeckieS

janisj,

I did read your trip report, I would have been in panic mode if I had to worry about telling the "separate check nazi" that she would have to buy another train ticket.

I think I’ll do as GeoffHamer suggested and only worry about my tickets to Bath while we are at Gatwick. After I have had time to get acclimated I’ll tackle retrieving the other tickets in Bath, hopefully when we first arrive. If not then later as we will be visiting several days. I just want to have the tickets in hand before we start off to Oxford.

I know I can do this.

janisj

I softened that later in the report to SCQ (Sep. Check Queen )

'Nazi' was a sort of unfortunate choice -- but seemed to fit at the time . . . .