I had a terrible time buying train tickets on Renfe.
 

It was very frustrating. I kept having to add my information again and again. RENFE kept telling me that my credit card expiration date was invalid. Finally it dawned on me that instead of listing the expiration date the European way (year, then month), I should list it the American way (month, then year). Worked like a charm!

I then realized that I was communicating with my American credit card company, not with some Spanish entity, so I should use the American format.

I also had difficulty listing my telephone number, but the directions I got off Trip Advisor mentioned that Spanish numbers are 9 digits, not 10, as in the U.S., so I just faked a 9 digit phone number, and it worked fine.

Actually, it would have been very simple if I hadn't made dumb mistakes. The directions on Trip Advisor were really helpful.

thanks for the tips

So did you succeed in the end? I amreparing to buy tickets latervthis month and I'm hungry forbtips to enhance my chances of success.

Yes, it would have been quite simple if I hadn't been such a knucklehead.

Some important things to know:

Apparently you need to use Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 6.01 with Javascript,and you should allow cookies and popups. You should also have Acrobat Reader, version 6 or higher. You also need to have a printer so that you can print out your tickets.

Call your bank or credit card to tell them what you are going to do so that they don't block the transaction. This is very important because people in the U.S. often have the transaction denied becaus their bank blocks it.

If you use Visa, sign up for Verified by Visa on the web. If you're using a Mastercard, sign up for the Mastercard Securecode program first.

You'll get the best discounts if you order 62 days ahead of time.

All this information is on a Trip Advisor article which I accessed with "Buying Renfe tickets TripAdvisor" or something similar. The guy who wrote it is BennyMalaga. It's very helpful, especially if you don't read Spanish.

Where it asks for my telephone number, I put it in but then got an error message. You should just put in 9 numbers, instead of the ten that we typically use in the States.

How much money did you save by not going through (no, NOT railEurope)an agency here or wherever you live? was it really worth it?

Dukey, the main savings come with Web special fares, if you can get them. I'm looking for, among others AVE tickets from Barcelona to Madrid. regular fare in turista class is 117euro; with the Web fare it can be as low as 47,20 euro. And no service charge or agency fees.

I got Web fare Madrid- Barcelona last year.. a great train trip!
The airfare was about the same (40-50 euros), but avoiding the airports was really nice.

o.k.
I just bought tickets on Renfe without a problem
It must be something about Canadian CC that makes it easy.
- I did not inform my bank ( a security question from the bank popped up in the process)
- I did not sign up for Mastercard Securecode
- I used Firefox
- I put 10 digit phone number

I printed my tickets right away.
My CC exp. date is 11/12 so I cannot comment on month/year suggestion from the OP. Something to try.

I had the same ( easy)time last year.
Renfe software must have problems with American issued CC?????
Good luck.

Hi Pegontheroad.. I'm trying to purchase tickets on Renfe.com - Madrid to Toledo. I get as far as getting my cc being validated but then it keeps coming back, "we can not continue with this transaction". I called my bank (Chase) and they keep telling me everything is fine on their end. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Does it matter if you have Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 8.0? Please help. This is very frustrating.

Do you mean that all of my failures are due to the fact that I was using a Mac?

I finally had my hotel buy them for me, but I would like to learn how to master this seemingly insurmountable task for future trips..

eks,
I have a Mac and had no problem. Got the tickets in a few minutes ( last year: Madrid-Barcelona, now: Malaga-Seville)
with Canadian MC.

As I said earlier , it seems to be something about some American issued CCs that Renfe system is not compatible with. Too bad.

These complaints about REnfe purchasing have been omnipresent on Fodors for years now - at times it seems they are solved but then again we have frustrated folks. Yet some old pros say they can do it easily?

I have bought 4 separate journeys successfully in the past month. I use a Mac with Firefox. I registered my US credit card card with Verified by Visa first, and completed a ticket purchase on Rembo.es before I found success on Renfe.

I was also NOT able to do it. I'm in the USA. And I'm on a Mac. I tried both Firefox and Safari. I asked a Travel Agent to try (on a PC). She couldn't do it either. I finally emailed my Madrid hotel asking them to buy them for me. They charged me a 10 euro per ticket (!) fee, but still saved me a huge amount because of the Web special. They told me that the RENFE website just doesn't work in the US. So I'm very curious about those who were successful.

That was www.rumbo.es enzian used before having success with Renfe.

Thanks for the correction, lincasanova. Sorry about the typo!

Hopefully others will be able to use that information, as I do believe that it was using Rumbo.es first that made my credit card acceptable to Renfe.

Rumbo.es offers the same Web and Estrella fares that are avialable on Renfe. You get the printable ticket from Renfe. The purchase actually goes through Renfe---you will see that on your credit card bill. And the website is very user-friendly and reliable. They do charge a small handling fee, but it is well worth it to get the Web fares. I highly recommend trying it if you can't get through on Renfe.

And always notify your bank before attempting any transaction with a foreign country, so they don't reject it as fraud.