I still can't believe a simple email solved the problem when so many people have reported emails going unanswered etc.
Maybe they have finally realised the value of the Aussie dollar :)

You probably found a worker who was not on lunch, smoke break, afternoon off for shopping etc. All the other emails must have missed this narrow gap.

lol bilboburgler!

I had the same problem trying to buy idTGV tickets on the idTGV website with my U.S. CapitalOne MasterCard. Even though I had a travel notification on my card, and had just used my card to make a large deposit on a rental boat, CapOne denied the first purchase attempt. After I talked to CapOne, they approved the purchases but idTGV still wouldn't accept my card. (Frustratingly, they don't actually tell you that at the time -- the purchase just gets stuck on " processing."). I too received a very prompt response from my e-mail to idTGV.

Eventually I tried my brand new Chase Visa card and the purchases went right through.

IdTGV tickets are only sold online; picking them up at the station isnt an option. You can buy idTGV tickets at voyages-sncf or idTGV.com (don't know about TGV Europe). There are some features that are unique to idTGV.com:
It does not ask where you are collecting your ticket. There is an English language option (which does not send you to a different site.) You can select specific seats from a seating map, which is a nice feature. The idTGV site does not accept American Express cards.

Ardith's gives some great extra info about the IDTGV website specifically - it is actually very user friendly. When my credit card got stuck on processing ( which the website says may take up to 60 secs) - I gave it 60 secs and then clicked back arrow and it clearly shows "refused" in red so at least you know you haven't been charged.

ozgirl - happy to hear that you have your tickets!

It seems that experiences vary considerably. Even though ardithl had difficulty with her Capital One MC, I successfully used mine to purchase both iDTGV and TGV tickets earlier this year, BUT not without multiple tries each time. In both instances, Capital One told me that they had approved the charges. The message I got when the attempts were unsuccessful was "votre paiement a été refusé," which I understood to mean that SNCF was refusing my payment. I immediately emailed them, but before they answered the email, I had been successful using the same card they refused the first time. Go figure!

I agree with ozgirl that the iDTGV site is very user friendly. We enjoyed our iDTGV ride from Paris to Lyon and will certainly check their offerings first for any future trips.

By the way, at www.seat61.com/France-trains.htm , the following statement is made: "iDTGV: Tickets for these 'special' iDTGV services cannot be booked using a foreign credit card, except Amex." This is clearly no longer the case since I and others have used US credit cards other than Amex to purchase tickets. Now ozgirl is reporting that Amex cards are not accepted on the iDTGV site.

A few follow- up comments to my post:

I had no trouble buying tickets from voyages-sncf 6 months ago with my CapOne card; all my purchases went through, but CapOne did block my card after the first one, until I called to verify the purchase.. So I expected no trouble with my idTGV.com purchases with the same card, but I was wrong.

The odd thing was that my second and third transactions did go through to CapOne, and were deducted from my credit limit -- even though idTGV apparently chose not to accept the card.

I didn't think about clicking the back button. I never got a message saying that my purchase was refused, until I e-mailed idTGV. That would have been helpful! After three unsuccessful attempts, I tried my Chase Visa card (which I'd never used before) and my purchases went right through.

Good luck -- and persevere!

Just to add a fine point to the discussion; iDTGV tickets can be picked up at an SNCF service window (not purchased though) but there is a 7 euro additional charge per ticket for this service.

A final observation about the SNCF - their policies are consistently inconsistent.

ozgirl - you haven't told us whether you'll be travelling Zen or Zap.

Zap, I'm not the quiet type!!

Some people may be blaming SNCF and it is their card's fault, not SNCF. I have a Cap One card, also, and they have changed their policies on fraud issues and block things more automatically than they used to. I have one and they blocked a SNCF purchase on it even though I'd never had a problem before.

I think it's pretty obvious when a purchase doesn't go through, you don't get special emails every time they don't process a purchase for some reason.

It appears not to be always obvious when a purchase doesn't go through - Ardithl's account was actually deducted.
My bank was aware of the purchase attempt and there was no problem this end so I have to deduce that is an SNCF issue. What the issue is remains a mystery.

In my case, it was clearly SNCF who had "refused the payment." According to Capital One, they had approved all attempts. In ardithl's case, it was iDTGV/SNCF who blocked the transaction, not her card. Some people may blame SNCF when it was their CC issuer that blocked the transaction, but in my case and ardithl's, that was not the case.

As Sarastro says, they are consistently inconsistent.

In my case, an attempted e-ticket booking in February, RE Aust acknowledged that the rejection of my cc was due to 'a systems error' and, not being able to fix that transaction, couriered a hard copy ticket to me at no charge. Subsequent e-ticket bookings went through without a problem.

When letting your credit card provider know of the dates and countries of your intended travel also think whether you need to tell them you will be using your cc <i>before</i> you travel to book and/ or prepay significant amounts for overseas services such as accommodation. I had informed mine of my travel plans, but when I used my cc to prepay a great accommodation deal (admittedly for a not insignificant $1750!) my cc provider's fraud section was on to me by phone in a flash - very comforting to know the system works, but would have been a shame if I'd been uncontactable and the 48 hour deal had slipped. That experience and my cc provider's routine assignment of 'pending' status to new transactions suggests there is very rarely, if ever, an immediate rejection at its end.