tobyo

just about to see if I can book tickets for our trip from Barcelona to Madrid. I think I have the right stations but could I just verify please? We leave from the Sants station in Barcelona and arrive at the Puerta de Atocha station in Madrid correct?

thanks much!

danon

yes, be patient with RENFE!

tobyo

heh, yep, already know that. but thanks!!

tobyo

can someone tell me what

"Correo Electrónico" means? it's right before my name and I am not sure what they're asking for.

thanks!

tobyo

I tried zip code....didn't work.

fmpden

It is your email address.

tobyo

got it, thanks!

not having great luck...first choice, sold out. or not? second choice, not enough seats for 3 tickets. and that continues.....

fmpden

That is odd. Trains are never sold out. What are you looking at?

tobyo

SUCCESS!!!! but I had to use my Visa, would not take my debit card. maybe that is stated somewhere and I missed it. but I'm so damn happy I got our first tickets!!!!! 3 more trips to purchase but I will do them tomorrow after calling, once again, to see if I can use my debit card for this....

tobyo

oh, fmpden....I think renfe must have had connection issues or something because for about 10 minutes I couldn't get any fares to load and then there were no trains available. but I persisted and it eventually worked just fine.

however, one fare we wanted was indeed sold out. if you see
"--" in the discounted fares sections, that means that fare is sold out.

fmpden

Why do you want to use a debit card? It has almost no protection if something goes wrong and no fraud prevention. Stick to the credit card.

fmpden

The discount fare classes can be sold out but I thought you were implying that the train was sold out. That almost never happens.

tobyo

oh no, sorry for the confusion. yes, the discounted fares are selling out.

not sure about the debit card issue. I did this based on my credit union's advice? but maybe they don't have the best advice?? I have no idea about the lack of protection with a debit card. that's new to me.

Aduchamp1

They should put RENFE on a game show and give huge prizes to the person who gets the correct ticket the first time.

danon

" prizes to the person who gets the correct ticket the first time." Funny!

I did ( with Canadian Master Card ). Could not print the tickets at first, but did closer to travel time.

toboy, I don't think you can use a debit card unless you live in Spain. Do no use American Express either.

tobyo

lol Aduchamp1!!

very interesting about the debit card because we were going to use it to get money at ATMS while in Spain. Why wouldn't the credit union know that would not work??? on the plus side....guess it's better I find out now than when I'm there in May and need money!

Cowboy1968

Renfe accepts Maestro debit cards (blue/red Mastercard-style logo), while ATMs (also) accept debit cards linked to Cirrus. The latter is the worldwide standard for cash withdrawals and should have its logo (blue MC-style logo) on your card.
Maestro acceptance differs from country to country: POS transactions (chip & PIN) usually work anywhere, internet purchases not necessarily.
The Cirrus system does not have these compatibility issues, so you will get cash with your debit card in Spain.

tobyo

it's actually on the moneypass network and not cirrus...hmmmm. but thanks for the info!! much appreciated.