Renfe question (grrrr)
 

After about a dozen attempts, I am unsuccessful booking AVE train from Barcelona to Madrid.

I tried with a MC, and I did call the company (2x). I do not have a Visa card, except for my bank debit card. Would this even work? The bank wasn't aware of what "verified by Visa" was.

What are our chances that we would not get a train on Saturday morning in September (around 9am)? My husband thinks we should get these a few days before our departure while we're in Barcelona.

FWIW, the error message I keep getting is: G001.

How about if you try calling Renfe directly to buy the tickets?

karens,

To cut a long story as short as I can.

G001 on the English version RENFE is a failure of software and/or security connectivity. (With respect to your bank/finance houses and many others in the US and the world, they do not protect as securely as ours in Europe.)

If you are prepared to use your bank's Visa card, do so. If invited at the point of purchase to register a password for Verified For Visa, do so and continue with the purchase. If this action does not work call your bank and tell them you are trying to make this purchase in Spain. Try later, one more time and if it does not happen, give it up.

Purchase the ticket at the station - the disadvantage is you may not be receiving a web or estrella fare or your preferred journey is not available, but there are plenty each day.

Please advise progress.

Best wishes.

if estrella or web fare are already sold out, don't worry -
you can buy tickets at a full price no problem.
If you are over 60 years old, you can get a 40% discount
with tarjeta Dorada .

That's the same message I got and-- after calling my credit card company (I had to call them twice), I was able to go ahead with my purchase. Call your credit card company and do the transaction as they wait on the phone with you.

I registered at the site, called my visa Capital One card to alert them of transaction. and was denied (error code M022). Called Cap one and was told there were no denied charges and the note alerting them of authenticity of chaarges was recorded. I waited another half hour and tried again...denied again...called bank back, tried with them on line, and denied again - and they say there is no evidence that Renfe tried to process a charge and no denials were issued.

Anyone know what M022 error message may mean? this is different than the error message karens got.

I tried again tonight with my Visa debit card, with my bank on line with me - they didn't see any evidence that Renfe tried to process a charge, either.

I did read somewhere that you should try to order b/w 7:00-23:00 Spain time, and I was out of that window. Not sure why that would matter, but I will try again tomorrow. Sigh.

That verified by visa thing... ah this is ringing some bells.
Karen this page is for Italy, not Spain but when I tried one of the cards listed (Chase visa) I went through the whole verified thing and it went through!

http://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.h...Trenitalia.com

I would try one of the cards listed if you have one. Otherwise just go ahead and buy the ticket when you get there.

PS scroll down to "which cards work and which don't" - this is what helped me solve the "verified" problem.

karens,

You have not said whether you were enrolled in Verified By Visa when using your Visa card. Where you, please?

kathcoll,

MO22 - I did not think this appeared on the English version.
EL TITULAR DE LA TARJETA NO HA SIDO AUTENTICADO CORRECTAMENTE. POR FAVOR, PONGASE EN CONTACTO CON LA ENTIDAD EMISORA DE SU TARJETA. (M022). -
The holder of the card has not been correctly authenticated. Please contact the issuer of your card

WomBatt - the Renfe site did not prompt me to Verify my Visa card, so I did not. Is there an outside site to do this? My bank was unaware of this program.

k.

wombat,
I used the Spanish site using an English translator app.
I tried again this evening using a credit card on the list from the website in rialtogrl's post. I'll try again monday morning - in the time window suggested in karens post last evening.

Its funny - i waited patiently for the 62 day window to purchase my tickets...now i'm hoping there are still web tickets left monday morning.

karens and kathcoll,

I do not believe this will ever happen with a Visa card unless you are registered in the Verified For Visa programme and I also believe that software communication between your card companies and RENFE may not be up to it, a failing on both sides of the Atlantic.

So, if you still have failure you might try, (my head hurts trying to find) this http://petrabax.com/renfe/ - based in the states. You will pay a commission (I know not what), but I suggest that you tell Petrabax you can see the discounted web or estrella journey fare on RENFE's site and that is what you want.

I would appreciate if both of you would advise progress, or not, here.

Best wishes.

WomBatt, I really appreciate your information, thanks for taking the time to help us.

I will look into this and let you know what happens.

unless you are vying for the webfare,( online purchase only) just call them and get the estrella fare if it is available.

My response from petrabax was just the details I had provided in completing the online form.

I do not understand how to complete the booking request. I see no way to evaluate prices - are there web fares available? If so, are there additional charges for the service?

So I wait to see what petrabax offers. And tomorrow morning I will try again with the renfe site. I am still hoping to get webfares.

I've tried with two visa cards and one mastercard - all of which have reported no attempt to complete a transcaction.

Tomorrow morning I'll notify the cards again of attempts to charge trips from renfe. This is ripe for fraud as a blanket statement to accept charges from spain could leave one vulnerable to fraudulent charges. I've been telling them specifically charges on this date from renfe. I think when people are advising others to call their credit cards they should advise to limit the charges to specific charges.

karens, thanks for the thanks.

kathcoll,

What I was suggesting is you look to the RENFE site, which I thought you were familiar with, for your journey and price and advise Petrabax you can clearly see a web bargain available, (if available). Is that a toll free 'phone number top right hand side?

Best wishes.

I have not read all renfe posts but just now going to the english site <iI do not see the place to click "Show all prices/tariffs" like is on the Spanish site where the discounts come up.

On the Spanish site once you have the timetable up ( after clicking on "Comprar billetes" and putting in your route, there is a place on the right to click to show all tariffs "Mostrar todas las tarifas".

Good luck with he credit card, but like I said before, i would just call .

okay, I managed to buy 2 sets of tickets - still need to get two more - I'll try again tomorrow morning.

First - when signing up for an account despite entering a password and verifying when signing up, the passsword (contrasena) needed is the one sent to you in acknowledging email when you sign up. Registering online may or may not make the transaction smoother - but it is supposed to make it easier to track your transactions, look up lost tickets etc
Use windows Internet explorer - not foxfire or safari

And if you use google toolbar, the tool includes a translator - many have advised that the Spanish site is easier to use, and this lets you understand what the site is asking.

One post that I could not relocate advocated buying tickets 1am to 5pm eastern time - which corresponds with the times Karens mentioned above. When all else failed buying tickets at 7am eastern time let me finally have success. I did the same thing this morning as I tried multiple times this weekend, and had no problems for the first two transactions

Call the bank before. Then if still having problems call again to see if they register attempts to process charge - if not the problem is on the Renfe end. If there was a denial the problem is your bank. Despite telling my bank I would be making a series of 4 transactions, when the third transaction had an identical amount to a previous transaction the charge was denied. Calling while processing the charge yielded success.

I am going to Spain in October & had planned several internal train trips. I must say this thread is rather discouraging. I have a couple questions before I start the whole process.

It looks like if you are not from Spain & will be traveling on multiple days it's a good idea to buy a Eurail Spain pass. Has anyone done this? You still have to make reservations on the specific trips.

Also, I found a website that appears to be straightforward, though I haven't yet tried to purchase anything there. Has anyone bought tickets through this site? Or know if there are any advantages or disadvantages compared to getting tickets directly through renfe?
http://www.raileurope.com/index.html

BTW, good luck to karens and kathcall

Jerirl--RailEurope doesn't give you the special rate breaks, so you are paying top dollar. Also, please compare the cost of your point-to-point tickets with the cost of the Eurail pass WITH the extra fees needed, if any, for the actual reservations.

Re RENFE: As many of us who have successfully used RENFE will be the first to say, as long as you are mentally prepared that using the site's purchase system will be an odd experience, the process can be rather amusing.

RENFE updated their website a bit this summer, so I can't give the exact directions and link tips that I did last spring (although I will attempt to find updated help and post here). No matter what version of RENFE one encounters, though, our basic, time-tested tips remain the same:

1) Attempt a couple of dry runs. If the "new" website is as strange as prior designs (and I have every faith that it would be) the site page progression will suddenly change to Spanish midstream. A problem? Actually, no. Just familiarize yourself with the very simple terminology in Spanish (Google Translate) and don't worry about it anymore.

2) Print out some screen shots as you successfully go through the system so that you know what you did when.

3) Create a RENFE account BEFORE you attempt to book. You'll be able to see a record of transactions eventually!

4) Call your credit card company right before you make the transaction and THEN FULLY EXPECT THE CC COMPANY to screw it up. I am dead serious. I had to make follow-up phone calls both times I purchased and then had to make the purchases again. I did not, however, have to keep my account rep on the line while I did it. If that is what it will take, though, that's what it will take.

One consideration: It's not as though RENFE is the only rail website that requires us to jump through hoops. The French site, for example, requires us to lie about our origin if we are US citizens in order to purchase tickets from it. If we tell the truth, the French rail site redirects us straight to RailEurope--and again, as you can guess, no more good rates and no more bargains.

jerigirl,

I am surprised you think there is value to the purchase of a rail pass. Do you fully understand the terms and conditions? (However, I do not know how many trips you will take or whether you have undertaken any budgetary comparison with the RENFE site and the discounted fares which may be available.)

Almost everyone has little problem with the RENFE site. It is unfortunate the U.S. and Canada are those who seem to be the ones more frequently 'out of luck', for reasons in this thread.

Best wishes.

I've made all my purchases for my October trip and saved 40-60% on each of my 4 legs to the trip. I would have paid full price plus commissions if I had used the easier RailEurope site.

The Petrabax website that Wombat found offered tickets from the expensive reserved seat class, claiming they were the only seats still available for one leg, and for another "Thank you for your inquiry. One way rate from Madrid to Granada October 24 at 5:00pm $111.00 per person tourist class." Reserving on Renfe site 2 tickets cost $123.

So while this was quite a unique experience, with the help of those here I saved a considerable amount of money.

And kathcoll, in turn, you've helped many others save money, too. Thank you for taking the time to keep up posted on your various obstacles and successes.

Strange, when I bought my tickets through raileurope they only seemed to be a few dollars more than through renfre. However I purchased within under 14 days till travel so that might be it!

Make sure you don't put dashes in your phone number, that's what often stops online ordering on Renfe.

Geez, I'm even having trouble calling them.

I called comcast who told me to call:

011 34 902 109 420.

Is this correct?

I understand I might to also include a city code? What city are the Renfe offices located in?

OK, this number is indicating out of service:

011 34 91 901 109 420

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

karen
I think what made the difference for me was the timing - every successful purchase was early morning (7-8am) Eastern US time.

Of course I made sure my bank was aware of the intended purchases, and I used a card that others commented had success.
Have you tried to use the Spanish site using the google translator tool?

I had decided that I'd wait til I got to Spain and get a seniors pass - I'm over 60, but the challenge of making it work was irresistible

Just posting my personal experience. I tried about 4 times in Mozilla and Explorer and was kicked out. I tried using my Wells Fargo Visa debit card in Mozilla and got as far as the security registration screen and completed it, pressed send and got a white screen of nothing. I tried the next day in Explorer (waited to see if my checking account was debited by the purchase which it was not) and everything worked fine. I had to go through the security procedure again with VISA and voila I had my ticket.

"I had decided that I'd wait til I got to Spain and get a seniors pass - I'm over 60, but the challenge of making it work was irresistible"

I've been away and am just checking back in to see what good ol' RENFE was up to. KathColl, your statement has described it all--the web system is SO darn bad and our US CC systems are so out of sync with it AND us--that getting one's tickets after awhile becomes a raison d'etre.

I gave up. I tried the Renfe site several times, called my creidt card company, even had my credit card company on the line one time, tried to verify my bank Visa debit card with Verified by Visa (couldn't) and decided I had spent enough time on this.

I booked on Rail Europe for about $20 more per ticket. But...on that site I had to pay extra to have the tickets fedex'd to me ($36!).

We took the train last Saturday. It was a wonderful experience. The train arrived exactly on time (11:52) was clean and pleasant and dropped us off in Madrid right near our hotel near the Prado. I would highly recommended getting between Barcelona and Madrid on the train.

Bravo!

I am just becoming aware of the problems with the RENFE site. Here is a question that might sound silly, but:

What about asking one's hotel to make the booking for you, after finding the correct discount fare on the RENFE site?

I plan to take the train from MAdrid to Granada in January and after only one look at the RENFE site, I can see that it is going to be ann annoying experience, at best. I can see the trains, but when I put in the date in January, the dates revert back to tomorrow's date.

Is it too early to book for January?

Any additional tips to making this as painless as possible, besides what is written on this thread? I can use the Spanish-language RENFE page if necessary and I have a US VISA card.

ekscrunchy,

'Is it too early to book for January? ' - Yes, schedules and prices will be probably/possibly revised on or about Dec 12th.

Read this for simple explanation on use of the RENFE site - http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-t...ways%20website
and comprehensive coverage here - http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-...s.Online..html
of possibly everything with might baffle.

'What about asking one's hotel to make the booking for you, after finding the correct discount fare on the RENFE site?' - Trust on both sides is the only block, I see.

I have never had a problem with the site. A few months ago it was revised and is now very easy to use. The card issues are mainly an American continent problem and yes, use the Spanish language pages, as if you have a problem there appears more clarity in explanation, but it will still be your card.

Best wishes.

Thanks, Wombatt. My thought was to use the RENFE site to find the particular train and the least expensive fare, and then ask the hotel to buy me the tickets. Wonder if anyone here has approached the problem in this manner?




But I now see a small glitch: My partner will qualify for the Tarjeta Dorada, but he has to wait until he arrives to buy this card. But if we wait until arrival, we will no longer qualify for the special web fares! A bit of a conundrum!

I doubt a hotel will take the time to go into the site and book a webfare. one can get the estrella fare on the phone.. but imagine when they try it isn't left, etc.

they have to write you, etc..

If you are looking for dates between jan. 1 and the 8th, I highly doubt there will be many webfares. Be vigilant.. and good luck with your card. if there are only estrella fares available then you may want to phone if you are having problems with your card online.

Sorry to be dense, but can I phone and use my US credit card to buy the tickets? Are they then-mailed to me? If so, why bother with the website?


Can this be done via a travel agency in Madrid and if so, does anyone have the contact info?

I will ask the Madrid hotel if I have no luck doing it online or by phone. Some hotels will certainly book train tickets but who knows if they can get me a discounted fare...

I plan to travel on a Thursday, second week in January....