renfre train tickets
 

I've been trying to do my homework and am terrified of trying to get a ticket. After reading a trip advisor article - do I need an American Express Card to use Renfre site?

Unless something has changed in the past week or so, RENFE will not work with any non-Spanish bank credit card. Supposedly you can use Amex if you call them and buy a ticket on the phone.....

I just tried to access the ticket buying process and I got some sort of error message just asking for the schedule...oy!

Know your fare you would get if you could get through, then try these guys:
www.budgeteuropetravel.com

marcielee,
If you have a US bank issued c.c., you can't make a purchase on www.renfe.es due to a current glitch in the system. Renfe currently can't accept on-line purchases with a US bank issued c.c., thus the error message.

I have also tried this week- to no avail.

You can try to call their international number
902 24 34 02

Try to do this during normal Spanish business hours so as to connect with an English speaking agent.
Renfe states that one can obtain the 40% Estrella discount with a purchase by phone but not the 60% discount WEB fare.
If all else fails you can purchase your train ticket in Spain at any travel agency, at the Renfe counters in Terminals 4 and 1 at Madrid's Barajas airport or at any Renfe station.

Thank you all so much for info ! Thank you for your web site Maribel.

The renfe site is (finally) taking American credit cards again! I just bought 3 this morning!

Ditto. I made a successful purchase yesterday with my US Visa.

Hola Maribel, in reference to the new discount for Seniors of all nationalities over 60 that is offering RENFE, with a Tarjeta Dorada
cost=5 eur, I read in ITN that the card should be bought personally. In order to obtain the full discount of
40%, available for ALL kind of trains, Seniors should travel from Monday to Thursday and reserve tickets ahead of time.
If tickets are not reserved in advance or if Seniors travel Friday to Sunday discount is reduced to 25%.
How do you see the logistic of all this if you live in the US?

Obviously if you need to buy the card first in person you cannot reserve ahead from the US...what do you think? At any rate I am delighted that RENFE is following the good marketing of Paradores...right?

Oh well, I had to spend 78 Euro today to buy a ticket from Madrid to Sevilla.....as I am now in Spain. At least the Euro is advantageous for me..... :)

Hola Graziella,
Now that Renfe has solved the problem of making an online purchase with non Spain bank c.c., I see the online purchase as a much better deal for everyone, including seniors, so long as they do advanced planning.

The 60% discount WEB fares can be purchased 62 days in advance, in theory. (In practice, it's more like 60 days in advance or even less in summer when it takes Renfe forever and a day to load new fares into the system.)
These WEB fares aren't available on all departures (or weren't last year), but they are generally available every day, not just certain days (except, perhaps, some Madrid-Sevilla runs during Holy Week-we'll see).

To our advantage, Renfe has doubled the number of available discount online fares in '09, a compensation to its clients for having increased fares by 4-5% this year.
And it's so easy (now) to make this purchase from home and print one's own tickets-no waiting in long lines at a Renfe station.
I always send the pdf ticket file to my web mail, so in case I lose the ticket, I can reprint.
Or I can also obtain another ticket from the self-service machines at Renfe stations by plugging in my localizer number or swiping the c.c. I used for the purchase.
I just find this so much easier than the senior discount card system, which one has to buy at the station and costs 5 euros p.p. (but is good for one yr.)

I only see an advantage to the senior discount card if one doesn't plan ahead and WEB or Estrella fares are no longer available, or if that particular train isn't book-able online.

And as you say, the senior discount is just 40% (the same as an online or phone purchase of an Estrella fare), and that 40% discount is only available Mon.-Thurs, and on wks. is reduced to 25%.
Yes, it's certainly better than no discount at all, but I still recommend the online discounts, particularly now that they're once again friendly to non Spain credit card holders!

Thank you so much Maribel, !!!