Hi all,

I see lot of people are having trouble in booking tickets on RENFE website. I recently used the website with a positive outcome and thought of sharing my experience.

I booked 3 train tickets on RENFE website today. Once I clicked on "Welcome" on the home page to go to the English version of the website, I simply clicked on the "Purchase" link with the shopping cart icon and it opened into a new window.

First thing I did (based on advice from fellow fodorites) is to register myself, the link is on the right hand side of the screen.

From there on, I just used it like any other familiar website. From the drop-down boxes, I chose my "To" and "From" destinations, date and as my journeys are going to be one-way, I ticked on "Outward" journey.

Upon getting the search results, it displayed multiple fares for each of the trains available between the two locations. There are various icons for discounted fares and they are explained at the bottom of the screen. Watch out for Chrome Yellow icon with a star mark within. These are the Estrella fares, about 40% less than usual. The blue icon if discounts (called Mesa, if you hover your cursor over it) are for people traveling in groups and the price shown is for 4 people traveling together. If you click on that price, it expands to show 4 difference prices if you are traveling in a group of 4 / 3 / 2 or on your own.

Once I was ok with the train schedule & price, I clicked on "continue" to pay for the same. The next step was re-confirmation of the price depending on drop-down boxes of applicable discount (use google translate for that). Once I clicked Estrella, I was set. I did remember to click on the option to let me select my seat, which was placed after pricing details and before the "Continue" button for taking me to the next step.

After sharing my VISA credit card details (issued in Asia), there was a section below to fill in "Tempo Card" but I guess it is only for Spanish locals. I clicked on "Buy" and it took me to seat selection wherein there was a miniature picture of the train wherein you could click on the compartments individually and select the seat. I was careful in choosing the seat as the last seat would have lesser recline. Also note the 2+2 chairs with a broad line icon (representing a table) would mean 2 of these 4 seats on the opposite side of the moving train's direction with a table in between these and the other 2 seats. It helps to know little bit of Spanish to be able to read the compartment illustration and make out where the door, washroom, etc is.

Once I chose my seat, it took me to the page wherein it confirmed my transaction. It asked me my VISA password at this stage. At this juncture, it took close to 30 seconds. But the transaction did go through, each of the 3 times.

A PDF window automatically popped-up. This is the ticket. I saved the same on my computer. RENFE also sent the ticket confirmation on my email ID, which was in Spanish. But my gmail had a link on top of the message asking to translate the same, and on a single click, the whole email was in English, for me to make sense of it.

Couple of times during the transaction after I had entered my credit card details, I realised I had forgotten to tick the seat selection option. I closed the window, abandoned the transaction basically and restarted. The website charges you only after you have selected the seat and clicked to continue "Entrar".


PLUS:
Easy to use and fairly logical in sequencing (but be prepared to use google translate tool, especially to understand application of various discount categories).

Cheaper than Raileurope's international website. I saved 34% on like-to-like trains, dates and seat classes.

PDF ticket which can be printed anytime at home. Do not have to pay heavy delivery charges or pray for it to be delivered before I leave for the trip.

MINUS:
After I had registered and tried to login, it continued to give me error for atleast 10-12 trials. Persist a bit like I did. Finally it let me login. From there on, it was easy to do the rest.


I did take help of following 2 links to understand RENFE bookings better:

1. http://issuu.com/vallausa/docs/how-t...ickets-preview shared by fellow fodorite ribeirasacra.

2. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g1...ts.Online.html - found while googling.


Feel free to reply if you have queries in specific. I am not a veteran to book tickets on RENFE, but I have recent experience. Would love to help others if I can.

Many thanks for the detailed info. I have had much frustration with booking RENFE in past years. Last year I was fortunate that my hotel in Madrid agreed to complete the process for me.

I need tickets again for October, and will begin searching in two weeks or so; I will have my fingers crossed for good luck.

One question: What do you mean by a VISA password? My main VISA card has no such thing...
(I do have a VISA debit ATM card which does have a password, though....)

Thanks for the detailed report as I'll probably try to use it shortly. I did use it successfully once a long time ago, but things have probalby changed.

I have the same question, what are you referring to as "VISA password"? Maybe it is different for your or in Spain, but in the US, credit cards don't have "passwords". Are you referring to a credit card's security code with is usually 3 digits? YOu can request and get a PIN in the US if you intend to use your credit card at ATMs, but you don't get one automatically, and that is a number. This sounds like the screen was in Spanish, if so, what was the word you are talking about as a password in Spanish, because that might help me understand what you are referring to.

We too managed to book a ticket on Renfe. The first set of tickets we purchased were on raileurope but the second set were on Renfe. My husband got on the Renfe site numerous times and tried to book tickets each time. Finally, he figured it out and managed to book tickets, assign seats and print the tickets out. The first credit card we used did not work so he tried another and it took! The Renfe site is definitely not user friendly but with persistence you can make it work! For those having problems, keep trying!

The VISA password may be an additional security element that is called up for larger >$50 or so expenditures. Visa seem to have sub-conned the security to another specialist security company who set up an 8 or more digit code to be used after the original transaction.

Setting this up the first time is normally pretty easy using your existing security system.

I had no problem booking on RENFE with a CC issued in Canada.
Perhaps, it was the same for you with CC issued in Asia.

From what I have seen here, it seems that travelers with American CCs are the ones
encountering problems.
Thanks for posting

I've been trying so many times to buy Renfe tickets from Burgos to Hendaye but cannot register on Renfe site. I have followed the links from purchase and can see sign in and password lines only, but the REGISTER LINE is blocked and therefore I cannot register. RAILEUROPE wasn't much help. I saw trains that would suit but refuse to pay them extra $18 mailing for 2 tickets. Petrabax only offered me the most expensive fares so am about to abandon the search and when I get to Spain/Portugal I will buy the Gold Card which gives discounts and pay cash for tickets.

SNCF has train listed but will not accept my CC even though I have used it for years. M/C said its problem with vendors as there is now a 3D Security that refuses credit cards.

So looks like I will have to get tickets on arrival in Spain. Glad to see the system works for some travelers.

Just after trying to register on husband's computer and when I got to dropdown for country, did not see United States listed so perhaps that might be problem.

Did I miss it or something? Not giving up completely.

To go from Madrid to Barcelona, do I really need to buy tickets in advance, or can I just show up at the station and get a train?

No, you really don't need to buy tickets in advance if you have flexibility to deal with:

1. Train full forcing you to take a later train
2. Pay higher ticket price. For example AVE3073 8/13 7:30 departure is 117.70EU for Turista class, while an advance ticket for 11/16 is 47.10EU for the same seat.

ekscrunchy & Christina, I meant Visa Online Security Password. It is a step you have to go through before the transaction is concluded, even after you have given Credit Card details (including CVV). It seems to be a prevalent added layer of security in Asia.

Cavangal, you can try to register without US being the selected country. Anyway, my postal code is in 6 digits but it does not let me go beyond 5 digits. I ended up putting 12345 as the code as per the info from the net.

skatedancer, you might get tickets for trains within 1-2 difference, but why risk it when you can book it for 50% less with sense of certainty?

rtwin. Thanks again. I will try one more time. I'm going to put in address of nephew in UK and see if that works and request to print the tickets or pick up at station.

The exhaustive effort is worth the sweat as yesterday I saw the ticket I tried to book on EuroRail priced $39 one way plus postage $18; Renfe just over $11 to get to to Hendaye from Burgos. I was using my laptop that is not hooked to computer but will go on husbands PC later and keep trying.

Really appreciate all the help I received on this forum.

Cavangal, best of luck!

thanks for the further information on what that password means.

Cavengal, I don't know where you got this information about MC and SNCF, but I just bought a ticket on SNCF using my American Capital One Mastercard a couple weeks ago. It was rejected when first used, but Capital One did that, it had nothing to do with Mastercard in gneral nor SNCF. I called Cap ONe up after it happened and they admitted they had blocked the card (even though I had told them I'd be using it abroad), and then said they would stop blocking it. I waited at least 24 hrs as you must do on SNCF (they tell you that), and had no problem after that.

rtwin & Christina: My M/C card AT&T Universal. I've had this card for more than 20 years, never had problem booking train tkts, airline tkts or anything till now. When I spoketo Customer Service dept. they claimed it was blocked by Rail Co. and not by M/C.

The Renfe site didn't work for me. Could not find the icon for US in countries listing but will look again, one more time.

I've traveled to other countries without prebooking tkts and managed fine. Will try buying all at one time on arrival at first stopover and feel I may do fine with the GOLD CARD.

If I get them booked by some small miracle, I will be back to this board with an update. Thanks

It isn't Mastercard doing any blocking, it is the particular company that manages your card, they all are independent and have their own rules about blocking charges. My card with Capital One, it was Cap One who was doing the blocking, not Mastercard. I don't know who manages your credit card, but they are the ones you need to talk to, not Mastercard in general.

I thought you were from China or Japan or somewhere and that may be the problem, as I dont know what rules SNCF has for cards from those countries. If your card is American, it just isn't true that SNCF blocks American Mastercards because I just used mine.

Maybe there is something odd about your particular brand of Mastercard that SNCF always blocks (sounds doubtful, but who knows), but it is also possible whoever you spoke to at Mastercard didn't know what they were talking about. And the fact that you never had problems before is common, as I never did either, and only in the last year or so have a lot of American credit card companies started automatically blocking all foreign charges unless you tell them otherwise.

I believe it is really Citibank who handles your card, so it would be them doing the blocking, not Mastercard.

Christina, I booked from an Indian credit card and it worked.
Cavangal, hope you managed to get the tickets.

After spending what seemed like hours trying to buy tickets for late October and having each of my credit cards declined, yet again, I am happy to report that we were able to book tickets using my friends US VISA card, using a Mac with Safari.

We paid 33 euro for Madrid-Sevilla AVE tickets.

I'm adding this tidbit because I had read that Safari would not work.