dskimo1

Man in Seat 61 says that Rail Europe's prices for train tickets are the same as Renfe's, along with a "small booking fee." I tried to book a ticket tonight on Renfe and it said that no tickets were available. I then tried on Rail Europe and tickets were available, but not any of the lower price tickets. Any suggestions? Should I purchase now from Rail Europe or wait for Renfe? If I buy from Rail Europe, and I buy four separate tickets at one time, is there one fee or four separate fees? Thanks much.

Moderator3

Moved to Europe board and tagged for Spain

thursdaysd

Traveler_Nick

If Renfe isn't showing them the tickets don't exist. Renfe tends to take their time making tickets available but I think there is also some track work.

In general the only reason to book in advance is to get a discounted fare. Paying full price from a third party that tacks on a service fee doesn't make much sense. At least not if you're buying in advance.

dskimo1

Thanks

Christina

I'm surprised if RE price is the same as Renfe but don't really know. Maybe they've changed, but in the past, their fees were higher (not just the service fee part), although it did vary by type of ticket, some were not marked up or not much.

In any case, RE can't make up tickets if Renfe isn't selling them, so I agree this isn't going to get you anywhere. And I have heard of cases where they sell tickets they don't really have, so then they will send you a notice saying it wasn't available, after they take your money. Yeah, I think you get your money back, but they aren't a railroad and can't sell tickets that don't exist.

twk

I bought my Spanish rail tickets from Loco2 (that may now be Rail Europe) on the Man in Seat 61's recommendation in 2018. At that time, the Renfe web site was not easy to use, and people were having trouble using US credit cards on the Renfe site. If Renfe works for you, I wouldn't hesitate to buy direct, but there have been some obstacles that have driven folks to use other vendors in the past.

Melnq8

We recently booked discounted tickets on the Renfe site for March. Our dates just became available last weekend, so perhaps you're trying to book too far in advance?

SusanP

Loco2 is not RailEurope.

Maribel

As Melnq8 says, you may be just trying to book for tickets that Renfe hasn't uploaded yet.
I just now purchased on Renfe tickets for March 13.

I'm registered with Renfe (that makes the process easier), and my US bank-issued MC card on file has Master Card SecureCode, which is necessary when purchasing on Renfe using a US based MC. If using a Visa card, your card must be one with Verified by Visa for the purchase to go through, or just use Pay Pal.

Maribel

Loco2 rebranded to raileurope.co.uk in November.

https://raileurope.co.uk/en/blog/rebrand

SusanP

Sorry, I didn't know about that recent change with Loco2. They were Loco2 just last year.

dskimo1

Thanks