TGV PREM Tickets
 

I got my PREM tickets this morning..and paid only 44 Euros from CDG to Avignon for two
passengers..,Sometimes the SNCF site drives me crazy..I kept putting the right city code
and kept me sending back to their solutions, which was the same as wrote it down the first time..
Finally after i was ready to give up it went through..Cant believe my luck..

Congratulations--that sounds like a great deal.

How far ahead can you buy PREM tickets? Is it 60 days?

Thanks so very much for reminding me that we also need to buy TGV tickets on this route soon. What date did you buy for?

We'll be 3 people going from Avignon to Paris.

> How far ahead can you buy PREM tickets? Is it 60 days?

3 months (not 90 days).

Thanks, kappa1.

I will be in Paris Sept.the 8th and bought my tickets this morning around 11:10AM Central time..

I just wanted to thank you posters re: these PREM fares, of which I knew absolutely nothing about.

I had to get train tickets for a party of three, traveling from Paris to Nice on Sept. 8th and returning to Paris from Avignon on the 15th.

I searched on this forum, as I always do, to update my knowledge and learn the best hints and get the best deals. From here, I went on the SNCF website and was able to get some pretty good deals that I would NOT have known about (or understood) but for all of you!

Thanks Fodorites!

Well done!! I bought PREMs tickets last year and my husband couldn't believe that due to Fodor's posters I managed to pull this off and saved us a ton of money.

From memory they go on sale 90 days out from the date they are available. Once the allocation is sold for that date there are no more!!

I have learned a lots from Fodors also..Is nice to be able to share our knowledge and to be able to help a traveler in need.

We, my Grand-daughter and I, will be taking the TGV to Avignon the same day surfgirl.

Small world..:)

> From memory they go on sale 90 days ...

Sorry I have to repeat but that's 3 months and not 90 days if you can see the difference. I have bought tickets numerous times 3 months ahead so I am sure. This is important because 1 or 2 days (90 days vs 91/92 days) can make a differece. You go there with 90 days and the last special fare ticket may already be bought by someone else who went with 3 months.

You never know what you might get now. The SNCF has recently introduced "last minute" Prem's tickets to sell off the remaining seats on trains that have not filled a few days before departure. Naturally, these deals are not as good as what you will probably find 3 months ahead of time, but it is always better than paying full fare.

For the record on July 13 and 19 I made a round trip to Avignon from Paris in 1st class for 40€ each way, which is not too bad in the middle of high season (as I recall, it was 35€ in 2nd class so I splurged). I bought the tickets about 2 1/2 months before travel, because I do not watch the calendar closely, and also I c

(oops, grazed the send button in mid stride)

...and also I can hunt around a day or two in each direction on the SNCF site to find the best deal, but I suppose that is a luxury reserved mostly for people who already live in France. The rest of you have tight schedules to keep!

I thought you had to reside in France to purchase a PREM ticket....or at least have a French address and credit card?

Considering ordering TGV tickets from CDG to Strasbourg and back to Paris from BETS for $67/pp each way. Can I do better ordering through SNCF and any hints as to how best to do this.

When it comes to honesty vs. saving MAJOR MAJOR bucks..I mean we are talking money which could buy at least one Borat DVD and at least a tube of lipstick....then you know what folks are going to go with.

Hi cj,

>I thought you had to reside in France to purchase a PREM ticket....or at least have a French address and credit card? <

You have been misinformed. They will take MC, Visa and Amex.

((I))

You absolutely do not have to be French or reside in France to get PREMs.

St. Cirq, Kerouac, and others in the know: Regarding PREM tickets, we got a great deal in 2007 Paris to Brugge, but I ordered the tickets on voyages-sncf from the French site in French and had them mailed to our apartment owner in Paris. Is there anyway I can order them this year from the US, in English, and have them mailed to me? If not mailed to me, is there a way to order in English and pick them up at the CDG airport right before our departure to Avignon?

I am not fluent (or even close) in French, so I am nervous about ordering in French. Can't do the apartment owner thing again as we want to travel to Provence first, Paris second. Any advice? Thank you.

You cannot have them mailed to you in the USA. You can order them and indicate that you will pick them up in France at a station or boutique, though, and they will send you a email with a confirmation number, which you take, along with the credit card you used online to purchase them.

I don't know about actually ordering them in English, as I have never used the English site.

What I did, after reading these threads, is go on the French sncf website. Now my French is pretty good, but not all that good (anymore) so I did a "dry run" using two screens, one with the sncf website and the second with the google language translation feature on. So I could cut and paste and get the translation right away.

I then chose the selection "imprimer votre billets" option (print your tickets, like you do with the airlines here or concerts from ticketmaster), which gives you the ability to print your tickets right from the comfort of your own home (or office). (Or you can go to your local library, kinkos, etc. if you don't have a printer). This is MUCH better than worrying about them sending tickets to your hotel! I love the internet!!!

One more thing (because I was worried about this too) -- once you pay with your credit card, you do NOT have to print them right there and then. You give them an email address, and the confirmation is sent to the email address, along with the link to print your tickets. You can print them at any time, just like a ticketmaster ticket. The ONLY information you will need, however, to print the ticket is the name of the passenger and you need to add in the birth date of the passenger. I couldn't print the tickets when I was about to first round, because I did not have the birthdate of one of the passengers, only her birth year.