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.

The last time I checked, the sncf site asked for my country. When I clicked on USA, I was redirected to RailEurope.com, which is more expensive. How do I get around that ?

May I also ask how to access the Google translation site? Thanks a lot.

You type in FRANCE as the country.

Generally, www.tgv-europe.com (an SNCF website available in English) has all of the same schedule information and ticket availability as www.voyages-sncf.com.

Simply indicate that your country is Great Britain and either print out your PREM or iDTGV tickets at home or pickup your PREM tickets in France at any SNCF ticket window or boutique.

Note: iDTGV tickets must be printed in advance and cannot be picked up in person.

Good to know it can be done so easily. Thanks. Also, I just figured out the Google translation site. Great to find as there are so many phrases I'd like to be able to say in French. My pronunciation is actually decent, but I don't know the words and grammar.

The SNCF website doesn't ask for your country upfront. The TGV website does. The SNCF website merely asks where you intend to receive the tickets, which isn't the same thing as where you live (which is what the TGV website asks you). I never use the TGV website so couldn't figure out why people kept saying they were asked for their country, until I checked that site out once. There isn't any advantage to using it over the regular SNCF website.

So basically, do I just lie and say I intend to receive my tickets in Great Britain and then they will e-mail me my tickets? I print them off and am good to go. I do not need to reveal that I live in the USA? (all above using the tgv-europe site)

MAP, you seem to be getting more, not less, confused. Put either France or Great Britain as the country. It's a website; it doesn't know where you are. They will NOT email you the tickets. They will email you the confirmation of your purchase and you will have to go pick up the tickets. If you purchase PREM tickets, you put France as the country and then YOU print the tickets right from the website and take them with you.

What kind of tickets are you buying?

Once you have done it the first time, it all seems so simple the 2nd time.

"Simply indicate that your country is Great Britain and either print out your PREM or iDTGV tickets at home or pickup your PREM tickets in France at any SNCF ticket window or boutique."

I misunderstood this advice to be that I could print out my ticket at home. So, what I will be able to print out from my e-mail will be the confirmation of the tickets which i will then have to pick up in France. Correct?

St. Cirq, I am hoping to buy PREM tickets on the TGV to Avignon from Paris. It appears prices can be as low as 22euro each way. Wow.

OOps, left this out ....unless I put France in as my country and then I can print out the tickets at home. Right?

PREM tickets - print out right from your computer.

All other tickets - SNCF mails you a confirmation and you go pick them up.

Either way, if it asks, put France in as the country.

It IS an ordeal the first time you do it.

You have not misunderstood.

Firstly, purchase your tickets.

Secondly, if they are either PREMS or iDTGVs, print them at home. If they are some other type of fare, pick them up in France at any SNCF service window or boutique.

Thirdly, if you pickup tickets, you will need:

1. The reservation number
2. To present for inspection, the credit card used in the on line transaction. The cc account numbers used in the on line transaction must match the account numbers on the credit card you present.

Well, needless to say I am saving every word on this thread! Thank you so much for taking the time to help me learn the ropes.

I got the 22 euro Avignon to Paris PREM tickets on the sncf website -- yes, stated "France" in the where are you line, and YES, I got a confirmation by email that included a link to print my tickets on my computer. And YES, I live in Los Angeles.

It IS confusing first time, but stick with it!

This is great! I usually use the SNCF site (in French) to get my tickets, which have always been PREMS, so printed them at home. Didn't know about the site in English, TGV-Europe.com, where you can print any ticket, PREM or not. I like that site! Seems easier to use (maybe because my English is better than my French), and being able to print tickets at home sure beats picking them up in Paris. This Fodor's forum is great - I'm constantly getting useful information on here - thanks!

You betcha the SNCF site is a lot cheaper than Rail Europe - I've just plugged in Paris-La Rochelle for 22 Oct and unless I'm way off beam the 22&euro; best fare is AUD79 via Rail Europe - about double.

<i><font color="#0000FF">where you can print any ticket, PREM or not.</i></font>

Somehow I doubt this.

The reason why only PREM or iDTGV tickets may be printed at home is because they have no residual value - use them or lose them.

If you could print a regular fare ticket, what precludes your printing two - one copy for travel and one copy to be presented for a refund?

SNCF has already thought of this and does not allow regular fare tickets to be issued more than once.

Sue, I tried TGV-Europe site and when it asks which country to receive or pick up tickets, I select France and it forwards to French site.

I'm leary of proceeding because I understand no French and don't know exactly what I am ordering. Is there a way to stay with the English version and still be able to print tickets (or get emailed confirmation to print)?

cjogo - choose a country whose language you speak, try Canada or Great Britain.

Years ago,the first times that I printed the tickets I encountered some problems only because my PC was getting very old and it would freeze up..

Now I have a different PC and is much easier..I can understand that if you dont know the language it could be very frustrating and scaring sometimes...