My cart is full. I've got great prices on TGV trains from Paris to Avignon, and then Avignon to Nice. I was so proud of myself. I felt I was navigating the site (all in French) just fine. I want to purchase tickets to be emailed to me.

But it will not let me complete the transaction. I am told the transaction is not acceptable to my banking institution. I've tried two different credit cards.

Does it have something to do with U.S.-based banks? Are these great prices only for those with verifiable French bank credit cards?

I'm frustrated.

Any clues?

No, you can use a US credit card. Just wait a while and try again. Or call your bank(s) and make sure they are not denying the purchase since it would be 'foreign'.

Thanks. You were right. My credit card company had put a hold on it.

By any chance do you know what "l'assurance annulation" means and if I need it? It's adding 12 euros onto the whole price.

Cancellation insurance.

I believe that if you want to print out your ticket at home you would not choose this option (MorganB has a nice thread on this).

Michel is right on both.

Thanks for the help.

It is still saying my credit card won't accept the charge--even though I was told by my credit card company that it would clear.

I guess I'll keep trying.

It has nothing to do with it being an American CC, I've bought two tickets from SNCF online with two different American CCs within the past couple weeks, and I had no problem at all (I used my Delta Skymiles American Express and my AAA Visa cards).

Don't buy insurance when you don't know what the terms are and what it means. It is highly unlikely you could ever collect on it or follow the proper terms (and I've read them), as you can't read them.

I got the tickets!

I have printed them. Are these the actual tickets, or will I need to exchange these for a hard ticket at the train station?

I can't believe the difference in price between doing it on the sncf website in French and asking for the website in English. I got first-class tickets for much less than RailEurope.com was charging for second class. (And yes I did take into account which prices were in euros and which were in US$!)

Thank you everyone for your help.

If you bought discounted tickets and if you had the option to 'print your own', then those are your 'tickets'. You show them to the conductor when he/she comes around on board the train. Often they check your passport as well.

p.s. with discounted fares, you have limited or no options for changes or refunds, so make sure you don't miss your train.

This happened to me when I was attempting to buy Eurostar tickets online a few weeks ago. Plugged in my AMEX number and it was rejected. HUH?

Before I even had time to call AMEX, they had sent me an email alerting me to possible fraud on my account. Called them and they said they had frozen my account because it looked like someone was trying to use the card from England and France (I'd booked SNCF tickets earlier that day) on the same day.

I'd had a horrible fraud experience with some guy in England a few years ago who racked up $8,000 of charges on my AMEX card in less than 24 hours, so I guess AMEX looks out for me, which is a good thing.

As soon as I called and explained I was going to be traveling and told them the purchases I was attempting to make, they fixed the problem immediately.

Lesson learned: Don't just call your cc and let them know you'll be traveling. Let them know also if you'll be making advance purchases from an overseas website.

Hi All,

You now CAN buy discount tickets and print them out at home, even if you buy the cancellation insurance.

All that does is allow to get your money back if you miss the train.

It isn't that simple for the insurance. There are very limited conditions on how you get your money back if you miss a train with that insurance, and there are specific steps and procedures you have to follow to qualify. Someone who can't even read it, couldn't do them, even if they did fall under one of the categories where a refund was allowed. You do not just get a refund if you miss a train for any reason with that insurance.

oh, interestingly, I used my Amex card to buy SNCF tickets a few weeks ago and I never notified them in advance, and it went right through. Same for my AAA Visa card. Now Visa is maybe used to me buying foreign things now and again, and charges from foreign countries, but I've never used my Amex card abroad.