I have tried multiple times on bahn.com to book a sparpreis ticket for 39 euro from Frankfurt airport train station to Amsterdam Schiphol (Airport). I get all the way through the process, must be about the last page when I get a message that either the expiration date or the 3 digit security entered is not valid. I called my credit card company, who (after a long conversation) assured me they could not see any reason on their end why the charge would not go through. The same thing happened when I tried a second credit card. What am I doing wrong??
Posted by
Washington DC
28100 posts
It may not be anything you are doing. There seem to be quirks affecting use of US credit cards on a number of transportation web sites. If you happen to have a PayPal account, try using that. Or maybe try using your ATM card for a debit transaction?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19275 posts
Just a quick question. Are you using either a credit card with no fee or a cash back credit card? In the past, banks have been offering these perks because they could get a 4% "transfer fee" from the merchant. Now that the EU has put a 3/10% limit on the transfer fee, I've been expecting this to happen.
I don't think the Bahn rejects the card based on the expiration date and security code without submitting the charge to your bank. That error is what your bank is giving the Bahn as the reason they will not accept the charge.
Posted by
OP
Tacoma, WA
2 posts
Success - both credit cards I initially tried using were one's that do not charge foreign transaction fees - if that's what you were referring to Lee. The purchase finally went through when I used my credit union card which does add a small transaction fee. Thank you.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19275 posts
That's to what I was referring. The "Network" (Cirrus, Plus, Visa, M/C, et al) charges your bank ~½% to handle the transaction plus maybe another ½ to change the currency (if your bank can't pay in euro). Your bank can only get 3/10% from the Bahn, so the would lose money on the transaction.
If your credit union charges you 1%, they break even.
Now I wonder. Did your first banks refuse the transaction because they didn't want to lose money (and not tell you the truth), or did they ask the Bahn for more money and the Bahn refused, so the bank declined, or did the Network have something to do with the refusal.