Buying train tickets in Italy with self service machines at train stations

I bought some train tickets in Italy last summer from the vending machines, using my US chip-and-signature card. Other times I ran into difficulties because my Carta d'Argento (senior card) number wasn't recognized. I can't remember whether the machines also take currency; they do in Spain, but just up to 20-euro notes.

In the past, others have reported having luck using vending machines (not necessarily TrenItalia machines) by just pressing "ENTER" or "CONTINUE" at the PIN-entry screen or by entering any 4-digit number. I've never tried either technique myself.

Some machines do take cash, but that is hit or miss. I buy them, but have a chip card with a PIN. You may want to call your bank and see if you can get a PIN for it.
If you buy on-line, you just print out the hard copy and show it to the conductor. It is not a "voucher" but a valid ticket.
Of course, don't buy tickets for travel from outside Italy to Italy, as international tickets do have to be retrieved from a machine at an Italian train station, hard to do if you are in Austria.

I feed them with cash: bank notes and/or coins. Never had a problem.
If you buy your tickets in advance on the Trenitalia website, you get an email with a pdf for printing. That's the ticket to show the conductor.

I would check online and see if this region of Italy has an app where you can purchase tickets online. I just returned from Berlin and downloaded theirs before I left. It worked well, saved me some very long ticket lines and allowed me to search schedules.

There are ticket machines that take cash, they have a graphic of euro notes and coins on them, in addition to credit/bank card graphics. They will give change up to €20, €50 or more, but use the smallest notes to make sure the machine has enough change stocked. Use English as the default language and read the instructions. It's simple after you've done it once.

Some stations are unstaffed, so you must use a machine.

Credit card issuers will usually give you a PIN if you ask, some will only mail it to your home address.

Thanks for the information. I just called my credit card, a Chase Sapphire and they said they don't have PINS.
What kind of credit card to you have that has a PIN? Maybe I should get one!!

I use this one. They've been doing it for longer than anyone else in the US.
https://www.andrewsfcu.org/

Yes, your credit card has a PIN. Every credit card has one even if it has not been provided to you.

In the US, a PIN is used for cash advances. Call your bank again and ask for the cash advance PIN. All of my Chase cards have one.

When a ticket machine or other unmanned terminal asks for a PIN, used the cash advance PIN. I did that recently when in Italy. None of the transactions were charged to me as a cash advance and all of them worked (note that I did NOT get cash from an ATM which would have been charged as a cash advance). I had difficulty using my US issued cards in train ticket machines that took both credit and cash, don't know why, but the transactions eventually did work. I had better luck with the credit only ticket machines.

If you can't get PINs for your credit cards, the only other option is to go to a manned ticket window and pay there. Not every station in Italy has a manned ticket window.

I used my Chase Marriott Rewards Visa (when I was in Italy in 2014) to buy train tickets from the automated machines & was not asked to enter a PIN.
I also called my bank requesting a PIN & was told that I didn't need it because I would only need it if I needed to get a cash advance at an ATM.

Most of the time I paid with cash, but I did use my visa card for some of my more expensive tickets.

EDIT to add... I used to use my Chase visa on all of my trips because they don't charge international exchange fees, however, I now use my Citibank Visa because they also don't charge fees & I get miles! ;-)

I used a credit card, no Chip, at the terminals and had no problem. There are some stations that are manned so you can also buy tickets from them, just remember you have to validate the tickets purchased. Tickets I purchased at home I printed and they did not require validation, just get on the train and showed them if asked.

Regarding Letizia's comment:

There are some stations that are manned so you can also buy tickets from them, just remember you have to validate the tickets purchased.

You only need to validate 'Regionale' train tickets, not Freccia or Intercity train tickets which are for a specific train, date & time.

janets,

One point about ticket kiosks. I've found that the kiosks adjacent to ticket offices will usually accept both cash and credit cards. In smaller unattended stations, they will only accept cards (for obvious reasons).

I frequently buy tickets from kiosks, but unfortunately don't know whether your cards will work as I use C&P cards. My observations from last year were that American travellers were able to use the old fashioned magnetic strip cards in the machines, but that may have changed since then. The inexorable march towards C&P technology is continuing and in some places those are the only cards that are accepted.

When you buy tickets, it's important to note which type of train you'll be using. If you'll be riding a Regionale train, the machine will normally issue a ticket on card stock (about 4" x 6"). You MUST validate those before boarding the train on the day of travel, or risk hefty fines. If you'll be riding one of the fast trains, the machine issues the same type of ticket but it doesn't have to be validated. However tickets for the fast trains (ie: Freccia) are specific to train, date and departure time, so can ONLY be used on the one train listed on the ticket. If you board any other train by mistake, again hefty fines!

You can buy tickets on-line ahead of time - a few months ago would have saved you money on the Super Economy tickets.

If you buy them ahead of time, you select the exact time and can pick the specific seat. You print them at home and don't need to validate them because the ticket print out is for a specific time, similar to an airline ticket.

You don't need to exchange print-at-home tickets at the train station. The conductor will just read the PNR code from your paper.

Keep in mind you can still use a debit card (what are you doing for cash otherwise?). Two trips ago we opened a Capital One 360 checking account, and only keep in there a reasonable amount for the trip (a couple thousand). They have chip and of course pin because it's a debit card. They have no transaction fees and they carry the Mastercard logo, so you are good to go. I still use the regular chip and signature visa credit card whenever possible because it's safer, I earn points and my card does not charge foreign transaction fees. It is safer to have at least two credit cards anyway, in case you get declined etc or one is stolen.

Go to captain train for the easiest, no fee, train reservations. You can buy your whole route in advance (sometimes having to exchange for actual ticket at train station). I even put their app on my phone, and all four of our upcoming train trips are in one place.

Hope this helps!

In smaller unattended stations, they will only accept cards

Instructions for the semi-modern kiosks are at http://europeforvisitors.com/rome/transportation/trenitalia-ticket-machines-1.htm As Step 13 shows, they accept cash

The most modern looking ones we saw in Italy look like the ones on this page: http://www.visit-rimini.com/practical-rimini/using-the-italian-train-system/ Found in larger stations, some only accept cards, but there will be some that also accept cash

Some of the older and harder-to-use ones (because all the instructions are in Italian, at least the ones we've used) are found only in small stations. We found one like this in Cortona. As the instructions show, they take only cash. See http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/mobile/articles/trenitalia-regional-ticket-machines.htm

Does anyone have any experience buying a ticket in the machines? Can you do it without a PIN?

Nobody can give a blanket answer. Lets assume you at least have a chip in the card so that all the European machines can read it. At this point a dance begins. Machines can be programmed to require a PIN for every transaction, or to allow those below a certain amount to go thru. Your card can be programmed by the bank to allow transactions below a certain amount to go thru. Your card and the machine negotiate, and if they both agree to the charge it goes thru. That's why someone else's experience is no guide to you. Maybe their bank allows larger charges than yours, or the ticket they were buying was less expensive than yours.

I use cash at the machines. Look at the top of the machine for the symbols. If I remember correctly, there's a € on the ones that take cash. I've been stuck for long periods in a short line, because someone either couldn't figure out the machine and kept trying or because they were checking schedules and availability.

To get a PIN number, all you need to do is call your credit card company. It's easy to use the Italian self service machines in train stations because you can choose English for the transaction.

I am in Italy NOW. We buy all our train tickets in the station with the machines, because there is usually a long line to talk to an agent. Most of our credit cards do NOT work in the machines. Yes they have chips and yes they have PIN's for cash advance, but that doesn't mean they are set up as "chip and PIN" and will work in the machines. We got a Barclay Arrival Plus Mastercard before we came because it is one of the few US cards that are real chip and PIN. It works fine in all the machines.

Note, we have been buying business class and 1st class tickets (depends on the train) because my husband wanted to, but there is almost no difference. I would just get regular tickets.

BTW, you don't actually need a printed ticket you just need the confirmation code which is on the ticket.