Credit Cards for Train Tickets

You can always go to the Ticket counter and purchase them without a chip & pin card. Or there's the option to purchase tickets on-line ahead of time if your schedule is solid. On-line tickets will have a seat reservation included, so you must use them for that specific time, but there's a set quantity of discount tickets if you purchase early.

Italy is slowly converting the stand along ticket machine to chip and pin credit cards. In large stations like Termini you can still find machines that accept mag strip cards. However, the attendant at the ticket window should be able to run your mag strip card. There is always the cash option. We tend to just use cash obtain via a debit card at a bank owned ATM just about everywhere in Italy.

I just came back from a 30 day trip to Italy. I had purchased all my high speed train trip tickets in advance (much cheaper that way). For the Regionale train tickets I needed a pin and chip card to use the machines (kiosks) at the train stations. This was true at 5 different stations. I could have used the typical American magnetic stripe card at the windows however there always was a long line there. This was pretty much true for any unmanned situation. Even to get a bottle of coke from a soda machine required a pin and chip card. Yes, I do have one.

The trenitalia website takes American credit cards without issue. Just book the trains you want to take.

Donna

Some ticket machines take cash and will make change (up to 15 euro). If you are in an unstaffed station with no automated ticket machine, the bar or tabacchi nearest to the station will usually sell tickets with credit cards or cash. I use the cash ticket machines a lot. Be aware that in large stations, people will loiter around the machines and offer to help you: just say no and don't be distracted. You can choose English with the "change language" button.

When buying a ticket from a Trenitalia machine at Bologna last fall, I had to try both my credit card and my debit card, and perhaps it was the debit that worked in the end, since I knew the PIN. But tickets windows and/or cash should be no problem. You will need to use cash a lot more than at home, for a variety of reasons.

In our 30 day trip to Italy I used my credit card just like I do at home, except I raised the point I used it from $10 to 20 Euro, and I had absolutely no problems. The only places I used cash instead of a credit card were a couple of hotels where they gave a discount for cash and I knew this in advance (it was part of our reservation).

I needed my new chip and pin card at many of the ticket machines - I don't know what would have happened had I put in a chip and sig, but you did have to enter the pin obviously with the chip and pin. There was almost always a ticket booth too - but not always, so I was happy to have the chip and pin. I also always had cash... some machines wouldn't work with card, some not with cash... very random, so I say it's best to be prepared with many payments options.

Also often the lines to see the actual person to buy tickets at the station were super long!

Kim

I got back from Italy a week ago, and I was able to use a US debit card in the Trenitalia machines in Venice, Padua, and Verona (but not either of my two US credit cards or my credit union debit card). All were magnetic stripe cards, and I used them all during the trip, so I don't know what allowed one to work in the machines and not the others. As others said, you can always use cash in the machines, wait at the window (lines were long everywhere I went except for Ravenna, where I used cash at the window), or hit a travel agent (as I did in Varenna - and used a credit card). Hope your trip goes well!

I used chip and pin (from USAA Bank) at Venice and Florence and it worked perfectly, however encountered some fellow tourists who had to wait in lines at the windows because they had standard American credit cards. If you are in doubt, have cash ready.

Cynthia