I have read online in various places that when using a credit card (MasterCard/Visa) at the automated ticket machines at the train stations to purchase train tickets that it will ask for a PIN#. My card is a United Mileage Plus MasterCard and does not have a PIN#. I called customer service and they told me as much and that it should not be a problem at these machines. They said when it asks for a PIN# to just bypass this by pressing Enter or No. I read about the need for PIN# on the site Man in seat 61. Does anyone have any experiences that they can tell me about regarding PIN# and specifically if anyone has used this exact credit card. And what about American Express. I don't know of any PINS associated with Amex either. We are arriving into Rome and need to take train from Termini Station south towards Naples and don't want any problems at the station. Thanks!
Posted by
Houston
3519 posts
I have exactly the same card.
The PIN for credit cards issued in the US is designed for cash advances, in other words getting cash out of an ATM (at an exorbitant interest rate and high fees -- so don't do that!). But, in Europe, unmanned terminals require a PIN. Every card has a PIN, it just is not active if it has not been provided to you. So get your cash advance PIN for the card, when they lecture you about cash advances just say OK. Then use that PIN when purchasing things like train tickets. You will NOT be charged as a cash advance. Make sure to inform Chase that you will be traveling out of the US or your card may get cut off. If you have online access to your accounts use the travel notification form there as this seems to work more often than calling and talking to someone.
I took several cards from different issuers (Visa MasterCard credit and debit and American Express credit) with me on my last trip to Europe (mainly Italy and some of the UK). Tried all of them at various times and places where I needed to buy things like international airports to small fuel station in the middle of nowhere. Using the cash advance PIN allowed the transactions to work (I was never charged as a cash advance). Just hitting Enter or entering random numbers for the PIN caused the transactions to fail and I saw no "NO" buttons to press just Cancel. I only had one issue where my cards did not work at all and I just moved to the next terminal over and the transaction worked fine.
Of course this is just my experience so I cannot guarantee anything, but hope for the best.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Many ticket machines take cash - there are euro note symbols on the machines that do. The machines give change up to a certain amount (don't buy a €5 ticket with a €100 euro note).
Posted by
Boston
1699 posts
Thanks Mark, that's really useful. Indeed, there's no one rule. I've had some self-service CC machines (in large grocery stores) accept the US card without a PIN up to a certain amount, and beyond a clerk must intervene. In gas stations, the CC never works without a human. Now I'll try a cash advance PIN. What fun!
Posted by
169 posts
Just wondering if there's a reason you are not buying your tickets in advance from home? From the US every credit card works and its an easy process. Alternatively, you can also buy your tickets online in Italy and wouldn't have any issues either. If you are staying at a hotel or anywhere with internet access, you can still log on and buy your tickets and print them out - or just have them emailed to your phone.
We actually did this in Florence, as we decided the night before to go to Pisa. Very easy.
(By the way, same thing in Spain - we have bought online tickets in the US and Spain)
Just curious why you would need to buy your tickets at the station- and likely pay more in doing so.
In any case, while you should be ok using your credit cards, you might want to check with the issuer and find out
if they know of any problems in general about using their cards in Italy with ATM machines or any automated purchases. Also, many credit card companies are now replacing old cards with newer chip technology. You should also make sure your credit card company doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.
. Additionally, if all else fails, just as a back up, have cash ready or your ATM card most stations will have an ATM machine somewhere inside or nearby.
On our trips to Italy, we always use credit cards (just not for buying train tickets - but for everything else we could) and have never had any problems.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
I know you can purchase online before departure for savings but the problem in buying tickets prior is you can only use the ticket for the exact train and time. We are taking high speed train immediately upon our arrival into rome to a town south of Naples. I don't want to take the chance that we miss the train departure due to flight delay which is always possible. The high speed trains require reservation so I decided to just purchase on the spot once in the terminal.
Thanks for your reply.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32209 posts
fespo.
There are staffed ticket windows at the FCO airport rail station, so you don't necessarily have to use a Kiosk. I'm sure they'll be able to process your payment the "old fashioned way" with a signature.
Your plan not to buy a ticket for the Freccia train in advance is the best idea for the reasons you mentioned,. That's usually the recommendation here as a flight delay will mean your tickets are worthless.
You'll likely be using the Leonardo Express from FCO to Roma Termini. DON'T forget to validate the ticket for that train prior to boarding, or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!