Buying Train Tickets

Check out the site The Man In Seat 61. He will have the latest. From my experience, when you are on the Renfre site (Spanish train system) at the first opportunity log in to Register...from then it may be smooth sailing or it may not. The web site can be unfriendly at times. And other times it is a breeze. Also, before logging in notify your credit card company that you are making out of country purchases. If you are over 62 (65?) you can get a substantial discount on the day of travel. You will need your passport to establish your age. The tickets purchased in advance are not refundable for any reason. The tickets are available on line 45 or so days in advance.

Someone in another forum on this site suggested seat 61 and https://loco2.com/. I blew it off thinking that while in Spain I could get by on the Renfe site with my basic knowledge of Spanish. That site is so frustrating, it's nuts. If you discover the same thing, I found that in Spain, ordering the tickets on https://loco2.com/ and having the hotel print them out was the easiest way to go.

I would not know if simple for you, but if you want to save all moneys possible you use the national rail network operator RENFE's website and not an agency.
The most comprehensive guide - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online.html

The RENFE website -which is the operator of the AVE/AVANT trains- is your best option because you're buying straight from the horse's mouth, without intermediaries.

... when it works, of course!
... and if you're able to figure out its sometimes ridiculous logic!

:))))

Yet it continues to be your best bet.

It might be a good idea for you to establish a Paypal account which is one of the 2 methods Renfe allows for payment. The other one is establishing a sort of security verification code with the credit/debit card (don't know all the details on how to do that).

First, thanks to all who have responded. Let me say, however, that I'm not out of the woods. All the sites say it's too early to book for Dec 20, even though I've read elsewhere that there are discounts when you book 62+ days in advance. I guess that only applies to certain points of travel. Railbookers was very helpful until I found out one has to book at least one hotel to buy train tickets. I went to Loco2.com and mistakenly put in travel from Zaragoza to Cordoba for Oct 20 and got trips that were all over 52 hours! When I tried the Renfe site, I got a pop up box in Spanish, even though I was in the English version. Google translate said it meant "no availability" -- gee, that was helpful. I didn't realize booking a few train tickets in Spain would be such an Herculean task!

@kenneth... out of curiosity, which routes and for which dates are you trying to book?

Whatever you have read about advance purchase and an amount of days is a generalisation.
Why are you not heeding advice on dealing solely with RENFE and using the guidance on the subject if you want the large discounts? All other websites are reliant upon RENFE the source material.

I've been struggling with Renfe reservations and tickets, too, and I agree with Enric that dealing directly with Renfe seems the least complex route. I downloaded the app (renfeticket) and it looks really slick -- more like Southwest Airlines' app than the renfe.com website. My question is this: I've loaded my passport number and name, but am having trouble loading my wife's information, which I would think is necessary before buying the tickets.
The app enables electronic receipt of the ticket (thus no printing at all). Has anyone tried this? Any problems I should be aware of?
Thank you

OK, I'll try Renfe directly, even though I've read elsewhere that the site can be nightmarish! To whomever asked, my trip is from Zaragoza to Cordoba to Seville (then by car)... thanks again.

'Herculean task' and 'I've read elsewhere that the site can be nightmarish!' Far too emotive. Stop reading so much!
:-)

REgistering on the Renfe site makes it easier. I had no trouble paying with my US credit card in 2014 after registering it with a secure code (Visa and Mastercard both have this) but Renfe wouldn't accept the card in 2015 and I ended up paying a small commission to use PayPal, of course it was well worth it for the considerable savings. Renfe is erratic with their advance purchase offerings. Sometimes they are available 3-4 months in advance, sometimes only a few weeks.

Note for anyone who is 60 or older. If you buy the tarjeta dorada for about €6, you can then buy tickets with a discount of 25% on Fri-Sun trains and 40% on Mon-Thurs trains, in advance or on the spot, in person or on the Renfe website. You can only buy the card in Spain in person at a Renfe station.

I want to go on record as agreeing with the horrid representations of the Renfe site...

And that's BEFORE you actually try to pay.

Good Luck! (I gave up, I could never get my bank and Renfe on the same page and just paid a little more for peace of mind!)

... that's the problem with many previously state-owned companies... that they've never switched to a commercial mentality, they're still stuck in the time when they were fully subsidized with our taxes. If it was me I'd fire the whole IT and marketing departments!

Update with new information --
I opened an account online with renfe.com and registered two credit cards (AmEx and Visa) for use. I recorded passport info, names, birthdates, cellphone nos., etc to my user account. Then, I downloaded the app "renfeticket" to my iphone. After about 20 failed attempts with a message that one credit card or another was rejected by my bank, I spoke in English to a Renfe customer service agent who told me the problem was with the renfe site's communication with US banks, though US bank cards are welcome. Well, I tried again at the Renfe website, but this time paid with PayPal. I elected to print my tickets at home with a copy of the passes sent to my and my wife's (separate) apps on our separate cellphones. The tickets printed fine. I logged in using the app and this trip appeared under "My Trips". An electronic ticket/boarding pass appeared when I touched the screen for this trip.
Also, tickets were emailed to me about 20 minutes post transaction. The electronic version appeared immediately.
In summary -- big problems with payment using credit cards, but PayPal worked great. The app is more friendly than the website, but the website is essential for loading your personal data. I hope this helps a fellow traveler.

Correction: '...using US credit cards', especially noting that most of them are not yet up to European security standards :))

Now that Paypal is accepted on RENFE, always use it. US credit cards are sometimes accepted and sometimes not (often just 5 minutes apart). And registering with Verified by Visa or notifying your bank doesn't make much difference. It all has to do with RENFE.

The website can be challenging to use, especially because it sometimes flips between English and Spanish, but all the various discounts are listed. There are usually non-refundable fares (the deepest discounts) and changeable fares (discounted but not as steep). Plus full price fares and senior discounts. The discount availability time-in-advance is not very structured but about 60 days is a good rule of thumb to start trying.

Kenneth,

I didn't have any trouble booking our train tickets (for our recent trip to Spain) using the Renfe website & paying with PayPal.

You may find these websites helpful:

• http://www.spain-traveller.com/guide-train-travel-spain/#price
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWNLh4xLcps

When in December will you be traveling?

I just checked the Renfe website & used various dates in December (up to December 31st) & was able to get train schedules for Zaragoza => Córdoba.

Hope this helps ;-)