Hello fellow travelers, do you have experience purchasing and using a Dorada Carta for Renfe trains in Spain?
I want to book our AVE tickets from the Renfe website in advance of our trip in April. I am reading that you can only buy the discount card (5 euros?) at a Renfe ticket window in the train stations throughout Spain. Is it possible to obtain both the discount card and get reserved seats in advance from the website here in the US?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
My understanding is no. You have to have the card prior to purchase. We always buy the card at the first ticket booth - usually the airport. As I vaguely remember you have to show your passport to prove you age for the card. Then use the card to buy the tickets. Since you are getting the discounted price with the card, no advantage to buying early.
Posted by
OP
Madison,WI Eugene, OR
18 posts
Many thanks for your timely responses. It all sounds straight forward and simple.
Posted by
Washington DC
28102 posts
In 2019 I bought my senior card at the train station in the Madrid-Barajas Airport. It was very quick.
Do not put yourself in the position of needing to buy long-distance train tickets from a staffed counter at Madrid's Atocha Station. The lines are hours long; I am not exaggerating.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15791 posts
Hmmm, the Renfe site isn't as friendly as it used to be. If you chose the Tarjeta Dorada option, it would give you all the available prices so you could compare the early-purchase discounted price to the TD price. Now it seems that you only see the cheapest price without knowing which discount is applied. I guess you'd have to have 2 tabs open, one "regular" passenger and one "promotional card" and compare them.
On my last visit, some 5-6 years ago, I found that some tickets were cheaper to purchase in advance, but for others the TD price and the advanced sale price were much the same, so the only reason to buy months in advance would be if there was a chance the seats would sell out.