Renfe Travel

The Renfe website/App often is unable to process credit cards issued by American banks. I’ve experienced it after spending an inordinate amount of time entering all my personal data that Renfe requests only to have my credit cards ( plural) all rejected with verbiage similar to what you’ve described.
You can waste more time with Renfe, or you can buy your train tix at www.TheTrainline.com which is a widely-recommended website that is contracted to sell Renfe’s tickets. It’s user-friendly, easy to figure out and in lickety-split time you’ll have your tickets’ QR codes in your e-Mail in-box.
Have fun in Spain!

You can also pay on the RENFE website by using PayPal.

So you know, more often than not, the problem lies in the fact several American-issued cards (depending on the issuing bank) are NOT following internationally recognised standards. This causes them to be rejected by some systems. A similar case happens sometimes when some travellers with certain American-issued cards attempt to book Sagrada Família and other sites.

This is a well-known issue that pops up now and then in several forums (ie Paris, Berlin...) where sometimes American inbound travellers complain about their cards not working here or there while in Europe. The European banking system has traditionally been leading in setting up standards for international banking transactions around the world but not all American banks have been following suit (or rather, they end up adopting them but later, i.e. pin-and-chip cards).

Since this is a one-sided issue, nothing will improve until those banks fully adhere to all the standard protocols. The reasons might vary from bank to bank, in some instances is simply a security feature that your bank needs to switch on (ie lifting a restriction, or activating the P&C on the card), but in some others, it's that their banking procedures do not meet a certain protocol, in which case, the issued cards will simply be rejected by those systems that do meet that protocol.

In any case, though, it's good to attempt to pre-book later, cause technical issues can indeed also be a temporary cause for your purchase not being processed. Using a different website can be helpful, noting different merchants might be operating with different banks and not all banks have adhered to the same protocols. Also, using alternative payment methods -when available- (ie. Paypal) can be a solution for you.

I second the trainline recommendation. Renfe was by far the most frustrating transport website/app I've (tried to) use. Download the trainline app, create an account, and buy your Spain train tickets there. I'm usually someone who always buys direct from the train company, but Renfe was the exception.

I second Mary on that one... beyond the existence of the issues mentioned in my previous post with certain American banks, RENFE website usability is crap. Even locals we get frustrated when having to operate this website!

Enric, you just reminded me of a satire that was posted here once about Renfe. I think I bookmarked it..... yep, here it is. :-D

https://www.elmundotoday.com/2017/10/renfe-admite-que-no-ha-vendido-nunca-un-billete-a-traves-de-su-pagina-web/

LOL!....

Note to everybody else: DO use google translate to read that article, LOL!!!

Btw, never used myself with RENFE, but since last year they do accept Google Pay and Apple Pay, as well as Paypal, if it's of any help to you: https://www.renfe.com/es/en/travel/informacion-util/-where-to-buy-/nuevos-metodos-pago

Thank you all soooooo much for all your comments.

I have used Renfe in the past, love the train - so much better than the states. For this trip, I am melding a Camino Ways hike with the Basque tour. The learning lesson for me is the difficulty and distance of traveling from Santiago to Bayonne with some days for touring in between.
For this trip I have other Renfe reservations and have not had any difficulty. in booking using a credit card. So frustrated, I did use Rail Europe to book the Renfe tickets - went right through for a few Euros more!
Again, thank you so much for all your suggestions!