I am confused about senior discounts for rail. On the Rail Europe site, it offers senior tickets which don't seem to require the Tarjeta Dorada. Will I need it when I board?
Also, Tarjeta Dorada has great discounts, but since I would need to be in Spain to get the pass then it seems I would only be able to get last minute tickets. Wouldn't I be better off paying in full for advance tickets which I assume are cheaper?
Thank you for any advice you can give me.
While getting 30% off “regular fares” with the Tarjeta Dorada card may sound like a bargain— even better bargains ( 70%to 80% discounts) can be found by simply buying 🚂 train tickets on high-speed trains in Spain as soon as they go on sale.
And you are correct— some train ticket resellers such as The Trainline and, apparently, Rail Europe will give you the senior discount without any need to ever buy or show the Tarjeta Dorada card. You might check prices at www.TheTrainline.com and—if you are patient—www.Renfe.com— as RailEurope does not always show all train tickets that are available and also is noted for higher markups on some tickets.
I bought tickets last fall on several high-speed trains in Spain through The Trainline. and received the senior discount just by indicating my age when buying the ticket. No one ever asked for a Tarjeta Dorada card either on the Trainline website or by conductors checking tickets on the trains. However, if you try to buy tix on the Renfe website, you will be asked for your Tarjeta Dorada Card number before Renfe will process the discount.
One of those tickets I bought last year on a high-speed train from Barcelona to Madrid cost just $20 on The Trainline. I bought it 5 months in advance. For its part, Renfe never offered a deal that good which is the opposite of how things would seem to be— “ buy at the source to get the best price.”
Unfortunately, this is not how it actually works when it comes to Spanish train tickets.
And be sure to check with a site like The Trainline or similar starting 90 days or more in advance of the train’s departure date because Renfe is notorious for withholding tickets for sale on its website while the ticket resellers Renfe contracts with has them for sale at the deeply-discounted price. If you wait until Renfe puts them up for sale on its website— the bargain tickets may already be sold out!
Thank you so much for the detailed information. I really appreciate your having taken the time to write. Your advice is extremely useful.
