Spanish websites for tickets (La Pedrera for ex) keep rejecting my transaction

I'm not sure this will help, but I know it has for other wacky problems doing transactions on Spanish websites: Try changing your computer's setting to Central European Time.

Well, I’m not sure which sites you are doing, but they all basically have their own site, so maybe try there.

Here’s La Pedrera: https://www.lapedrera.com/en

Sagrada Familia: https://sagradafamilia.org/en/tickets

Casa Batllo: https://www.casabatllo.es/en/online-tickets/

Park Guell: https://parkguell.barcelona/en/buy-tickets?q=en/buy-tickets

Tried changing time. Nothing. :(
Yes, the websites are the same ones I am using. Thanks, anyway.

Have you tried another card? I had problems with buying entrance for Sevilla cathedral with my Capital One card, which wasn't a problem for other places. I ended up using my Chase card and it went right through.

The last time I bought tickets from an overseas site, the CC company sent an authentication code I needed to enter before the transaction would go through. Somehow I don’t think you’re even getting to that point in the transaction.

Sometimes I have issues with US clients paying with their credit cards, so I asked about this issue to the company I use for secure encrypted payments. They told me that In Europe all credit cards require a double authentication procedure to avoid forgery and double the security, so US users should ask their banks to authorise the transaction. Or to use another card with this double authentication, if ipossible. It seems that this process of adapting credit cards to this new system is going slow in the US and so some cards are rejected for European transactions. We do not sign receipts any more, it´s a code that you tape on the machine or a code you get on your mobile.

That was helpful. We also are having problems with Seville Cathedral tickets and Capital One Card. No problems anywhere else. Called Capital One and PNC-BBVA They have no clues. Rick Steves Staff was not helpful at all. And we are going on there tour!

This morning I bought La Paderea tickets without any issues.

Maybe "3-D Secure" rearing its head.

"3-D Secure" is an obscure (but real, and real annoying) security protocol used by some European payment processors. Many US-based credit cards are incompatible with it. Your payment simply "fails" and in fact the payment request never even reaches your bank (so they are not declining it). The attempt to charge your card just sort of falls on the floor and vanishes.

Here an old thread on 3-D Secure, but you might find some useful insights there: 3-D Secure credit card payments - wha???

Good luck.

We had trouble with various sights. On Renfe we ended up using PayPal. For a private transfer we had to use our virtual cc through capital one. For one walking tour we ended up doing a wire transfer. It is not the bank, it is the websites set up in Spain. I still have a few shows to book, will do those tonight. We’ll see where the CC wheel stops.

@Barbara, it's unlikely to be the websites in most cases.

As an example: 4.7 million tourists visit every year Sagrada Familia... over 80% of the tickets for it are sold online. These tourists come from over 167 countries and use their ccards to pre-book their tickets. The same goes for other major attractions (ie La Pedrera and Casa Batlló with around 1 million visits each every year, FCB's Museum or l'Aquarium with 1,6 million... ).

While this is not to say there couldn't be specific temporary problems from time to time -as all websites suffer-, one can safely say that if one can't use one's ccard on different sites (using different online ticket platforms), the problem lies somewhere else, whether the bank, the ccard company or limitations set by any of the actors (bank, ccard company or merchant) for whatever specific reason.

Albeit by 2019 the US banking system was supposed to have upgraded its ccards to the security standards used elsewhere across Europe and beyond (3D and the lot), still it's not sailing smoothly in some cases. There are still reports of cases of ccards issued by certain institutions in the US that are not "trouble-free" when used outside the US. Sometimes because of overzealous anti-fraud measures determined by these institutions themselves, hence the reason it's strongly advised (in general to anyone travelling abroad, but most particularly to US -issued ccard bearers) to check with the institutions/banks.

If it was a major issue with US-issued ccards, and noting that 1.1 million US nationals visited Barcelona (2021), there would have been front-page news... and it has not, that's why I'm inclined to think the "issue" must be in a different part of the chain.

Again, this is not to excuse the odd glitch in these (and other) online ticket platforms, which do happen. But when it does, these are solved very quickly to resume selling asap.

Sorry Enric, but when our orders didn’t go through, such as Renfe, we called our bank and they told us the card was valid and it should not be a problem to use it. But it was. I am saying that not every website will be a problem but some are. sometimes we have trouble with US ones too, it’s just happens. It’s nothing personal against Spain.

I am also having this same problem. I purchased tickets weeks ago for a few things, and all was well.

Today, I have had issues with multiple sites. :-(

@Barbara ah, no, no, I am not defending this or that, I'm just reasoning -from a business perspective- why the problem must be elsewhere in the chain :) No company, much when we're talking staggering number of customers like the ones mentioned, wants to lose business so if there was a serious issue steps would have been taken.

As I mentioned earlier, I was also having problems with payments going through. Like others on this thread, the card being rejected is Capital One. I called Capital One and filed a complaint with the hope that this gets addressed...I'm missing my Venture points :-(

My Chase credit card worked on every site that rejected my Capital One card.

I also struggled to get our Capitol One card to work to buy tickets for La Sagrada Familia, but was able to use my Chase card. I also had trouble signing up for an account with ALSA to buy bus tickets. It kept telling me there was a problem with my mobile card number but when I agreed to let them send me promotional emails, it suddenly worked. I am very glad we have two types of cards, but it is frustrating to have trouble with the Capitol One card since that is the card with no foreign transaction fees.

We had the 3 D secure problem too when trying to buy train tickets in Paris. Paypal worked!