Tarjeta Dorada/Barcelona

Not sure if you can purchase the Tarjeta Dorada at the tourist information office, but you can certainly purchase them at the train station. Yes, each person needs their own card (€6/ person).
You’ll need to show your passport as proof of age.

FYI: You may still find some discounted train tickets (booked in advance online) that are less expensive than those you’ll buy with the Tarjeta Dorada.

Enjoy your trip!

I'd be very surprised if the Tarjeta Dorada (senior rail card) can be bought anywhere other than at a train station. You will each need your own card.

The Tarjeta Dorada is a bargain with a major disadvantage: You cannot obtain the TD discount at the ticket-vending machines; you must go to a staffed counter. [That is incorrect; see Bill Sinclair's step-by-step instructions later in this thread.] I don't believe I've ever bought a ticket at a counter in one of the Barcelona rail stations. I imagine they are more efficient than Madrid's Atocha Station, but I must warn you that I stood in line for 3 hours at Atocha back in early April, and the waits there were very long back in 2016 as well. It's a grotesque situation, and one wonders whether Renfe's grossly-inadequate staffing at Atocha is a passive-aggresive way of discouraging use of the Tarjeta Dorada.

Check to see whether low-priced promo tickets are available for your rail journeys if your schedule is totally solid. That way you can buy your tickets (at least for trips originating at large, busy stations) before leaving home and not worry about ticket lines. The promo-priced tickets will be non-refundable and non-changeable.

Thanks for the info.

The TD card is sold at Renfe agencies as well as its stations. Whether that tourism information office is an agency, I don't know. You could always go in and ask. But it might just be more straightforward to go to a railway station.

As others have noted, the Gold Card might not be worth it if you're planning only a few longer distance trains if you intend book in advance and get the cheaper Promo fares. But it does give a discount on local commuter lines too. I think the card costs only a few €, so perhaps worth getting just in case?

If you've not read it already, I strongly recommend looking over this guide:

https://www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm

Wow. Thanks, Bill. I tried the transaction at least twice and missed it. Maybe I was expecting to see "Tarjeta Dorada" on the English screen and thus overlooked the translated form. But I did ask at least one Renfe employee--perhaps at an information counter--and was told the machines didn't do Tarjeta Dorada transactions. I'm glad to know there is a solution, because the ticket-window situation at Atocha is dreadful.

Again, more great information. Thanks.