Tarjeta Dorada Card

I believe it's not. You can easily purchase it at the manned booths at the stations though. You need to show your ID proving you're over 60. It cost 6 euros and needs to be renewed annually. For info, it's not actually "a card" as in a plastic ccard type, it's a piece of paperboard.

Thank you for your quick response!

Kathryn,

If this card can save 25-40% on train tickets, it seems like a great
deal.

You may save more than 25-40% if you purchase your train tickets in advance (up to 60 days).

You can read more about the Tarjeta Dorada here: http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/tarifas/tarjeta_dorada.html

Actually, you save by using the card, no need to pre-book. Say you decide out of the blue to have lunch in another city, just get to the station, choose your ticket and insert your Tarjeta Dorada code and the price is automatically adjusted :)))

Must appear in person with proper ID...passport...fill out the form, sign it, pay the euros (5 or so I believe) and then purchase the ticket. There will be an information booth, not the ticket booth, where you purchase the card. Simple and easy, and it does save money..... on the day of the purchase, not weeks or months in advance ... a good deal...and available to US citizens as well as Spanish and others.

I too am looking at this for my trip in March. Since I don't have a Tarjeta Dorada. can I book a Renfe train now for a cheaper TD fare, then show up at the train station when I get there, show ID, and legitimately use the TD fare?
Or, is the TD fare the same no matter when you buy the train ticket -- in other words, is there any reason to book far in advance if planning to get a TD card when I get to Spain?

Great topic, I also have questions about the Tarjeta Dorata. Kathryn, hope you don't mind my piggy backing on your question. I understand that I cannot buy the TD until I arrive in Barcelona in April. I will have limited need fir train tickets at first, maybe just round trips to Girona/Figueres and to Tarragona, some on AVE. Is there any likelihood that if I wait to buy those tickets, with the TD, on the day of travel, or the day before, that those trains might be totally sold out, and I could not travel on that train? I would likely start out In the morning, commuter hours, I suppose.

Theresa - In order to purchase a ticket with the Tarjeta Dorada discount, you must enter your card number. So, no, you cannot purchase a ticket with that discount until you are in possession of the card - which can only be bought in person in Spain.

Larry - I'm in the position. I'm buying tickets now (for March) at the better promo discounts. For the rest, I will check closer to the date. If I see that some trains are selling out, I may forgo the TD discount to make sure I have a seat. I'll watch trains on the day I plan to travel and the day or two before and after. Since my last night is in Cordoba and I'm flying out of Madrid, I plan to buy that ticket soon too.

I'm also wondering if the afternoon/evening trains from Tarragona and Figueres to Barcelona sell out. Harder to know when I'll want to return.

Well, for what it's worth, here's what I've noticed. If you look on Renfe for trains, say Madrid to Barcelona, you will see a variety of different fares for different times - and it varies by day.
If you go back to the search page and set the Tarjeta Dorada indicator, the results page will show some fares as "Tarjeta Dorada" and they are lower, but not all. The cheapest fares on the non-TD search don't change when you look at them again with the TD indicator set, but continue to show up as ""Turista." Seems like there is some kind of minimum below which Renfe will not apply the TD discount. And that minimum varies by date for the same train route (try a Sunday, and a Wednesday).
So that tells me that if I see a fare that doesn't change when I set the TD indicator, I may as well buy it in advance and not worry about using the card, because it won't do me any good. Hope this makes sense and helps.

Theresa,
I understand what you're saying above.
When I was planning our trip to Spain last summer (trip was in October 2015), I searched the Renfe website & realized that the
discount one gets with the, 'Tarjeta Dorada',(TD) is based on the full price of the ticket.

The reason the price changes from Wednesday to Sunday is because the 'TD' offers 25% discount on Fridays, Saturdays,
& Sundays and 40% discount on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays... makes sense?

The bottom line... I ended up buying our AVE tickets in advance at a much greater discount than if I'd waited till I arrived in Spain.

I did however purchased the card for my mom & received her discount on the ticket we purchased on day of arrival.

The 'TD' also gives you a discount on any 'Cercanias' (commuter) trains.

Have a wonderful trip!

Chani, both cases, the answer is probably not. It's very unlikely you'd be stuck in either city. Worst case scenario, if the fast trains were to be "fully booked" you can take a regular commuter train, which will be slower, but will take you back to Barcelona. Anyhow, I have never seen all fast trains in those lines on any given day filled to the rim. If anything I'd be more worried about a break-down or a strike that not finding a ticket back.

Enric, gracias. That's what I was hoping to hear.

Theresa, you have to understand the pricing of the tickets. There are different fare types. Turista is simply regular 2nd class fare. You can get a TD discount on them. There are also promo and promo+ fares - those are discounted 2nd class tickets at various prices, in limited amounts, offered first-come, first served. These discounts are usually greater than the TD discounts. If you set the site to TD, it is possible that these discounted tickets won't show up, because they aren't eligible for the TD discount (no double-dipping, so to speak). Read this article which explains the different fares and classes. Also note that Renfe is somewhat erratic. While tickets usually go on sale 62 days in advance, sometimes it's more, some times less, sometimes for different trains on the same day. Sometimes trains are offered for sale and only days or weeks later do promo fares show up.

I'd like to add to Chani's comments that, even without any discount at all, train fares in Spain are far cheaper than in many other countries (ie UK, France or Belgium) so I wouldn't be too worried if I can't get the TD online or if I didn't buy 62 days in advance... just sayin' :))

HI -- I thanked you Chani for the clarification - then I went back and looked and re-edited this. It doesn't seem to work the way you said. Try Madrid to Barcelona Feb 13 all day. Without Tarjeta Dorada, there are a lot of "Promo" tickets. With Tarjeta Dorada, lots of those Promo go down, but ONLY the ones that were over 80E to start with, and they only go down to 80E. To me that says that on any given day, Tarjeta Dorada will lower the price of Promo tickets but there is a limit to it. And it seems to work that way no matter what day you look at. Am I missing something?

Theresa: it might well be so, I've certainly never checked so closely as I am still far from being able to get a Targeta Daurada / Tarjeta Dorada. In any case it makes perfect sense and the reason is very simple: in this country there are special benefits for OAPs/elderly/pensioners (whatever name you use in your neck of the woods) not only in trains but also in many city transports such bus/metro (ie. single ticket in Barcelona: 2:15€, with the T-10 travelcard: 0.95€/journey and for OAPs there's a special T-4 travelcard: either 0.40€/journey(*) or free, depending on the OAPs income), discounts or free entrance in all public museums and exhibitions, heavy discounts as well -or even free- for medicines prescribed through the Social Security (public health services are free for all nationals and non-nationals alike residing in the country), etc.

From 1939 to 1977 Spain suffered a dictatorship during which there was no Social Security as such to contribute to, therefore all those that lived their working days during that dark period, especially the earlier days, are in now in disadvantage when it comes to a decent pension to live on... hence the compensation with the above and other.

So in short, it's unlikely you'll find many promos that go much lower than using a TD... but again, that's not 100% of the time, you might find every now and then some crazy promos that are lower.

(*) Only available to elderly residents of the city, sorry ;))

Kathryn,
Are you still there? Perhaps you've already taken your trip & here we are hijacking your post ;-)

Theresa,

I agree with Enric, the train fares are less expensive than those found in other countries, so if you find a discounted ticket that
serves your travel needs, by all means take it ;-)

My mom & I were fortunate to get a, 'Preferente' ticket ( Sevilla>> Madrid) at a good discount (purchased in advance, without the Tarjeta Dorada) & we enjoyed waiting in the peaceful lounge at the train station which is fully stocked with hot coffee, water, juice & snacks!

Enjoy your trip!

The flex fare for that route is €106.70. On weekends, the TD discount is 25%, so a full flex fare with TD is €80. That is what you are seeing. If you look at other dates, say Feb 12 or 14, there are promo fares for under €60. It would appear that on Saturdays, the lower promo fares aren't offered (I spot-checked dates in March). If you click on the little box with the plus sign for any train, it will display various options, including the classes available and the prices available for each class.

Frankly, I've never looked at a TD discount on promo fares, because I doubt that by the time I have the TD in hand there will be any promo fares left. But because you mention it, I did look. I compare the promo fare I can get today with the TD price I would pay in Spain. Then I decide, based on savings, but also taking into account whether that train might be sold out in advance and whether I want to be flexible with the time.

Hello,

I have used the Tarjeta Dorada several times. It is true that you cannot purchase this card online, or outside Spain, for that matter. Last Fall I bought mine at the train station of terminal 4 in Madrid's Barajas airport. I have also purchased them at the travel counter of the El Cortes Ingles in Madrid. Using one is a great deal and adds a lot of flexibility to your travel. On my last trip I would use my card to purchase a ticket for my next leg of the trip when i arrived in a city.

Jack