Getting train tickets from Madrid to Santiago De Compestella

Have you checked with the card issuers to see if the charges were presented and denied by the card issuer. That is the most common problem. You may have to pre-authorize the charge. The AE is least likely to be accept so focus on the VISA cards. IF the charge was not presented, then the problem is on the other end. Call the ticket office. I am sure you can get the number from the web site. I have not heard that Spanish rail is reject Am credit cards. That is common with the Italians.

Many of us have trouble with the RENFE website. Read the instructions on the Tripadvisor Madrid forum. The 2 most important things are to call you bank in advance, and register your card with Verified by VISA. AMEX will never work. Even after doing these things, my card has been rejected numerous times. I even called my bank and stayed on the line with the security person while I attemptd the purchase again. He said that Renfe presented the charge, and then withdrew it. The probelm was not my bank rrejecting it. Advice form the experts on TripAdvisor is to just keep trying and eventually it will work. I was impatient and went ahead and booked the tickets on Rumbo.es, a travel agent in Spain. They pass on the Web and Estrella fare discounts available on RENFE. Whatever you see on RENFE (but cannot buy) is available from Rumbo.es. There is a handling charge of several euros per ticket.

Another option is to call Petrabax, another authorized agent for RENFE. They have an office in the US. 818 884 1984 I talked to Joao at extenion 216 and he was very helpful. I just preferred to book online myself rather than over the phone.

One thing to consider is your time frame. They will not book anything beyond a 60 day travel date, including the return trip if needed. Another thing you need to do is allow your browser to accept pop-ups. RENFE hands you off to another site for the credit card transaction and that site - can't remember it's name - uses a pop-up for the Visa or MasterCard verification.

If they are showing prices, it is a bookable date. Right now they are booking through May 1; in an hour or so they will start on May 2, assuming the website doesn't become inoperable, as it sometimes does around midnight Spain time.