Does anyone have any clue which credit cards work to purchase train tickets online? I've tried booking through NSHighspeed (Netherlands), Thalys and TGV-Europe and each has brought up a message saying they can't process orders with cards from outside Europe. Now, I know this can be done from the US since other posters have asked about getting booking codes, etc. So what magic did y'all use to complete your order. I'm using a VISA (and yes, entering all the right numbers). And, yes, I've already figured my way around the TGV-Europe redirect to Rail Europe.
Posted by
Kansas
1175 posts
Make sure you have notified your CC company that you need to make purchases from foreign websites. Otherwise they will usually not let the vendors process your card. Call them and email them too. Then try to purchase tickets again. CC companies, even when notified of your foreign purchases, many times fail to follow through and need to be reminded.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5517 posts
Definitely call your bank. If you call customer service, they should be able to tell you if the charge was rejected by them. A couple of years ago I had an issue with RENFE (Spain's rail site) where my purchase kept failing. I had to sign up for "Verified by Visa" which got me further in the process but still failed. My card's fraud department called about the failed attempt and I told them that I wanted to make the purchase. They changed some setting on my account to allow the charge to go through. I was able to make the purchase after that. I don't know what they did, but since then I have not had any issue with foreign train or flight purchases. I don't know about the other sites, but we bought tickets from TGV-Europe last year without issue.
Posted by
OP
Portland, OR
48 posts
UPDATE: The two responders were right. While trying to book on the NSHispeed site, my card company flagged it as a suspicious purchase and blocked my card for all other purchases. I called them and got it sorted out. They had to set up a one day travel alert to allow me to make the purchase, but all went smoothly after that. Had the website simply said "Your card has been blocked" rather than "we rarely accept non-European cards" I would have figured this out much faster.