Do online-purchased rail tickets need to match a physical credit card?

Posted by keri (Honolulu, HI, USA) on 05/07/10 11:50 AM

I am recalling some posts that discussed problems when a rail ticket (purchased online) did not match their physical credit card at the time of travel. I have been using "ShopSafe" -- a BofA feature that creates a pseudo card to make limited, specific online purchases.

The tickets have been purchased and the charges made to my cc account so the purchase is fine. However, since the ShopSafe details (card, expiry date, code, and limit) are a mask over my real, plastic card, the printed rail ticket details will not match my physical, plastic card.

Will this pose a problem on either SNCF or Renfe? I can take a printout of the 'card' used for the purchase. It looks like a credit card but is, of course, a paper version.

Posted by Tyler

San Francisco, California, USA

05/07/10 12:14 AM

446 posts

I assume you printed out your ticket online?

If you can show your real credit card, plus the printout you describe, to the rail official, if asked, I think that should be fine. They just want to see some proof that you are the person who purchased the ticket.

How fussy they are about checking you out will vary, I am sure. Last May, I purchased an online ticket from Deutsche Bahn (Berlin to Dresden) and printed it out. When I showed the ticket, the conductor asked for my credit card and swiped it in his machine. This seemed to confirm somehow, electronically, that it was the right card. Very efficient, those Germans.

However, in France last December, I purchased online tickets from SNCF (Paris to Amsterdam and Paris Rheims), and I don't recall that they had an electronic gadget to check your credit card. Maybe so, but I didn't see it, and they seemed less precise on the whole. Like, on the Paris-Amsterdam route, as I was walking toward the buffet car to get a sandwich, a conductor asked me to show my ticket. He just glanced at it and didn't even ask for the credit card.

My point is, the level of enforcement will vary, but as long as you have reasonable proof of your identity and the card you used, there should be no problem. They are not out to get tourists on a technicality.

Posted by Frank

Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

05/07/10 02:07 PM

23626 posts

What they are trying to prevent is you making a copy of the ticket and giving it to a friend. That is why they are matching credit card and ticket.

Posted by Jeff

Bend, OR, United States

05/07/10 05:04 PM

1167 posts

If you make SNCF reservations online and plan to pick up the tickets in France you will need the credit card you made the reservation with.

Posted by keri OP

Honolulu, HI, USA

05/08/10 03:00 PM

408 posts

Thanks, All. I followed the steps for SNCF (on TA) and made sure to get a ticket that was printable. And, Steve, you're correct - the BofA site probably did have cautions, which I no longer "see"....

Posted by Lee

Lakewood, Colorado

05/08/10 08:36 PM

19274 posts

When I got my online Dauer-Spezial tickets from German Rail last year, the last four digits of my credit card, as well as my name on the credit card, was printed on the ticket. I had to show the conductor the actual credit card used on the ticket. I can't believe they would accept some unknown print out that could be easily faked rather than an actual card.