How to buy Thayls tickets from the U.S. (Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam).

Just tried to purchase the tickets through TVG Europe and they do not allow e-tickets. The country I choose, whether UK, France, Belgium, etc., becomes locked in as its destination for delivery. The only other option is to pay for the tickets and pick them up from a ticket machine. However, there's a chance that my CC will not work since it lacks the "chip" that European cards have. So the machine will more than likely not read my card and I'll be unable to obtain the tickets. Any other ideas? Purchasing directly through Thalys website allows for e-ticketing. I may just try a card from a different bank and see it works. If not, I can always purchase the tickets as soon as I get to Paris (about 4 days before I'll head to Brussels/Amsterdam). Thanks for your help!

In the case of Thalys, as a last resort buy your Thalys ticket with RailEurope, their "official" agent for sales in US (whit "convenience fees", of course, but still cheaper then your likely fare 4 days before departure.

I actually booked mine on tgv-europe.com. Once there, click on "Great Britain", then choose the 2nd option (to continue your booking in Euro)! If you don't, you'll be redirected to Rail Europe, and you don't want that (less train choices, more money). I believe the best price is something like 39 Euro; full fare is 130 Euro, so purchase ASAP. Of course, those are 2nd class, NON-REFUNDABLE tickets. You may still have trouble with your credit cards; some banks are more tightly-wound than others. YOU MUST BRING THIS CARD WITH YOU to Europe, esp. if you choose the option to collect the tickets there!!! MUST! The last time I bought tickets from them online my bank called me 3 days later with a fraud alert; if this happens to you be sure to immediately return their call; otherwise, they'll cancel your transaction :-( Some people have resorted to having their bank on the phone WHILE they made their online ticket purchase; sometimes even this didn't work. Let us know if this works for you or not!

When you tell the Thalys site that you are "collecting" your tickets in France you are automatically redirected to the SNCF/TGV-Europe site, so I don't think Eileen's trick will work. Instead tell the site that you are "collecting" your tickets in Belgium or Holland. You should still be be able to print your tickets at home. The Belgian and Dutch rail sites more more friendly to US cards.

What's the problem with going to a ticket counter with a confirmation code? ANY French train station or SNCF boutique can give you your ticket. Apparently Michael had some more info on your plight...And I'm not sure what "trick" he's referring to - it's how you buy French rail tickets...you're supposed to be at tgv-europe.com. If you'll read the fine print, Travis, you'll see the website warns you that you cannot collect your tickets from a machine with a North American (for the most part) credit card. If you'll be in France awhile before departing Paris, it's no big deal to collect your tickets... Having to collect your ticket from an agent isn't at all out of the ordinary. And I've already shown you the difference in price...