We are trying to book a train ticket from Paris to Interlaken for May 2013. We have tried 3 different times with different credit cards to book through TGV-Europe and keep getting an error. I emailed them and they advised to call them direct to book. When I called they advised that the price I was getting was a web special and if they booked the same trip for me it would be about 50 Euros higher. They also said that if we waited and purchased the tickets in Paris when we arrived it would also be at the higher price. Any suggestions how we can book these tickets online? We are in the US.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9109 posts
Check the Swiss rail site at rail.ch. I'm not sure if they offer the same web specials, but they do now allow folks to purchase tickets for journeys originating in France, and print them out at home. You may have better luck with your credit card. I had the same problem with my credit cards last year when trying to book a similar journey via TGV-Europe. Finally as a last resort I had to use Rail Europe. Surprisingly the offered the same discounted fare but with a small handling fee tacked-on. They even allowed me to print the tickets out at home.
Posted by
Green Bay
20979 posts
You might also call your credit card co and let them know what your doing. They'll see somebody trying to buy train tickets in France and they know you're in Texas. The French credit card clearing system has extra security features. I've had that difficulty and it cleared up as soon as I talked to my card co.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Right now, I see a fare of 191CHF on the Swiss website (www.sbb.ch) for mid-May. There is a non-ex/non-ref fare of 133.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33555 posts
The usual advice in that type of situation is (some, all, or none may help): Clear your cookies. Use a different browser. Call the credit card company first. Don't put any spaces or dashes or periods or anything but numbers in the CC number. Don't put anything but numbers in the telephone number if they ask for it. Make sure your CCV is correct, just the 3 digits.
Make sure you don't give the website time to time-out. Good Luck...
Posted by
OP
The Woodlands, TX, US
9 posts
Thanks for everyone's replys. I did some more research and saw someone mention using a Capital One card because there wasn't a foreign transaction fee. Don't know if that's true but after trying a Visa and an AMEX both unsuccessfully, I tried a Capital One card and it worked.