Using my credit card to buy train tickets on the web

Don't freak out about chip and pin. Purchase your tickets now, you're not the first American to do so and have to pick them up there, they'll make it work.

Thanks to all for your help on this. It sounds like I can either print the tickets before the trip, or just avoid the machine and get a live person at the train station. I do need to have this reserved since we are a family of 6 and I want to take the night train in July. Thanks again - I will buy the tickets! Dan

Be sure to take the same credit card with you. In England I picked up one prepaid ticket at a machine and another at a ticket booth. I just handed my credit card to the agent and she punched in my cc numbers to get my tickets. Some TGV tix can be printed at home; are you sure you can't do that?

Are you planning to book at tgv.com or tgv-europe.com? There is a difference and you can get advance purchase discount fare tickets at tgv-europe.com. Choose Great Britain as your country of residence so you don't get bumped to the Rail Europe site. As Swan says, you may be able to print your own tickets. You certainly can pick them up at a ticket booth at any SNCF station in France. You only need a card with a chip and PIN in France if you want to retrieve tickets from a ticket machine.

Once you make your reservations, your tickets will be in the TGV computer system, and you can retrieve them at any ticket window in the train station in Paris. The only thing you can't do with your non-chip-and-pin credit card is use the electronic ticket machines.