European Rail Travel - UK Fast Ticket Machines and US Credit Cards?

I have paid for a UK rail ticket involving multiple train operating companies through the Virgin Trains website. Printing out the ticket was not an option. Instead, I need to visit a Fast Ticket machine to ticket (nominally at London Paddington, but presumably any station will do). So, the key question.....will that machine accept my magnetic stripe US credit card, which does not use chip and pin technology? If it will not accept that card, what to do? Will any station ticket office assist, or do I need to go out of my way and visit Virgin at Euston station?

Thanks.....

Can't help with the first part of your question as I don't know if the information that the machine is looking for is stored on the chip or on the magnetic stripe.

I once found myself unable to collect a ticket from a machine because the machine was broken, and I was able to collect the ticket from the ticket office... and I got the impression that this is a facility that is there all the time, not just when the machine is broken. This was National Express East Anglia rather than Virgin, so I can't guarantee it would work for Virgin.

I have collected a ticket bought on line for a trip from London to Cambridge with a "standard" US credit card from a ticket kiosk. No chip and pin required but that was last Oct. No clue if that is still the case but one can always go to the Ticket Window.

Cheers

swiss machine didnt work because chip/pin required, and is first time ive gotten a fraud flag on amex

swiss machine didnt work because chip/pin required, and is first time ive gotten a fraud flag on amex

Had you already paid for the ticket? If so, what recourse did you have?

my bad, i was attempting to purchase, and pickup was not an option

so not necessarily any connection

i had to use ticket "window" and the person had no problem running my credit card there

In June 2009 I was able to use a fast ticket machine to collect a bunch of tickets that I bought. I don't remember if I needed my credit card or just the confirmation numbers, but if I needed the CC, it was the US one that I used.

The only thing that I've found to be consistent with picking up tickets from the Fast Ticket machines is that its inconsistent. I never determined a pattern. Lived and worked in London for a year and a half and took probably 60-80 trains while there (whether for work or for seeing the rest of England during the weekend). Sometimes the Fast Ticket machines would work with my US CC, sometimes they wouldn't.

Regardless of whether or not the machine would work I was able to get my tickets at the ticket window. At Paddington that's just on the other side of the Fast Ticket machines. There can be a wait at times, but usually isn't too bad. Keep in mind that you can pick up your tickets in advance (24 hours maybe? Can't remember), so doing so might be a decent idea if you're in the area anyway.

I used a US based debit card without chip in 20 European countries in the past six months and don't think I had even one problem. In London I had pre-purchased my Rail/Sail ticket and was able to retrieve my ticket from the machine.. I do recall that you had to insert the same card that was used to purchase the tickets, no exceptions. YMMV. Safe travels.

I know the machines at King's Cross required chip and pin, but I am pretty sure that the machines at Paddington didn't. As treznor noted, it really is variable but if necessary you can always pick up the ticket at the wicket. (I'm a poet but don't know it)

Probably a bit late for you all but for anyone else looking:

When collecting a ticket, you simply insert then remove the card. You don't need to enter a PIN or anything, it just wants to know you have the card. You'll also need to enter the confirmation code (I think it's about 8 digits long) you are given at the time of booking (if you lose it then staff at a ticket office can generally find it for you).

Unless it's changed recently, you must pick up the ticket at the designated station. It will be loaded into that stations system (hence why they force you to choose a place to pick it up from).

Unless it's changed recently, you must pick up the ticket at the designated station. It will be loaded into that stations system (hence why they force you to choose a place to pick it up from).

There aren't individual systems for individual stations. With Virgin, I've been able to pick up at any Fast Ticket machine, irrespective of the station I designated at the time of booking.

Probably a bit late for you all but for anyone else looking:

When collecting a ticket, you simply insert then remove the card. You don't need to enter a PIN or anything, it just wants to know you have the card. You'll also need to enter the confirmation code (I think it's about 8 digits long) you are given at the time of booking (if you lose it then staff at a ticket office can generally find it for you).

Unless it's changed recently, you must pick up the ticket at the designated station. It will be loaded into that stations system (hence why they force you to choose a place to pick it up from).
As noted above, some machines don't work with mag stripe cards. My guess is that they used to but since the UK uses chip-and-pin the mag stripe readers aren't maintained very well anymore.

There aren't individual systems for individual stations. With Virgin, I've been able to pick up at any Fast Ticket machine, irrespective of the station I designated at the time of booking.

Same experience here. I understand that the point of selecting a station is to make sure that the station you intend to pick the ticket up from actually does have the facility to do so, rather than to tie it to that station.

There aren't individual systems for individual stations. With Virgin, I've been able to pick up at any Fast Ticket machine, irrespective of the station I designated at the time of booking.

Ah thanks, I tried it last year and it didn't work for me - I guess it was just some sort of problem then (I didn't collect it at the designated station till a few days later).

I was caught by this at MAN two years ago. Fortunately I now have (since I am a British Citizen with US Green Card Status) a HSBC card that is chip and pin enabled. It really is a pain in the ... - even returning a hire car when you have to fuel up - well at MAN anyway.

Different topic - how long before the US goes Chip and PIN?

Different topic - how long before the US goes Chip and PIN?Several different discussions on the topic happening in the credit card forum. Post #2 in this thread points you at the most interesting ones.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1304271-usa-emv-cards-available-today-chip-pin-chip-signature.html

Now that I have booked about £40 of advance tickets on various companies, I'm worried I may misplace or lose that credit card before I arrive in the UK in about a months time. (It has never happened to me yet, but I guess there is always a first time.)

Does anyone have any experience with the original card not being available for some reason (loss, re-issue etc.)?

From experience, as long as you have pre paid and have the confirmation code, you could put a frequent flyer card (library card, student ID...) in them things and it'll throw up an error so you can enter your confirmation code in.

From experience, as long as you have pre paid and have the confirmation code, you could put a frequent flyer card (library card, student ID...) in them things and it'll throw up an error so you can enter your confirmation code in.

It *should* now check. You might be able to get help at the ticket office, but I have heard mixed stories about this.

I would suggest ensuring you *do not* lose the card.

Neil

I am going to the UK in July and was going to order a bunch of tickets while prices are low online, but got worried after reading about the problems with US credit cards. Since I would be ordering online prior to arriving, I am worried that I won't be able to pick them up once I am there as it clearly states in the instructions for ordering that you need to use the original cc and the code to pick up the tickets from machines. I wrote to one of the ticket brokers (MyTrainTicket.co.uk) to ask if the cc would work when I go to pick it up, and this is the response I received:

Unfortunately, we do not at present have the facility to accept International payment cards and as such would be unable to accept your business.I can only advise that you try with the train operator that you are travelling with or another sales site. Thank you very much for your interest in using My train ticket.

Is there someone that is currently in the UK that can order tickets with a US credit card online from one of the sites and go and try to pick them up from the machine with that same cc? This is an important question for many travelers to know after a current actual trial & many people would appreciate it (I know I would!)

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk is one of the main operators, ha a good booking engine for all UK rail services, gives 11% discount on its own, and is pretty good at taking foreign cards. They also have a points scheme, depending on how much you're travelling, and charge no fees or commission.

I am going to the UK in July and was going to order a bunch of tickets while prices are low online, but got worried after reading about the problems with US credit cards.

I wouldn't worry too much about this. You can always pick up your tickets from the ticket window in the event that a machine doesn't recognise your non-chip-and-pin card.

I wouldn't worry too much about this. You can always pick up your tickets from the ticket window in the event that a machine doesn't recognise your non-chip-and-pin card.
...always assuming the station is staffed. If you get on the train the ticket inspector can't help if you don't have the correct ticket.

Slightly off-topic, I live in UK but can't buy tickets online for my daughter at university since she would have to show my credit card to collect it where she studies. I wrote to ATOC (the UK rail companies' trade union!) but got a shoulder shrug in response - 'security, old boy :confused:'.

Well if airlines and bus companies can do it - why not train operators? Unless anyone else has a solution other than mailing the tickets?

Well if airlines and bus companies can do it - why not train operators? Unless anyone else has a solution other than mailing the tickets?

In the case of airlines, tickets are named and you can't get on the plane without an ID check. That's not the case for UK trains, where tickets generally don't have names on them and thus are transferrable.

But, I do agree that it's a really silly restriction that in the UK you can't buy a train e-ticket or print-at-home ticket for another person.

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk is one of the main operators, ha a good booking engine for all UK rail services, gives 11% discount on its own, and is pretty good at taking foreign cards. They also have a points scheme, depending on how much you're travelling, and charge no fees or commission.

Based on the suggestion to go the site specified, I figured I would see what they said as far as retrieving tickets purchased online. I was surprised to find the following:

Print@Home

How to use
This is available to UK and overseas customers. Once the booking has been completed a pdf format ticket (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view) will be generated, with an individual piece of paper for each named passenger and journey. This must be printed by you on plain white A4 paper using black ink, in portrait layout, using a standard inkjet or laser printer prior to making your journey. Any ticket that is illegible will not be valid and a new ticket will have to be purchased.

Identification
The lead passenger must travel with the identification document specified when making the booking. The last four digits of the selected indentification document are recorded on the ticket for verification purposes. Accepted identification documents are either the passport, driving licence or credit/debit card of the lead passenger.

If more than one person is travelling on the same booking, individual tickets will be issued for each passenger and journey, but only the lead passenger needs to specify identification documentation to carry when travelling. If, however, identification documentation for accompanying passengers is provided when making the booking, that documentation must also be carried when making the journey, as its details will be recorded on the ticket.

Without this identification, Print@Home tickets will not be valid and new tickets at the full fare will have to be purchased.

So, I guess that solves the whole chip credit card retrieval at the station... that is, if you have access to a printer (which I am assuming most people do). I am most likely going to order from this site then and print out my tickets prior to leaving the United States and it sounds like I will be good to go as long as I provide my photo ID (which I will have my passport with me, so that should suffice).

This should also solve the problem that the father had in getting a ticket for his daughter... you would just need to forward to her the PDF file you receive of the ticket and she could print it out where she is without having to have your credit card. I would confirm with someone first that you would be able to forward that file to her before trying it, just in case you have to print it immediately from your computer and wouldn't be able to forward the file to her.

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk is one of the main operators, ha a good booking engine for all UK rail services, gives 11% discount on its own, and is pretty good at taking foreign cards. They also have a points scheme, depending on how much you're travelling, and charge no fees or commission.

Upon the suggestion of the above-mentioned website, I took a look to see their policy on foreign transactions and was hoping they might have something a little different. I'm certainly happy to report the following:

Print @Home tickets
When booking via www.eastcoast.co.uk a customer chooses which train they wish to book tickets for in the usual way – and then simply selects the Print @Home option. For security, the customer is then asked for details of a proof of identity – a serial number from a credit or debit card, driving licence or passport. The system even enables the customer to book tickets for another family member or friend to use, by supplying proof of identity for the person travelling,

Once payment is made, the customer simply prints their ticket and presents it to on-train staff with the proof of identity used to buy the ticket. The on-train staff use a high-tech scanner to read an encoded logo on the ticket and confirm it is valid for travel.

East Coast Commercial Director Peter Williams said: “Our Print @Home tickets are already proving very popular with customers booking via our website, www.eastcoast.co.uk. The system is very convenient and straightforward to use, and we’re already selling 1,500 Print @Home tickets every day.

So, I pretended like I was going to book a ticket and it is very simple. They actually give you a PDF file (you will need Acrobat Reader) of the ticket and you can print out on either a laser printer or a high-quality inkjet printer. They ask what type of ID you will provide and ask for the last 4 digits of it... whether a credit card (the one used to purchase the ticket) OR your passport OR driver's license. They aren't scanning any of them, just verifying the last 4 digits that were provided for any of those when you purchase the ticket online.

This may solve the problem for the gentleman who was buying for his daughter who lives elsewhere in the country and doesn't have his credit card to access the ticket from the machines. I am pretty sure you can email the PDF file to her and then she can print it out on her own. You would need either the last 4 digits of her driver's license or passport when you purchase the ticket though (and make sure she brings that with her on the train). I would verify though that this PDF can actually be emailed to someone else first. I don't know if it is an actual file, or if it is just a pop-up on your screen when you buy it and would need to print it out immediately?

If you're going down the print@home route, bear in mind that not all train companies offer it, and on not all routes. In addition, you can only book it on a specific train company's website.

So, if you're doing London-Edinburgh, you can book it on the East Coast website.

If you're doing Cambridge-Edinburgh, it's a mix of CrossCountry and East Coast, so you can't book it.

If you're doing London-Manchester, you can book it on the Virgin Trains website.

If you're doing London-Bristol, it's not offered.

You also need to check the terms of the scheme if you're booking it for someone else. Some allow this, some don't. And once you've purchased the ticket, it's not changeable.