European Rail Travel - SNCF not accepting foreign credit cards?

Last month, I was going to buy a couple of promotional tickets on a tourist train in SW France. Went to a suburban station in the Roussillon (near Perpignan) to buy the tickets. (Canadian) Chip card was declined by the station's manned card reader. Tried swiping - no go either. Tried a U.S. card (via swipe) no go. Wife came with 2 Cdn chipped cards. No go either via chip or swipe. Just wondering if SNCF does not accept foreign cards at some stations (particularly suburban) or maybe the station wasn't communicating.

I have not had a problem with US non-chip cards at SNCF stations as long as it is a "manned station"; self-service terminals are an entirely different story. I also have not had a problem with US based card when I buy train tickets on line.
My guess is a communication issue but somebody with more experience in suburban stations may chime in

Last time I was there, one card worked and one didn't in the automated machines. The cards were Wells Fargo and Chase VISAs, no chips in either. I think the Chase was the one that worked, but can't guarantee I don't have that flipped around.

I managed to use my Chase Sapphire card two days ago to purchase a tix from a manned attendant at Montparnasse. No issues at all and my card is the old variety - it must be swiped.

One thing I haved noted continually on my current trip to France is the number of times merchants have had issues with getting he swipe to take. Tonight it took the restaurant 5 goes to get the card to work. It is not just my card, the friend I am travelling with also has the Sapphire and has had the same issue. I've had occasions where after 2 attempts they will give the card back and say it doesn't work but when I have insisted they persist (in a very nice fashion) it has always eventually gone thru.

Not too many non-French tourists there that time of year (if ever) so perhaps it wasn't set to accept foreign cards (and this was at a counter). Don't remember if any one else had problems as the person in front of me paid with cash (as I had to eventually). I had some trouble at a couple of restaurants with the Debit abonee (decline) message coming out of the display. I think this may be a function of a bad setup with the phone line.

I think it depends on the station. I've never had any trouble online, in any of the big Paris stations, or in any manned station, but . . . once in a small suburban station, the machine couldn't/wouldn't make change and none of us had 3,35 in coins. The machine wouldn't accept any of our non-chipped cards---and we had a bunch of them. Finally, I dredged a Carte Bleu out of the bottom of my purse and bought tickets for all of us. I think it's just a glitch in the system, like carnets at the Hotel de Ville manned station---they always seem to have some sort of demagnitization problem if bought there and have to be replaced.

We are in France right now and have been buying rail tickets from the machines with our Chase chip card. The one time it was not accepted we tried it again and it worked. It has also worked at all the retailers.

I've not had problems with my Diners (MasterCard branded) chip and PIN card at automated kiosks nor my MasterCard Citi Executive (EMV chip but signature only) at staffed locations or online.

Online is often cheaper - use tgv-europe.com, never www.raileurope.com - as you get the benefits of discounts for advance purchase, loisir, etc. For TGV / Eurostar, you can print out tickets; for TER etc. you have to use a chip and PIN card and retrieve the card at an automated kiosk.

I will ask the moderator to place this in the European Rail Travel forum.

I haven't tried SNCF yet this trip, but. . . for the first time, the Metro RATP machine at my stop took an unchipped VISA card for a Navigo renewal and for a carnet of tickets. They may be switching over the machines, since more and more of the stops are unmanned(mine is being remodelled and there is nobody there-not even the information agent who can't sell tickets.

For the last 15 years I travel through Paris each summer. About 5 years ago started having trouble at gar d'Austerlitz. Person swiped card 2 - 3 times and said it was not being accepted. Tried 3 separate bank Visa cards, same result. My wife is always in the country for 3 weeks before I arrive and she is using the same cards. So I know they work. I can take the same card and buy coffee at a kiosk. Of interest, the one time a credit card was accepted was by the conductor's mobile card device two year's ago (pay a premium on board). I have email exchanged with SNCF in french. They of course blamed my card. I suspect SNCF started rejecting foreign cards if their system doesn't receive instant response. They would rather have cash then pay the fee(?).

For the last 15 years I travel through Paris each summer. About 5 years ago started having trouble at gar d'Austerlitz. Person swiped card 2 - 3 times and said it was not being accepted. Tried 3 separate bank Visa cards, same result. My wife is always in the country for 3 weeks before I arrive and she is using the same cards. So I know they work. I can take the same card and buy coffee at a kiosk. Of interest, the one time a credit card was accepted was by the conductor's mobile card device two year's ago (pay a premium on board). I have email exchanged with SNCF in french. They of course blamed my card. I suspect SNCF started rejecting foreign cards if their system doesn't receive instant response. They would rather have cash then pay the fee(?).

We use US issued credit cards at SNCF offices regularly without issue. Moreover, if one has booked on voyages-sncf online, you have to bring the card you used so they can swipe it to print your tickets.

The idea that SNCF does this as they'd rather be paid in cash is off base. Chances are either the card company didn't honor the charge, or the agent didn't know how to run a US card thru the machine.

Data point re: foreign CCs... used a portuguese CC without incident to buy the ticket online [french website version] and retrieve at the kiosk.

Before being seated at a restaurant, always ask if they take US credit cards, and show them stripe on the card. If you make it clear that's the only way you can pay, they invariably say yes. If you don't bring this up first, when the bill comes, they will often tell you no, or their machine for some reason won't work with it (because they will mis-swipe the card, usually running it through so the stripe is on the wrong side).

French merchants sign a contract with Visa & Mastercard that's very similar to the agreement my business signs with them. An agreement that says they will take any legit Visa & Mastercard, regardless of origin. Period. And they are required, by that same agreement, to have equipment that accepts a magnetic-stripe card. And invariably you will see the thin slot on the side of their machine (the same machine that they will sometimes tell you will not take a magnetic-stripe card). So yes, they can take your card, and in all likelihood they know how to take your card, but they choose not to.

It's not the 2.5% that the merchant wishes to save by taking cash rather than a credit card. It's the appeal of a transaction that is not subject to a multitude of taxes.

Note that there are no such requirements (taking a magnetic-stripe US card) for automated kiosks (train stations, service stations, etc). That can be a real problem when returning a rental car on a Sunday and trying to find gas to refill the tank. Train stations will have reasonable hours at which there will be real live people selling tickets, and they take magnetic-stripe credit cards with no issues.

Interesting to hear about Metro stations having machines that now take magnetic-stripe cards. That's a new one for me! I've tried them continuously through the years but have always had to resort to cash.

Thank goodness the toll booths on the highways, entirely automated, have no issues with magnetic-stripe cards!

I love France. I'd rather spend time there than anyplace in the world. I've found the people friendly virtually everywhere. But the ridiculous charade of restaurants claiming they can't take my magnetic-stripe credit card threatens to go from amusing to annoying.

France is just weird when it comes to cards, I often find that at the toll machines as well.Best to always carry cash!

First of all, it's not France. It can be an issue in many countries all over the world. Secondly, SNCF stations, even the remote ones, take most all cards and certainly all US cards at manned stations. And they accept most foreign cards at the automatic ticket kiosks if they have a chip. But not yet Amex cards with a chip.

In Europe most people aren't used to Amex cards with chips. Either the agent doesn't know how to use it or the machine or local network isn't set up to accept Amex's with chips. I'm in Italy now and even in high end stores they tried to swipe my chipped Amex til I told them it has a pin code and they should just use it like a normal bank card. It worked fine.

I disagree that for the most part, French merchants such as restaurants intentionally decline to honor US issued credit cards. Rather, my belief is that most of the situations where cards don't work is due to the fact that US cards must be swiped in the groove on the side of the machine plus the merchant needs to know how and when to enter other info (such as sale amount). For many of these merchants, a swiped transaction is a rarity and they just don't know how to do it.

Asking in advance if they accept your card may belp on some cases, but i many others it will not since most merchants think they do accept foreign cards, and they do-they just don't know how to process the transaction.

Always check in advance if they take your card and they know how to use it! I had a situation in the UK yesterday with a UK card, where the restaurant were using the machine wrong and my bank just kept on declining.... a little embarrassing as one of my guests ended up paying!

Does any one tried using US card for purchase over 150 euros at TGV website? SEAT61 guy says that sometimes they don't allow 150 euro on online transactions but if my tickets are coming out more then that then whats the solution for that?

In Europe most people aren't used to Amex cards with chips.

Odd. I would have thought all European Amex cards have chips. Certainly all the ones issued in the UK for the last 5 years or so do.

Does any one tried using US card for purchase over 150 euros at TGV website? SEAT61 guy says that sometimes they don't allow 150 euro on online transactions but if my tickets are coming out more then that then whats the solution for that?

I assume you're referring to this comment (http://www.seat61.com/France-trains.htm#How to use voyages-sncf.com):
It's also reported that the French Railways website will only accept one booking per day from any one foreign credit card, with a maximum value of €150 per day or €300 a week.

Have you actually tried a purchase above €150, and had it fail? If not, then it's probably worth trying, to see what happens. If it does fail, then your options are probably:
- Try to break the purchase down into installments less than €150 (and use different cards, to avoid running into the 'one booking per day' limit)
- Call SNCF to book over the phone
- Use a different (ie: probably more expensive) website...

Yes i tried the purchase and it rejected my 4 credit cards and i don't want to break the purchase cause it will not give me the seats together so i guess my only option is to buy it from the other website.

Odd. I would have thought all European Amex cards have chips. Certainly all the ones issued in the UK for the last 5 years or so do.

Only about a year or so for France and Holland. And I'm not even sure they have chips in Italian Amex cards yet?

France is just weird when it comes to cards, I often find that at the toll machines as well.

Another point re: this. Autoroutes in the SW (Midi-Pyrennees and Languedoc-Roussillon) always accepted chipped Canadian credit card (2-3 out of 2-3 attempts) while Provence (somewhere between St. Raphael and Menton) wouldn't (so 0 out of 2-3 attempts). Had no problems with municipal parking anywhere.

Belgium/Luxembourg AMEX's get changed soon. Personal in Sep. and Business in Oct. (or other way around).

Wife's is already since Jan but becaused I insisted (they kept refusing it for fraud prevention reasons. €1.500 at Hermes no problem but €50 at H&M 20 min later would get refused!).

<< France is just weird when it comes to cards >>

:confused:

tried 2 cards [same acount] - VISA - debit - TD Bank [US]

<< guy says that sometimes they don't allow 150 euro on online transactions >>

what about 76.20 € being refused ?!?

called my bank who suggested that some foreign marchants do not deal with foreign cards. [ON LINE]

I am sure this is the first time the SNCF was presented on line with a US VISA card. :rolleyes:

seats are disappearing fast.

do not have other card, so what do I do ?

_ get a prepaid card at Walmart ? will that work ?

_ call them with same card number ?

I can use suggestions, thanks

<< France is just weird when it comes to cards >>

:confused:

tried 2 cards [same acount] - VISA - debit - TD Bank [US]

<< guy says that sometimes they don't allow 150 euro on online transactions >>

what about 76.20 € being refused ?!?

called my bank who suggested that some foreign marchants do not deal with foreign cards. [ON LINE]

I am sure this is the first time the SNCF was presented on line with a US VISA card. :rolleyes:

seats are disappearing fast.

do not have other card, so what do I do ?

_ get a prepaid card at Walmart ? will that work ?

_ call them with same card number ?

I can use suggestions, thanksWhen you say two cards, same account, then obviously same bank. I'm thinking this is an issue with your bank, not SNCF. Had that issue myself once or twice and had to call up my bank to fix it. Your bank of course is claiming it's not them, but your bank rep might have been trained in the airline industry and just makes up an answer that's convenient. I suggest that you try calling again. Or use a card from a different bank.

I suggest that you try calling again.
Thanks, I will try, but not too hopeful.

Before, first thing tomorow, I will try calling the SNCF


Or use a card from a different bank.
this is the only card we have

has anybody tried to use a PREPAID CARD - Walmart or such ?

following a post, I ended-up on TA

summary:


<< You card will HAVE TO BE part of the VBV – Verified by Visa or MSC – MasterCard SecureCode system. >>
....
<< for booking train/flight tickets etc please make sure that your card is registered with the above security verification system >>


my guess is some cards are already registered - some are not.

I bet mine is not. Looking into that.

<< France is just weird when it comes to cards >>

:confused:

tried 2 cards [same acount] - VISA - debit - TD Bank [US]

<< guy says that sometimes they don't allow 150 euro on online transactions >>

You're trying to buy a ticket on the French website? Wisdom is that SNCF doesn't want North American buyers to buy cheap on SNCF.fr but to buy through its N. American ticketing agency Rail Europe for a lot more. FWIW, I was not able to use N. American credit cards on groupon.fr.

My original start to this thread was not being able to buy €20 of rail tickets at a station in suburban France.

I had trouble last year with my Capital One card on SNCF, although the same card had gone through the year before with no problems. Luckily I have another card with no foreign exchange fee through Chase, and my purchase went through the first time I tried.

<< France is just weird when it comes to cards >>


Have you tried Belgium? Or Italy? Or eastern Europe? In fact most of Europe is the same in this respect with the possible exception of the UK. Europe is far more advanced than the US when it comes to fraud protection so cards that are easily exposed to fraud are sometimes not accepted on Euro websites. Even a fully supported chipped Visa from a Euro bank often requires Verified by Visa to make web purchases. You need a new card if you want to use one seamlessly here or find a way to get your card Verified by Visa.

After wasting several infuriating hours today trying to buy a SNCF TGV ticket with a US credit card I thought I would sign up to flyertalk and post how I was finally able to do it.

I was not able to buy an idTGV ticket. Maybe it is true these are intended for French nationals and SNCF does not accept US cards (or any foreign cards?) for this.

I was able to buy a regular TGV ticket (on exactly the same train I had been trying to get an idTGV seat) through this website:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com

It is in French so you have to be able to read enough to navigate. I also read somewhere that you should choose the option to pick up tickets at the station with the same CC and this worked, it is option "Borne Libre Service" which means Self-Service Terminal.

I was not able to get my Capital One card to work but my CitiBank card went through. I’ll get stuck with the foreign transaction fee but it seemed worth it to get a 1st Class (TGV PREM) from Paris to Toulouse for 54€.

As many of you from N America know, the SNCF seems to want us to buy inflated tickets denominated in dollars and with fewer times, specials, and options for things like seating.

I think it took three hours to figure this out. I hope it works for you.

Remember that the usual reason for not accepting foreign cards on websites is simply poor website (or other systems) design. Little examples like a German website insisting on a ZIP code which is all numbers (UK and Dutch ones contain letters), or not recognising that Amex card security codes have 4 digits, not 3. Or maybe the bank operates a second-stage security process (Verified by Visa etc) but the website isn't set up for it. Many organisations that accept cards design their systems and train their people just to accept domestic cards because that's what 99.9% of their customers are.

After wasting several infuriating hours today trying to buy a SNCF TGV ticket with a US credit card I thought I would sign up to flyertalk and post how I was finally able to do it.

I was not able to buy an idTGV ticket. Maybe it is true these are intended for French nationals and SNCF does not accept US cards (or any foreign cards?) for this.

I'm a TGV regular, but I've never had a problem buying iTGV on the voyages-sncf website. You can use any credit card, and you can now do E-tickets, but you cannot get your ticket from the machine using a non-chipped card. And of course if you queue up to a human agent at the station or any of the SNCF boutiques in town you can purchase with any credit card.

I'm a TGV regular, but I've never had a problem buying iTGV on the voyages-sncf website. You can use any credit card, and you can now do E-tickets, but you cannot get your ticket from the machine using a non-chipped card. And of course if you queue up to a human agent at the station or any of the SNCF boutiques in town you can purchase with any credit card.
Are prices generally higher if you queue up and buy in person rather than buying ahead of time online?

Are prices generally higher if you queue up and buy in person rather than buying ahead of time online?

It's not generally where you purchase, but when you purchase. You can get cheap fares at the boutiques if you book well in advance. Or at travel agents. And there are package deals with hotels and car rental, just like the airlines. But if you wait til the last minute or even several weeks before during peak travel times, then you will pay full price either on the web or in person.

Personally I have a half-price subscription and most all my travel is for business so it's last minute anyways. But at half-price its not so bad. And I use my SNCF points for personal travel.

It's not generally where you purchase, but when you purchase. You can get cheap fares at the boutiques if you book well in advance. Or at travel agents. And there are package deals with hotels and car rental, just like the airlines. But if you wait til the last minute or even several weeks before during peak travel times, then you will pay full price either on the web or in person.
Good to know. Thanks for that info. I'll be traveling via TGV & Thalys in June next year, so I'll plan on buying far in advance.

Good to know. Thanks for that info. I'll be traveling via TGV & Thalys in June next year, so I'll plan on buying far in advance.Set a reminder in your phone to book your TGV & Thalys tickets 91 days in advance. Ticket sales generally don't start until 90 or 60 days prior to the trip, and you've got to get in very early to get the best prices. Also don't overlook the iDTGV which will often have prices considerably lower, but book up quickly. However, there may be some hidden costs for excess baggage that you didn't expect.

For the Thalys, join their free membership club and you'll have access to their lounges.

Have you tried Belgium? Or Italy? Or eastern Europe? In fact most of Europe is the same in this respect with the possible exception of the UK. Europe is far more advanced than the US when it comes to fraud protection so cards that are easily exposed to fraud are sometimes not accepted on Euro websites. Even a fully supported chipped Visa from a Euro bank often requires Verified by Visa to make web purchases. You need a new card if you want to use one seamlessly here or find a way to get your card Verified by Visa.

I was able to make a purchase with my HKD Visa on a Spanish OTA.
No Verified by Visa asked (It's not registered either.)

I was able to make a purchase with my HKD Visa on a Spanish OTA.
No Verified by Visa asked (It's not registered either.)Same here; I've had no issues with my US non-chipped visa card and purchases on the SNCF website.

It's not generally where you purchase, but when you purchase. You can get cheap fares at the boutiques if you book well in advance. Or at travel agents. And there are package deals with hotels and car rental, just like the airlines. But if you wait til the last minute or even several weeks before during peak travel times, then you will pay full price either on the web or in person.

Personally I have a half-price subscription and most all my travel is for business so it's last minute anyways. But at half-price its not so bad. And I use my SNCF points for personal travel.

The easiest way to think about it is like a travel agency.
Every single one has the same availability, the only thing that matters is nation of purchase and fare availability.
Competency is also a factor.