MichaelBrighton

If you had read my last post, it was simply to disprove Reindeerflame's point that all trains required reservations.OK. However, note that Reindeerflame was talking about a Eurailpass holder. I use the Dutch version of the SNCF site and the reservation costs are included in the ticket price. So, this is not a limit of the SNCF site, it is a limit of the combination of the Eurailpass and the SNCF site.As I said, I use the Dutch-language site (http://nl.voyages-sncf.com/nl/). If I say I am from the UK, it sends me here: http://www.voyages-sncf.co.uk/
There is no option for non-Europeans.

I have no experience with the Eurailpass site, but I have read complaints about it's prices. OTOH, I assume they do accept US credit cards. So, if the complainers were able to convince their banks and credit card companies that their old-fashioned cards are losing their utility and they want Chip and Pin cards, they wouldn't need to use the Eurailpass site. Wouldn't that be a far better solution?

Fornebufox

The SNCF site appears in different configurations. I use it in French and (rarely) English; my home page offers the options of French, English, German. When I start a reservation, it offers a choice of 8 countries, several with language choices, plus "other countries (EUR)". Not this time, but other times, it has dumped me onto the US-based RailEurope site. It's hardly surprising that using Dutch wouldn't give you a non-European option, given that Dutch is spoken in limited areas.

I will say that once I actually got a better price purchasing on RailEurope because they happened to be running a sale.

It would be a fantastic solution. Many Americans who travel internationally have been begging for pin-and-chip cards for years.

But petitions are not going to influence the change-resistant US banking system in time for me to buy the train tickets I need later this month.

I think most on this board are looking for real-life solutions to actual problems without paying extra to an unnecessary intermediary agency; nor are we willing to take slower trains with more stops, presumably in order to save a few euros. Similarly, it's theoretically possible travel from New York to Washington, D.C. on regional/suburban trains, at lower cost than the Amtrak through-trains, but few would dream of wasting the extra time and dealing with the inconvenience. It's simply not cost-effective.

The experiences shared here by other rail customers might be worth taking into account as you sit on those consumer panels you mentioned, even if they're not within your own experience.

MichaelBrighton

Yes, that's true. However, although I've never used the British option, I wonder whether that would also dump users into the RailEurope site?
Aren't there some banks or companies that offer them? I think some people here have posted about them.
I didn't mean petition literally. If there are banks offering Pin and Chip cards, call your bank and say you will switch to the other bank unless they will also offer the cards. I was in New York several years ago and needed to travel to Philadelphia. There were five of us. The cost for Amtrak for all five of us was the same as one airline ticket back home to Amsterdam. Researching, I discovered that there was a bus for the same route that took only 30 minutes longer and the cost was a very small fraction of what Amtrak charged. So, I certainly can understand the frustration.Unfortunately, I don't sit on a panel for the French trains, but do for the Thalys. I haven't read about such problems with Thalys here, so I'm not sure how helpful I can be.

ExpatExp

I've never had trouble booking tickets online for my travels on the continent. Language barriers, yes, perhaps, but easy to get around that with Google Translate.

A chip-and-PIN card helps and these are now available from a number of US institutions.

Ten years ago things were much different.

Gagravarr

On the homepage of capitainetrain.com I see three testimonials, one from a friend of mine! Despite that, I normally end up using Loco2, who are able to sell everything that SNCF can sell and everything that DB can sell. They're UK based, but can sell most things to everywhere in the world, and have excellent customer service. They also really know their stuff, eg this Q&A on why certain tickets can be seen but not booked on different train websites.

Platcomike

I just used the site for some TGV reservations in France.

Entire transaction in English with US Credit Cards. Absolutely no issues and the fares that I paid were lower than any of the over 100 people in our group.

I used both the web browser and android app versions and they both worked flawlessly.

Actual trip went without incident. One ticket had to be picked up at a kiosk, the other was electronic.

Thank you Capitaine Train!

Kadence

I completely agree with this. When you first do a Google search you end up with RailEurope which is a complete scam... the prices are outrageous. From Paris to Freiburg Germany for 2 adults and 2 kids they quoted me $625.

then I tried DB and SNCF direct, which were also a hassle. The english DB site doesn't show any prices and you have to request a quote. I got an email 3 days later all written in German so what good is that? I translated it and I had to call to book the tickets, couldn't do it online.

Capitaine train is great for all those reasons listed above.

gooselee

Add me as another fan of capitainetrain.

After searching, finding, and attempting to book tickets on both SNCF and SBB, and having all of my US-issued credit cards rejected, I gave up and went to capitainetrain.

By far the easiest/quickest search, easy to hold and retrieve tickets. I shied away at first because they don't accept Amex, but they DO accept Paypal which can be used as a passthrough for Amex.

Ended up booking two TGV trips and a Eurostar on there.

One thing I found - if booking for a couple and the price seems high, try searching for a single, putting it on hold, then searching for another. Saved EUR 40 by doing that vs. what a pair of tickets booked together was pricing to.