Thalys departure from Schiphol
 

I'm arriving at 12:30 PM in AMS on IcelandAir which has a history of delays on my flight. Plan is to take Thalys to Antwerp then on to Bruges after arriving in AMS.

There is a train leaving at 1:34 but I'm afraid that may not be enough time given the history of delays on this flight.

Is it possible to reserve a ticket for the 2:34 PM train then reschedule at the station to the earlier train if my flight isn't delayed? Any other suggestions?

If you buy a semi-flex fare and request a Thalys TheCard frequent traveller card you are allowed to get on the earlier train without problem (just by telling/asking the train manager). You might have to travel on a jump seat if the train is very full.

https://www.thalysthecard.com/en/flexibility-benefit

This information is unfortunately no longer correct. The Flexibility Benefit has been eliminated for Silver Card members (such as myself). The OP could, of course, buy a flexible ticket, but those are a fair bit more expensive.

I know there have been changes. (In the past, any Thalys TheCard member could hop on an earlier train whatever the fare paid.)

But as far as I know you can still take the train before or after the one you had booked when on a semi-flex fare, even as a basic member. This at least is how I understand the texts on the page that I linked to earlier.

"With your Thalys TheCard card and a ticket at the Flex fare, you can take any other Thalys on the day - free of charge. A Semi-Flex fare allows you to board trains leaving directly before and after the train for which you hold a ticket."

Nope, that is the precisely the benefit, which has been eliminated for Silver card members. See below for the fare conditions of semi-flex tickets:

- Exchangeable once up to the day before departure.
- 50% refundable before departure and up to 1 hour afterwards at the Thalys departure station.

So, not much of an option for the OP.

If you are right, it is about time that Thalys updates the information on the Thalys TheCard website.

Would you mind adding a link to a page where that information can be found? (Not the standard fare conditions, but the conditions for card holders - even basic ones?) Because the information on the Thalys TheCard website that I mentioned below is the only one that I have found...

https://www.thalysthecard.com/en/cur...fers-promotion

Here is the link.

Thanks! ^

Have you considered taking a non-thalys train to Antwerp? There are hourly connections (leaving at :37), which take about half an hour longer and require a change in Rotterdam, but they might be the better option, if you're unsure whether you can catch your train (please note, that I needed to wait for almost half an hour for my bags to arrive on my last arrival at AMS). I have to admit that I'm absolutely not a fan of Thalys, and might hence be a bit biased, but I would definitely look at the other options.

That, of course, is the real solution to the OP's problem, bruce80. ^ :)

I don't know why I did not mention it, because it is what I actually do myself. Between AMS and Antwerpen I only use Thalys now if it's included in my KLM ticket. If not, I use the (slightly) slower but more comfortable and flexible IC trains.

Stumbled across this thread and I'm in the same situation, land at AMS in the morning and need to head directly to Antwerp.

I see on the ns.nl website there are trains from Schipol to Antwerpen pretty regularly. Do these trains get filled up or would I be fine buying tickets at Schipol once I land?

Also, I have a US based credit card so it's chip+sign and not chip+pin. Will that be an issue buying tickets for trains/public transport in Holland?

The slower IC trains cannot "fill up" because they do not have a seat reservation system. Only Thalys does, and their ticket prices also increase with demand.

Thanks, that's good to know. I can just stroll over whenever I'm done with immigration then instead of trying to guess what time train I can make.

To save time on arrival and eliminate worries about how to pay (with a US credit card, most likely you'd have to stand in line at the ticket window instead of using the kiosks), you can buy the ticket online at nsinternational.nl or b-europe.com. Although the web site asks you to select a time, IC tickets can be used on any train that day.

The Schiphol airport is big, has lots of shops (both duty free and usual ones) and comfortable. I once got stranded 4 hours there and didn't get bored. It's much better to get a train ticket a little bit later than you'd like, and be allowed to fly without worrying. If your plane is late, you'll be OK for the train, and if it arrives on time, just treat yourself to a Dutch breakfast.. or dinner.... or whatever, it's tasty anyways.