Our experience traveling in the UK with US chip & signature credit cards

[walkinwood]

In short - nothing to worry about.

We were able to buy train/underground tickets in London and in Edinburgh from the kiosks using our chip & signature cards with no issues. The kiosk didn't ask for a PIN.

The very first gas station kiosk I used wouldn't return my card and the attendant had to reset the machine to get it out. After that, I filled gas first and then paid at the counter. That seems to be the norm for the locals. I didn't come across any attendant-less gas stations.

At hotels, stores and restaurants, even in rural areas, they are well prepared to accept a signature.

We had purchased train tickets online, using trainline.com, and were able to get the tickets from the kiosk at the station using the conf# and the card used to purchase the tickets.

 

[audreyh1]

We had purchased train tickets online, using trainline.com, and were able to get the tickets from the kiosk at the station using the conf# and the card used to purchase the tickets.

That one is a very good trick. I used that a few times in France myself (back when it was captaintrain.com), buying short distance the tickets the night before. I once asked how soon before a train trip I could do this and they seemed to think an hour or two would be sufficient - at least for NSCF It was nice being able to just enter the confirmation number in the kiosk instead of having to go through all the ticket selection and paying stuff. BTW - when we did this, we didn't have to have the card we used to buy the ticket, just the names and ticket reference number.

Reference - from an old email:

I'm trying to understand whether using CaptainTrain I can buy TER train tickets that can be used on any train for a given route on a given day - as long as it's a train without reserved seating.

Or are tickets purchased on CaptainTrain always for a specific train (and time) only. For example, say I want to go from Avignon Centre to Arles and back. If I book a pair of TER tickets online, and then go to the machine that prints them out, will they only be for valid for specific train times on the date chosen, or can it be used on any outbound and return TER train that day?

Do I have to go to an SNCF boutique or a ticket machine if I want to buy an open ticket where I can use any train that day - or some day in the near future?

Also - once a ticket has been paid for and I get code - can I use it immediately or is there some delay in availability?

Thanks for getting in touch with us, I’m happy to help you out today.

Any tickets you purchase through our platform are the official tickets made available by those rail operators and their reservation system, so the answer is yes about TER tickets. We also include the info regarding TER trains without seat assignments on our FAQ page here:

http://faq.captaintrain.com/article/146-change-train-departure

In short, a TER ticket with no seating assignment is valid on any other TER making an identical journey within 7 days after the departure date listed on the ticket, as long as it does not fall under certain fare conditions that restrict you from taking peak hour trains. You can read more about that on the FAQ page that I linked above—those are the rules and ticket conditions of SNCF.

To answer your other question, you can purchase an e-ticket immediately before boarding a train if it’s made available in the reservation system. Oftentimes SNCF closes the availability of tickets an hour or two before departure, so if you want to take a train leaving in 20 minutes, you may not be able to book it online. It depends on the rail operator and the route, and their reservation system (the information is relayed directly to our platform from their system).

You can also pre-book your tickets and pay later--we'll lock in the price for a temporary period of time (for TER tickets it is 48 hours), so you have the option of taking some time to decide whether or not you want the ticket before paying. Read more about that on our FAQ page here:

http://faq.captaintrain.com/article/132-pre-book-tickets-and-pay-later

I hope this answers your questions, please let me know if you have any others.

Have a good day,
Betsy

Captain Train
http://faq.captaintrain.com

 

[Bestwifeever]

In short - nothing to worry about.

We were able to buy train/underground tickets in London and in Edinburgh from the kiosks using our chip & signature cards with no issues. The kiosk didn't ask for a PIN.

The very first gas station kiosk I used wouldn't return my card and the attendant had to reset the machine to get it out. After that, I filled gas first and then paid at the counter. That seems to be the norm for the locals. I didn't come across any attendant-less gas stations.

At hotels, stores and restaurants, even in rural areas, they are well prepared to accept a signature.

We had purchased train tickets online, using trainline.com, and were able to get the tickets from the kiosk at the station using the conf# and the card used to purchase the tickets.

Funny, your post just made me realize we spent two weeks in England last month and didn't even need to think about our non-pin chip cards working, as they worked everywhere. Waiters asked for signatures at the table on their little machines, train kiosks just spit out the tickets (not preordered), shops were cool with them, etc. We didn't buy gas. Will see how it goes in Germany in a couple of months.

 

[Bestwifeever]

That one is a very good trick. I used that a few times in France myself (back when it was captaintrain.com), buying short distance the tickets the night before. I once asked how soon before a train trip I could do this and they seemed to think an hour or two would be sufficient - at least for NSCF It was nice being able to just enter the confirmation number in the kiosk instead of having to go through all the ticket selection and paying stuff. ....

You just had to go through all the ticket selection and paying stuff ahead of time, right? Was there a discount to do it then?

 

[Fedup]

I never had any problem either.

 

[audreyh1]

You just had to go through all the ticket selection and paying stuff ahead of time, right? Was there a discount to do it then?

I did buy all of my French long-distance tickets well in advance because of steep discounts and the requirement for seat reservations. You could get them at sometimes even 1/3 of the full price for mostly refundable tickets if you bought them far enough in advance. However, these tickets were print at home, and did not require me to use a kiosk at all. I also had them loaded on the phone and displayable in wallet via the trainline.com app, and when the conductor came through we showed our phones.

So for the print at kiosk tickets, I'm just talking about the French local short trips (TER) where there is no advance discount, so no benefit in buying them well in advance. So for these we waited till a day or two before to decide on short tickets used for day trips, etc. Or the night before for last minute decisions.

You use the online interface to trainline.com from your phone or iPad or computer which is much easier than using a train ticket kiosk especially as all your account stuff is already set up so you don't have to enter nearly as much.

No discount. Just convenience and not having to deal the more cumbersome kiosk and having some privacy.

I did also buy tickets at the kiosks, but it was more laborious and sometimes there were lines at the kiosks, or the kiosks were down and you had to go to a counter. The pressure is on when you are trying to use it and there is a line of people behind you and the station is crowded.

 

[walkinwood]

You just had to go through all the ticket selection and paying stuff ahead of time, right? Was there a discount to do it then?

I did it because of the discounts. UK train pricing is as complicated as air fares here. Booking in advance can get significant discounts.

 

[audreyh1]

I did it because of the discounts. UK train pricing is as complicated as air fares here. Booking in advance can get significant discounts.

Did you have a print at home option?

My experience in France was you had to book well in advance to get the discounts, but that these discounts were only for long-distance tickets that required seat reservations, not regional/local-area tickets.

 

[walkinwood]

Did you have a print at home option?

My experience in France was you had to book well in advance to get the discounts, but that these discounts were only for long-distance tickets that required seat reservations, not regional/local-area tickets.

I had the option for one leg and I did print those before we left on the trip. For the others, I didn't get that option and I couldn't figure out the logic.