Can you collect UK train tickets from machines, with a non-chip card?

2/18/2014 4:26:24 PM

Annoyingly, my new credit card got lost in the post, so I’m currently using an American Express emergency temporary credit card, which has the magnetic strip but no chip, while awaiting a “proper” replacement one. I’ve therefore had cause to try this one out a few times.

Short answer – it works fine!

Longer answer – I’ve ended up booking tickets from a couple of different online ticket sellers, as annoyingly some train companies currently seem to offer a small discount on advanced purchase tickets bought through their own sites. All these went through fine with the credit card details, and no mention was made of needing a chip on the card (maybe because they assumed a UK registered card would have one?). I then headed to the station with the card and the various booking references. When collecting normally, you enter the card, the machine processes for a bit, but you aren’t asked for you pin, only the booking reference. Just the same with this non-chip card, card asked for, processed for 10 seconds, told to remove the card, prompted for booking reference, long pause, then tickets printed!

I believe that the ticket office would also have been able to print the tickets for me based on the card and the booking reference, which was my backup plan, but luckily the FGW ticket machines were happy to collect (though possibly not sell) with a non-chip card.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

Search Posts

Latest posts

Popular posts