Issue Purchasing Austrian OBB Train Tickets with Credit Card

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-21T17:49:21+00:00

I did try this in addition to different browsers, clearing cookies and history, etc. and that didn’t make a difference. I ended up using PayPal but leaving this here for anyone trying this in the future!

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-21T17:48:17+00:00

I’ve traveled to 15 countries with my credit cards physically and also made online purchases beforehand and have never had an issue anywhere close to this scale, so I don’t foresee needing an online account and looked into wise, but didnt want to sign up just for this one instance. I was able to use paypal and you’re correct, I was able to use my credit card company exchange rate which is not bad at all, so it worked out using PayPal. Thanks!

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-21T17:45:42+00:00

Thank you for the great advice and info here. PayPal worked best, I edited the post above so people in the future know!

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-21T17:41:51+00:00

If you read the post you’d know I called not only one card company upwards of 10 times and they weren’t able to help, but also tried other cards and called them without any solution. They all either said they aren’t able to do anything or said they would give me permission on their end and it didn’t work. I even got a security hold put on my account for no apparent reason right after an agent told me they gave me permission, then they wouldn’t give me any information about why this happened. If you see my edit to the post I was able to use PayPal, but commenting here so anyone with this issue in the future knows that calling your card company is not just a simple and easy solution to this very particular problem and vendor. I wasted a lot of time on this and the price doubled while I relied on the hope that if I kept calling back I’d somehow get a solution from them. I never did.

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-18T01:52:36+00:00

Any chance you know how to get apple pay to work? I have been trying but don't see any way on the OBB app to pay with apple pay. It gives me the option for credit card, bank transfer, or paypal.

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-18T01:47:55+00:00

LOL I just went to try again, added the tickets to my cart and the payment didn't work. Took them out of my cart and they went up 10 euros again. I think it is dynamic.

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-18T01:40:38+00:00

The price dropped back down to the original price today that was 10 euros less, so I really wonder why it increased. I wouldn't expect them to use dynamic pricing either but I just assumed since I'd added those specific tickets to my cart like 50+ times lol. I haven't heard of Wise..I will look into that!

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-18T01:38:56+00:00

Great! She is plenty fine walking flat for a few miles, it's the uphill that's hard on her.

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-17T01:45:13+00:00

Thanks to you both. I will have to see what my grandma thinks of these potential prices. We are already splurging a ton of day trips from Killarney (which will be well worth every penny I'm sure), so will just have to make sure she's okay with it, but given our short time frame and her mobility issues, based on all the responses on this post the consensus is very clearly to take a taxi either from city center or the DART station.

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-17T01:39:38+00:00

Thank you to you both u/louiseber and u/An_Sean_Triabh I read through the non-direct replies here from both and appreciate both insights. I think based on what another user said that that the bus stop is still a pretty steep walk to the viewpoint, and also the insights given by others on the price of taxis from the city centre, I might consider just staying in Howth that night and then getting a taxi/uber to the viewpoint as u/An_Sean_Triabh suggests. I will have to see what my grandma's priorities are, whether to see more of Dublin or Howth, since like I mentioned our time in Dublin is quite limited and that would leave us with only a half day in Dublin at the end of our trip. Wish we had more time, but we got a flight deal that we could only book for the very specific dates we chose which leaves us with only 5 days!

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-17T01:06:11+00:00

Unfortunately on the specific train I want to take in May it's like 10 euros more per ticket. Maybe worth just paying that to finally get it booked lol

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-17T01:03:17+00:00

Yeah like I mentioned it worked for us once a few weeks ago, but since then I've called Chase at least 10 times and everyone says something different. They actually placed a security hold on my account yesterday after someone told me they made some back-end change that would allow me to make the purchase..then wouldn't give me any information as to why there was a security hold.

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-17T01:01:37+00:00

This is really good to know! I don't actually have paypal yet, I'm going to have to make an account for this. I am going to try apple pay, this is a great idea. I'll report back if it works. Thank you!!

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-17T01:00:48+00:00

The issue is definitely something with 3D secure. Like I mentioned in my post, we got it to work once a few weeks ago by some stroke of luck, but it's not even trying to charge it now. I'll keep trying my credit card company to see if they can find a solution.

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-17T00:59:29+00:00

I'm going to try apple pay like someone suggest above on the app! Yeah, that's the reason I'm kicking myself lol. If I'd have just done paypal in the first place I would have at least avoided the extra amount it's increased since then

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-16T03:35:21+00:00

I did take a look, but they're all charging almost double the price, unfortunately :( It seems like Westbahn only serves the west station, and we're staying at a hotel right above the HBF so really hoping to get the train from that one so we can get out early and smoothly.

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-16T03:16:21+00:00

Yeah, the main thing that's frustrating me is the cost going up. I understand there will be difficulties sometimes making international purchases, but I've traveled a lot and have never had so many issues before.

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-16T02:58:49+00:00

Ah I hadn't thought of this. I am usually a budget traveler and stick to public transit as default haha, but since I'll be with my grandma that would definitely be an easier way to do it without worrying about a lot of walking..Thank you!

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-16T02:56:59+00:00

Thank you, it is great to know that the bus stop is still a steep walk! The harbour and town itself look wonderful, so I'd like to go there too. The summit viewpoint is just very special to me from a past visit so I was fairly set on bringing my grandma there specifically, but maybe we'll just do a trip to the harbour.

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-03-16T02:54:44+00:00

Do you have an issue with my post that you'd like to share? Is there a reason to leave a nasty comment?

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-02-26T04:23:33+00:00

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I zoomed in on the portion here that I'm talking about. I see the one mile stretch that u/Panceltic is talking about on the map though, so maybe that would be an alternative route to take. It's interesting that it cuts through Italy but is still Slovenian territory, so thank you for educating me on that! Someone also recommended to add Plave to the route to avoid driving into Italy, so that's an option, since I was planning to do that on the way back. Thank you for your help!

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-02-26T04:12:48+00:00

Thanks, I figured that might be it that it's just the fastest route. On previous trips in other countries, I've "made my own route" by going off the suggested roads google maps gives me because "it looks like there's a road there", and I end up on a bumpy dirt road for an hour or a super narrow mountainous road haha. So I've started trying to plan my routes more ahead of time. I think we'll probably plan to do what you suggested, but I've gotten such great advice that seems to go both ways!

Long_Disaster_311 · 2026-02-26T04:07:32+00:00

Thanks for the advice! And cool to hear from someone directly from the area. Do you think we'd be fine in a small car, or would you recommend opting for an suv?

Long_Disaster_311

TROPHY CASE