Credit card keeps getting refused by eki-net

[Grant_T]

Any other options for booking? I've used a couple of cards and they do not get validated. I'm just trying to organise some Shinkansen tickets.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Grant_T

[bikkuri bahn]

Ekinet is only available for domestic credit card users.  The following may be of use:

 

https://smart-ex.jp/en/lp/app/?utm_source=global.jr-central.co.jp&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=own&_gl=1*3fxs96*_ga*MjAzMTY5MTA0OC4xNzAxODM3MjQ3*_ga_PTQ5QH33LV*MTcwMTgzNzM2OC4xLjEuMTcwMTgzNzM4NC4wLjAuMA..*_ga_GKL8RQ63XD*MTcwMTgzNzM2OC4xLjEuMTcwMTgzNzM4NC4wLjAuMA..

 

https://www.eki-net.com/en/jreast-train-reservation/top/Index

 

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/overview/

 

*unless you are travelling during peak periods (Obon in Aug., Golden Week in May,  as well as Dec. 29 out of Tokyo, and Jan. 3 into Tokyo), you can just make your reservations after you arrive in country, it really should be no problem.

[mojo]

I couldn't get eki-net to work last time, but it may have been my card rather than the website.

 

In the end I used a ticket machine. JR Pass makes it easy, but is no longer a good deal. At least with the machines they have a decent English interface and make it relatively easy to do now, but it's still not all that clear when e.g. you get two tickets for the same journey.

[Grant_T]

Thanks both, we are traveling around New Year, so wanted to get the tickets sorted early (my wife gets anxious). It turned out that our bank stopped the charges (even with two-factor authentication).

[mojo]

Is there a good website showing how busy the shinkansen are? So you can see if it is worth booking in advance or waiting till you get to the station. I like the flexibility of on-the-day tickets.

[Mutro]

On 12/6/2023 at 1:45 PM, bikkuri bahn said:

Ekinet is only available for domestic credit card users.  The following may be of use:

 

https://smart-ex.jp/en/lp/app/?utm_source=global.jr-central.co.jp&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=own&_gl=1*3fxs96*_ga*MjAzMTY5MTA0OC4xNzAxODM3MjQ3*_ga_PTQ5QH33LV*MTcwMTgzNzM2OC4xLjEuMTcwMTgzNzM4NC4wLjAuMA..*_ga_GKL8RQ63XD*MTcwMTgzNzM2OC4xLjEuMTcwMTgzNzM4NC4wLjAuMA..

 

https://www.eki-net.com/en/jreast-train-reservation/top/Index

 

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/overview/

 

*unless you are travelling during peak periods (Obon in Aug., Golden Week in May,  as well as Dec. 29 out of Tokyo, and Jan. 3 into Tokyo), you can just make your reservations after you arrive in country, it really should be no problem.

I can report that I was able to use my US card in reserving several Joyful Train tix from the US using ekinet. These trains are so popular that you should reserve them as soon as they come on sale which is typically 30 days out.

 

I’m in Japan now and I can also report that Ekinet does work on one of my US card here in Japan… but with some issues.  Specifically, I first tried to use my Chase VISA Sapphire Reserve card and the system would not accept it. So I tried my Schwab VISA Debit card, and it worked!  Reserved three Shinkansen tix, but then ekinet refused to acknowledge same card on my fourth ticket try.  I went to the JR East midorinomadoguchi and the agent told me that sometimes the US bank card has security issues on ekinet.  So I called Schwab on their international line and it turns out that even though I had previously notified them to allow my use in Japan, their security protocol automatically stops accepting repeated use after a few being accepted, thus I asked them to release the block so I can continue to use the card.  Strange that my repeated ATM withdrawals did not have this issue.  
 

So usability of US card on ekinet seems to depend on the bank card and their security protocols as well as the way the card is being accessed.

 

On a related note, ekinet, at least the English version, only shows availability of express trains and thus not allow purchasing slower train tix, e.g non-Shinkansen tickets.

Edited May 27 by Mutro

[mojo]

I think the issue with Ekinet for British cards may be security. My bank likes to send me an SMS when making online purchases from some retailers, and Japanese websites don't seem to support it so just show a failure message.

 

I'm not sure if there is any way around it other than for Ekinet to support the extra security features.

[railsquid]

If it's any consolation, the Deutsche Bahn website flat out refused my Japanese credit cards last year (not the first time I've had a non-Japanese website reject them). Fortunately the terminal at the station accepted one, which saved me from having to do an emergency yen exchange.

[mojo]

It reminds me how things were some years back when many places that took credit cards wanted you to verify with a signature. Europe moved to using PIN numbers long ago, and most banks seem to just refuse signatures. It was a pain until I worked it out and learned to ask for 暗証番号 (anshou bangou - I thought it would have been ピン or maybe 秘密番号, but I think maybe it's because that term is used for safes and door locks), but now everyone in Japan seems to have moved to PINs so I don't have to.

 

It still amuses me how many of the staff do an over-the-top "I can't see your PIN" act. Sometimes they turn away, cover their eyes with one hand and the keypad with the other.

 

It's just a shame that contactless via Google Pay rarely seems to work. I've had success a couple of times, but mostly it doesn't work. I wonder if I'm asking for the wrong thing, like maybe they think I'm saying I want to use Mobile Suica or something and putting the terminal in the wrong mode.

 

Anyway, the big question now is should be we buying Yen and JR passes at the current exchange rate, or gambling on it getting even better? It's mad that some stuff is basically half the price it used to be. Shame JAL wouldn't let me pay the Japanese price for their tickets.

[chadbag]

3 hours ago, mojo said:

It reminds me how things were some years back when many places that took credit cards wanted you to verify with a signature. Europe moved to using PIN numbers long ago, and most banks seem to just refuse signatures. It was a pain until I worked it out and learned to ask for 暗証番号 (anshou bangou - I thought it would have been ピン or maybe 秘密番号, but I think maybe it's because that term is used for safes and door locks), but now everyone in Japan seems to have moved to PINs so I don't have to.

 

At least for US cards in PIN countries, the card seems to have encoded in it that it is a signature card.  I made the effort to get PINs set up on all our US based cards before our trip to Sweden/Norwar/Denmark in 2016 when we bought the Volvo with euro delivery so that we could use the PIN when paying like all the other good people.  But our card invariably flagged as "signature" and the cashier would inevitably hand us a mobile signature pad device.  The only time this didn't work was in Stockholm, buying train tickets for a local at an automated machine.  It just took our card and spit out the tickets without a PIN or signature or anything.

 

In Japan they always ask us to "please sign" and push a signature pad at us.  I think it is part of the card encoding in the chip.

 

[mojo]

Interesting, because in the UK I don't think they even have the signature pads anymore. Or if they do they keep them under the desk somewhere.

 

I've noticed that some places in Japan don't even bother with any authentication. No PIN, no signing, they just hand you the card back and say thanks.