China high speed rail

[Irenicis]

Can I access 12306 from Alipay app and then book + pay from there? Thanks

 

[sbl2560]

Can I access 12306 from Alipay app and then book + pay from there? Thanks

12306 is within the Alipay app. However, it still requires to sign up an account, for booking and payment.

 

[hfngshnll]

Can I access 12306 from Alipay app and then book + pay from there? Thanks

accessing from within alipay app means you will incur the 3% fee if amount is more than rmb200, unless you are paying from the alipay wallet balance, and not thru the linked international credit/debit cards.

using 12306 directly or buying thru ctrip/trip, you can choose other payment methods like credit cards etc.

for myself, i use 12306 directly and always use my youtrip card to pay.

 

[android]

Is it easier to buy tickets at 12306.com when it open up 15days in advance or use trip reserve function to book in advance. Just worried as trip shows 20% success rate even when using the reservation function

 

[honestguy]

accessing from within alipay app means you will incur the 3% fee if amount is more than rmb200, unless you are paying from the alipay wallet balance, and not thru the linked international credit/debit cards.

using 12306 directly or buying thru ctrip/trip, you can choose other payment methods like credit cards etc.

for myself, i use 12306 directly and always use my youtrip card to pay.

Even if you booked via 12306 app, when the total amt is more than 200 RMB, you still need to pay 3% card fee for Youtrip.

 

[sbl2560]

Even if you booked via 12306 app, when the total amt is more than 200 RMB, you still need to pay 3% card fee for Youtrip.

I have booked tickets from 12306 and paid using Youtrip. There isn't a 3% card fee for amounts exceeded 200 RMB.

 

[Beefsteak]

Anyone tried booking high speed rail tickets just before the chinese new year? Is it hard to get tickets?
I heard that the train stations can be quite crowded during that period.

 

[d3n]

Anyone tried booking high speed rail tickets just before the chinese new year? Is it hard to get tickets?
I heard that the train stations can be quite crowded during that period.

most likely... same like golden week.

i will avoid CNY and golden week period to go china

 

[beanstalk6]

Anyone tried booking high speed rail tickets just before the chinese new year? Is it hard to get tickets?
I heard that the train stations can be quite crowded during that period.

Goes without saying, even with the current downturn.

 

[natas]

Anyone tried booking high speed rail tickets just before the chinese new year? Is it hard to get tickets?
I heard that the train stations can be quite crowded during that period.

Change your plan unless u are going China to visit your family or small 3.

 

[Beefsteak]

Change your plan unless u are going China to visit your family or small 3.

Going to visit family. Another option is to hail a Didi.

 

[LWZ]

Going to visit family. Another option is to hail a Didi.

Didi from where to where ?

 

[elvintay07]

most likely... same like golden week.

i will avoid CNY and golden week period to go china

Totally agree. Normal days already crwded like crazy. Before cny and big china holiday i really dont dare to try. Last time 1 chinese told me it is like human conveyor belt. You just stand there also got pushed away

 

[elvintay07]

Is it easier to buy tickets at 12306.com when it open up 15days in advance or use trip reserve function to book in advance. Just worried as trip shows 20% success rate even when using the reservation function

My theory is like this. If can book direct, then I will book direct. When do we book from trip.com etc? only when there is big savings….

 

[d3n]

My theory is like this. If can book direct, then I will book direct. When do we book from trip.com etc? only when there is big savings….

trip got advantage cos they will book on your behalf and you have a second choice in case the first choice is full already (eg u can book both first and second class, so either one will be secured for you by trip)

 

[elvintay07]

trip got advantage cos they will book on your behalf and you have a second choice in case the first choice is full already (eg u can book both first and second class, so either one will be secured for you by trip)

If I book, I got 10 choices. From Cheng Du to Jiuzhai station got 6-7 options. Then from Cheng Du to Song Jiang station also got few options. Last round I chose myself and got many options. I presume some maybe more comfortable with trip because they got powerhouse users to help book. But I trust myself. Haha

 

[d3n]

If I book, I got 10 choices. From Cheng Du to Jiuzhai station got 6-7 options. Then from Cheng Du to Song Jiang station also got few options. Last round I chose myself and got many options. I presume some maybe more comfortable with trip because they got powerhouse users to help book. But I trust myself. Haha

i trust system haha... cos need to fastest finger to book the seats if DIY.

 

[Fishdim]

Not true that trip has an advantage. When I booked through trip previously, I submitted my order early before my date was opened for booking. When the date was opened for booking, my order was put under waiting at my preferred train & timing. My status remained as ‘waiting’ for quite a while coz I kept checking. Panicked that it may be sold out, I checked and booked on 12306 app and got my tickets immediately. I went back to trip, my status still ‘waiting’ , I cancelled my trip booking.

 

[klavier]

My theory is like this. If can book direct, then I will book direct. When do we book from trip.com etc? only when there is big savings….

Booking train tickets via Trip will enable savings for some hotels in China. I think they call it "train special" or something like that. Was surprised to see that all of my hotels for my first trip had savings of around $15 a night so I went ahead to rebooked..
On my second trip, only 1 hotel had significant discount.. anyway the discounts more than covered the fees I paid for 6 pax train travel..

To be honest, I would still book with Trip even if there is no discount.. It was just easier to book with Trip for me because adding 6 people in 12306 was really a pain and I gave up.

Not true that trip has an advantage. When I booked through trip previously, I submitted my order early before my date was opened for booking. When the date was opened for booking, my order was put under waiting at my preferred train & timing. My status remained as ‘waiting’ for quite a while coz I kept checking. Panicked that it may be sold out, I checked and booked on 12306 app and got my tickets immediately. I went back to trip, my status still ‘waiting’ , I cancelled my trip booking.

Had experienced the same thing for 1 of my train rides... Waited like 2 hours and still shows "waiting".. Anyway it turned out to be alright in the end.. I got my first choice timing and seats were allocated well..

On my numerous train bookings using Trip.com, I was only dissatified once, i.e. when they allocated 2 individual seats away from the others. It is still in the same carriage though. Perhaps it was because it was a popular timing and my travel group is larger than most..

 

[beanstalk6]

My 2 cents worth is that booking on trip.com and other 3rd party sites still offer advantage since they allow pre-booking until the official 12306 site releases the tickets. You do not have to monitor 12306 unless you know exactly when the fast-selling ticket is released. However trip.com admits to its shortfalls:

• Sometimes ticket availability lags behind the official site
• May not have the very latest real-time train updates

One should still monitor on trip.com in case the official site releases the tickets and yet trip.com indicated that the booking was unsuccessful. The above 2 situations may have happened, and one should quickly make an attempt on 12306.