Don’t Get Railroaded by Rail Ninja: Use Omio Instead

Hey fellow travelers! Are you booking travel this summer? Maybe you’re planning for travel around the 2024 Paris Olympics. Either way, at some point, you must have booked a train ticket only to realize you’ve been completely ripped off? Yeah, that’s exactly what happened to me with Rail Ninja.

So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and let me share my frustrating experience and some valuable tips to save you from the same fate. And why you should use Omio for your rail travel.

My Rail Ninja Nightmare: How I Almost Paid Double for a Ghost Train

I was planning my family’s trip through Spain where we would travel from Seville to Barcelona. Though I’m not always a budget-conscious traveler, planning for my parents and my brother (a family of four) made me pay close attention to costs this time.

Either because I had a long day at work or got lazy, I went straight to Rail Ninja to book my train tickets. Big mistake! I ended up paying $632 over $200 for first-class tickets on a train that didn’t even exist.

Wait. What?

Let me rewind.

I didn’t remember that on previous trips to Spain and Europe, I used Omio for their ease of use and efficiency in paying with PayPal. When I checked prices on Omio, I realized the prices were much, much lower. And it’s not like Omio is a saint in this process, but they do charge a lower service fee compared to Rail Ninja.

But it gets worse.

When I realized my first mistake, I also realized my second mistake was putting this purchase on my JetBlue Plus credit card. While the JetBlue credit card can earn miles, I am not very confident about its dispute process compared to American Express. Now, you might think this is a small issue. However, the American Express dispute process is so efficient it ALONE makes it worth the annual fee.

American Express has a very strong reimbursement policy when it comes to suspicious charges and usually will err on the side of the customer, assuming it was an unjust charge. Unfortunately, in this case, this was my mistake, and I know better for next time.

But, that’s still not the worst part.

Gear Used

Price Gouging on the Rails: Rail Ninja vs. the Competition

I did some digging and discovered that Rail Ninja’s prices are consistently outrageous compared to other booking platforms like Omio and Renfe.

For example, a one-way trip from Seville to Barcelona on Rail Ninja was a whopping 58.4% more expensive than the same trip on Omio!

Seriously, why pay more for the same thing?

Phantom Trains and Frustration: Rail Ninja Reliability Issues

But, let’s get to the real problem!

As if the price gouging wasn’t bad enough, it turns out that Rail Ninja has a nasty habit of listing trains that don’t actually exist. This means you could book a ticket, show up at the station, and… well, there’s no train.

Talk about frustrating!

Side-by-Side Comparison: Rail Ninja vs. Omio

If you take a look above at the side-by-side comparison, you can see that for the “Fastest” section, Omio (right side of image) is charging $264 for a one-way trip from Seville to Barcelona. The same trip on Rail Ninja (left side of image) on the same train is $452. That is a staggering 58.4% increase. For reference, you can book four first-class tickets on Omio for $363.89.

So why pay more?

I’ve used Omio in the past for another AVE ticket going from Barcelona to Madrid and found them to be reliable.

In addition, if you look at the 9.36 AM Train #97467, that train doesn’t even appear on the Omio website or the Renfe website. That’s also the same train that I happened to book initially to get first-class tickets.

As a result, Railninja was unable to book tickets since the train is actually unavailable even on Renfe’s website.

The Convenience of Booking with Omio and Renfe

You could also book on Renfe’s website, which shows a total of 248.6 Euros, which Omio comes very close to offering.

However, you will have to enter details for each passenger, including passport numbers and telephone numbers. Trust me, after enough travel planning, this stage in the travel process gets annoying. Unless maybe you’ve expedited this process using a Notion template or something. In that case, kudos to you!

Also this can be complicated if you book through different websites like OBB (Austrian railway) when using some American credit cards.

Omio makes this easy (regardless of train carrier) where you just enter the main account holder’s information and phone number and insert the rest of the names and passport information, then you just pay via PayPal where you can get protection security.

From there, you can select your preferred credit card or you can use American Express Platinum through that payment method for extra enhancement.

Tips, Tricks, and Logistics

Trip Soundtrack

Because every adventure needs a soundtrack, each of my trips comes with a theme song. And for this trip's anthem? Well, it's...

Don’t Get Taken for a Ride: Choose Omio or Renfe for Smooth Train Travel

So, fellow travelers, learn from my mistakes!

Avoid Rail Ninja like the plague and opt for Omio or Renfe for your train booking needs. Your wallet and your sanity will thank you. And most importantly, make sure to use a card that has a strong dispute charge process. It’s for that reason I strongly recommend an American Express Gold or American Express Platinum (preferred) for travel.

Check out the locations section to find more travel itineraries, including my in-depth guide to Guam and my comparison of VPN services for remote work!

About Homson Travels

At Homson Travels, I share authentic travel experiences, tips, and guides to inspire your next adventure. From bustling cities to hidden gems, join us as we explore the world one destination at a time.