Can't buy FLIXBUS ticket due to AD04 error? This is how you deal with it.

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FLIXBUS really helped when I went to Europe.

It is cheap, easy to book online, and has a lot of buses on various routes.

One good point is you don't even need to print your ticket.
You may only need 20 Euros to take a night bus to the next country.

However, I am quite impatient all the more when I cannot use it due to an error.

In fact, there is a well-known problem with FLIXBUS, where the app suddenly stops accepting your credit cards.

Last year I was able to cope with it by changing my email address.
But since this year, it doesn't work anymore.

In that case you can work around by using Paypal.

So let's take a look at the details.

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Finally here! Horrible AD04 error

So I'm honored to encounter the famous credit card payment error, which really surprised me.

I googled it, only to find a lot of information that did't help (^_^;)

Credit card declined! This is AD04.

I think it was Prague..

I bought a good bus on FLIXBUS app as usual to go to the next town.
No, I tried to.

I chose a bus as usual, paid by my credit card.

And while waiting for the payment to be completed..
I got this error!

This is the infamous AD04 error.
It asks you to use other payment methods, but you'll get exactly the same error with other credit cards.

Pandemonium at support desk

What's this? I'm surprised and googled it in English, and apparently this error is coming up all over the place.

FLIXBUS's Facebook page is also flooded with questions, and while the answer from the support is that it is a technical issue.

A lot of very plausible reactions that say:

When the 'technical issue' going to be solved?

were written. (^_^;)

Cuz it seems the problem has been coming up for years.

But if it's a technical problem, unless FLIXBUS fixes it, won't I never be able to use this cheap and convenient bus again?

I felt quite desperate.

Other ways to purchase FLIXBUS

By the way, you can get a FLIXBUS ticket without the app.

You can buy it if you go to:

FLIXBUS web page or
Stores located in bus terminals or other locations.

However, you don't want to buy on web because the price on app is quite cheaper.

That's why people in the trouble are booing on it.

If you couldn't buy by the method I describe later, you have no choice but trying the above two options.

But it's not cheap anymore.
So you might as well just buy some other bus at the bus terminal.

How to avoid AD04 in 2018: Change email address

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This AD04 error, against which the support seems to throw up their hands, could be solved with a very simple way.

Just by changing your email address in app,

You could avoid the error, as I wrote at the beginning, last year.

I had a free email address (hotmail) other than one I mainly use, so I set it and was able to purchase the ticket.

If you are going to Europe and traveling by bus, it might be good to have a sub email address.

This might work in some cases this year too.

Prepare Paypal to avoid AD04 in 2019

Up until last year, I was able to deal with the error by the email address change so I didn't need contacting support desk.

But that didn't work this year, so I finally contacted support.

Finally I could buy FLIXBUS by Paypal as they told me.

Support on Twitter is recommended

There are some ways to contact to FLIXBUS support.
I recommend sending direct message to FLIXBUS Twitter account cuz it was very quick to respond.

And what support says is:

You can use Paypal.
You can make a payment as a guest even if you don't have a Paypal account.

But unfortunately, the guest option did not come up.
As you can see, you can either log into your account or create a new one.

I asked to support again, they said there may be no guest option in some regions.

No need for mobile verification?

I had a Paypal account.

But recently I bought a new PC and it was different from my previous one, so I was stuck with security check.

When I tried to login with correct password before, I got a message saying like 'You need SMS authentication with the registered mobile phone.'

It was phone in Japan which I already stopped temporarily before my long trip.

However, I gave it a try again, this time I was able to login the account without SMS authentication.
Maybe security policy has changed.

Anyway, I was able to buy it without any problems, such a big relief :)

Beware of Paypal exchange rate

By the way, there is one point you should take care of when you make a payment with Paypal.

If you use Paypal to settle foreign currency, you'll be charged more commission than usual on the exchange rate!

According to Paypal's official information for the exchange fee, it's about 4% for many currencies.

For Euro, in which FLIXBUS charges, Paypal's exchange fee is 4%.

The exchange rate shown at the payment like below includes the Paypal's commission.

But the solution is simple: show currency conversion options by clicking link and change it to use Card issuer's currency conversion rate.

The credit card exchange fee should be less than 3%.

Join Paypal before you book FLIXBUS!

Having Paypal is highly recommended if you use FLIXBUS❗

Register from here😃👇

Measures that did not work

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I tried some other things before I got to the solution above like:

Changing to other credit card
Logout and login again
Reinstalling the app

However, with all of them I got the same AD04 error and were useless.

Especially when I reinstalled the app, my old ticket purchase history disappeared.
I felt like I had lost some memories (^_^;)

This year, in addition to these things, changing email address seems to become useless.

So, from 2019 the solution can be like:

Give it a try to change email address
If it doesn't work, use Paypal.
Depending on the region, you may be able to make a guest payment even if you don't have a Paypal account.

If you got an AD04 error unfortunately, please try it out :)

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2019年8月26日月曜日