Thanks to Sancho for doing all the research, though just reading it gave me cramps. The Renfe site is the stuff of nightmares, thankfully the trains are a sweet dream.
This is what I did, I have used RailEurope before many times, so I booked a rail pass through their website and then called their customer service and told them the exact same trips I am taking were about $300 cheaper when booked on Renfe. After some haggling, mostly about how the Remfe site doesn't accept American Credit Cards, the RailEurope supervisor offered to match the Renfe price for my trips. Now about the seating positions, they don't tell you which way you are facing, but again, I have never traveled on a train so full that you can't change seats when it starts to move.

Sancho...

Thank you so, so much!

I cannot predict success at this time -- because it's not quite within 62 days yet -- but your very detailed and informative post is a great help. I will do my best to follow your advice, hope for the best, and let everyone know how it goes.

Thanks, again.
SS

Hi, all...

I did a practice run on RENFE (in Spanish) just now to check the seat selection issue...stopping where I had to enter name, etc.

The check box to enable seat selection later in the process is on the page just after picking your fare, about 2/3 of the way down the page.

NOTE: If you don't check that box at that time, it appears you cannot go back and do it from the next page where you eneter your name, etc.

I'm going to do another test run on the English site to see how that looks.

SS

Hi, again...

The English site looks the same with the check-box to pick seats later on the same page.

SS

Nice work JP. Sounds like you got the best of both worlds through just a phone call. Any idea if being a repeat customer with RailEurope had any bearing on them adjusting the price for you? Or do you think a first time user could negotiate a similar deal?

Good luck Madrid in May. Be sure to purchase your tickets as soon as you can as you'll be there when more tourists will be. I waited three days while I was trying to decide between train or renting a car and missed out of the best discount to the tune of ~ 26 euros per ticket. Buena suerte!

Ha ha...I just realized what the strange purple symbol is for the "mesa" trains.

Looking really closely at it, it's two people sitting, facing each other, at a table.

Pretty obvious now.

SS

Hi Sancho, I don't know if been a previous customer influenced their decision, it could be so. I am more inclined to think it was the fact that I had already purchased the passes and had a right to cancel the order and get a full refund. But I was also assured by RailEurope that their site is directly connected to Renfe and they book the same trips at the same price. The difference in price was between booking a pass and booking individual trips. Sometimes one is better than the other, depending on Renfe's specials for that specific trip.

Hi, all...my saga...

At 1 am Eastern Time this morning (7 am Madrid time), I attempted to buy tickets on RENFE's site while on the phone to my credit card company. Multiple attempts failed to get the transaction to reach the card company. (Sigh!)

I finally gave up and bought the tix on RailEurope. The price was a little more, but by purchasing as early as was possible, I got a very good fare. [Not the 25 € fare that was available on the 8 a.m AVE, which was not feasible for me...but $49 (36 €) on the 10 am AVE, which is only 3 € more than on RENFE's site...these figure include the handling fees.]

The only real downside was the inability to pick my seats. I was hoping to face forward on the longer leg of the Madrid-Sevilla trip, but it was not to be.

I will probably try RENFE again later this week with my other tickets. [I must have a masochistic streak in me.]

Thanks for all who gave advice.

SS

yes Renfe still has not learn, hear a lot from visitors ,need some work to do, patient is the norm, try again. The other ticket is more expensive because raileurope is an agency and charges commissions. mostly own by SNCF of France.
Cheers

I have a very strong feeling this is a sweet under the table deal between Renfe and RailEurope that benefits both at the expense of American tourists. As proven, only US issued credit cards dont work on the Renfe site. When I talked to RailEurope they sounded pretty confident that even if they gave me a refund for the passes I bought, I would be back to buy them again because Renfe would reject my card. In reality, as bad as it may sound, like MiM said, its only a few dollars more for the convenience of not dealing with another pain in the a**.