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Special Offers Discussion

Red Dragon

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2 Sep 2010
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£30 worth of train tickets for £10 worth of Tesco Clubcard vouchers.
I just picked this up on the Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert website and thought it might be useful.
For those with a Tesco Clubcard you now have access to the Red Spotted Hanky website where you can book train tickets. It appears to be the same booking site as East Coast.
The real advantage is, for every £10 worth of Tesco Clubcard Vouchers you use you get £30 worth of train tickets.
I don't have a Tesco Clubcard but for those who do here's the link: -
http://www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/product.aspx?R=1916
 
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bnm

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12 Oct 2009
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Cashback websites are also worth looking into when purchasing train tickets.

The percentage cashback isn't particularly high and the wait to receive the cashback can be quite long, but I've been using topcashback.co.uk for ticket purchases when no other online offer is available. Typically 2 months before the cashback shows in my topcashback account.

South West Trains currently offer 2.62% via topcashback on all ticket purchases. Other TOCs and ticket retailers also have cashback offers. The most generous currently is TransPennine offering 4.54% cashback on their AP tickets via topcashback.co.uk.

Every little helps and if you do a lot of online shopping cashback websites are well worth using.

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/cat/rail-ferry-and-coach/
 

LexyBoy

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25% off CrossCountry Advance fares booked through their website until 31/5/11 - courtesy of lyesbkz.

Thread.

edit: XC webpage here. Although the page refers to journeys to Newcastle, it apparently works for other journeys too.
 
Last edited:

sdrennan

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23 Feb 2011
Messages
208
Redspottedhanky looks a good offer especially when i found £16 of unused vouchers in my Clubcard account :D

Has anyone used it to book yet. I cannot see how to buy a Rover ticket on their website (Looking to do a Highland Rover in late June)

The only phone number they have is £1 per minute :-x
 

LexyBoy

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Redspottedhanky looks a good offer especially when i found £16 of unused vouchers in my Clubcard account :D

Has anyone used it to book yet. I cannot see how to buy a Rover ticket on their website (Looking to do a Highland Rover in late June)

AFAIK it's not possible to buy Rovers except from stations, telesales and certain TOC websites.

The only phone number they have is £1 per minute :-x
With customer service like that, I'd save your Clubcard points for something which won't cause any potential issues.

Also, if you wish to ask any further questions, please start a new thread - this sticky is meant for posting details of offers rather than discussion. Thanks and welcome!
 

island

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I wonder does that discriminate on the basis of nationality, since you need a British passport (or possibly driving licence) to buy a railcard requiring a photo online.
 

ji459

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1 Mar 2011
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112
For anyone who was thinking of taking advantage of Southern's offer of 25% off advance fares, the offer ends today (2 May).
 

All Line Rover

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17 Feb 2011
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10% of First Advances from East Coast when booked through Red Spotted Hanky:

(When you click on the link in the email it just goes to the standard page: http://tickets.redspottedhanky.com/rsh/en/JourneyPlanning/MixingDeck)

Book by 9th May. Travel valid until 29 July. Railcard discounts also apply as normal.

That's not a great offer, though, as East Coast give 10% off permanently. East Coast are currently giving 20% off First Advance tickets actually! :D

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/special-offers/20-off-First-Advance-go-on-treat-yourself-/
 

Furrball

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9 May 2011
Messages
561
Hello all, first post here.

Signed up initially to discuss the possible outcome of what seemed to potentially a situation where a ticket had been sold that we not necessarily valid. However a little searching reveals the following offer (it seems to be £43 Edinburgh - London and £46.00 Aberdeen/Inverness - London (limited availability Northbound?):

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/This_is_my_Edinburgh

'This is my Edinburgh' has teamed up with East Coast to offer you discounted First Class rail travel between London and Edinburgh from £43* one way. From 22 May 2011, passengers travelling in East Coast’s First Class will receive complimentary food and drink on board. You’ll be served refreshments at your seat by our friendly on-board team. For shorter journeys, you’ll be offered non-alcoholic drinks and snacks while on longer trips you can look forwards to something a little more substantial. Plus, there’s now the option to relax and travel First Class in the new Quiet Coach.

To book or check the price of your journey, simply enter your travel requirements in the booking engine on the left of this page. Our booking system will guide you to the best available fares ('EC promotional fare' denotes a Reader Offer fare). Remember the Reader Offer is available in First Class on our off-peak leisure trains for a limited time only, subject to availability.

Please click here to download the voucher

When can I book?
Bookings are open from 9am Monday 2 May until midnight Tuesday 17 May 2011.
You must book at least three weeks in advance of your outward travel date.
When can I travel?
Between 24 May and 30 June, excluding 27 May to 5 June inclusive.
Seats are available on off-peak services with limited availability on Friday and Sunday afternoons.
There will also be limited availability when major events are taking place. Please note, engineering work taking place on some weekends during this promotion may affect your journey times. More information about disruption as a result of engineering work.
What do I need?
Please make sure you take the downloadable voucher from this page and your ticket(s) with you when you travel.
How do I book?
All bookings using this offer must be made online using the booking engine on the left hand side of this page.
You must book at least three weeks in advance of your outward travel date.
Seats are subject to availability – and we are expecting the biggest demand at weekends – so please book as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
All major credit, debit and charge cards are accepted as payment.
If you require space for a wheelchair or have access requirements, please call our dedicated Assisted Travel Team on 08457 225 225 before you book.
To give you greater choice and flexibility, tickets are sold as single fares. This allows you to choose the lowest available prices for every stage of your journey. For example you can select the reader offer fare on the outward journey and, if the return train of your choice is unavailable, you can select the best fares shown.
 

dzug2

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5 Feb 2011
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I wonder does that discriminate on the basis of nationality, since you need a British passport (or possibly driving licence) to buy a railcard requiring a photo online.

Maybe it does - but so what? Discrimination isn't per se illegal
 

island

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Well, how about section 29 of the Equality Act, 2010, which requires that a service provider must not discriminate by not providing a person with a service due to the person's age, sex, race (including nationality), gender reassignment status, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, or disability? As far as I can see, they are refusing to provide anyone who does not hold either a British passport or British driving licence with a three-year Railcard, and charging them less for a one-year one than someone who does not hold either of those two things. That appears to be indirect discrimination on the race ground to me.

(mods please feel free to split as this is probably off-topic)
 

MikeWh

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They are not denying people a service, just varying how much that service costs. If you extend this argument to the fullest extent then it would be illegal to offer child or OAP fares full stop. I hope I'm right in thinking that that would not be desirable.
 

island

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They are not denying people a service, just varying how much that service costs. If you extend this argument to the fullest extent then it would be illegal to offer child or OAP fares full stop. I hope I'm right in thinking that that would not be desirable.

There is an exemption for age-discrimination where the discrimination is a proportionate means to achieving a legitimate aim, which would seem to cover child/16-25/Senior fares. This exemption doesn't extend to race.
 

dzug2

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Having just looked it up - you don't need a British passport - virtually any passport will do. And just about anyone can get a British Driving licence - nationality doesn't come into it.
 

island

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Hmm. So they do. I shall have to withdraw then, unless I go about some tortured suggestion of discriminating against Irish people who would be the only foreign people in the UK who don't hold a passport. (The acceptance of a British driving license wouldn't cover it though, as that would indirectly discriminate against foreign people, especially those recently arrived in the country, as they would be less likely to have one.)
 

Matt Taylor

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On Thursday 26th Southern are offering 90% off advance fares, that's what they are advertising on Facebook anyway.
 

els

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27 May 2011
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East Coast have cheap (walk-on?) fares which are discounted Super Off-Peak tickets.

Type in London to Edinburgh on their website and you'll be offered a £37.50 fare with a railcard.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I should add that only the Super Off Peak singles are discounted and are half the price of a return.
 

John @ home

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East Coast have cheap (walk-on?) fares ...
I should add that only the Super Off Peak singles are discounted and are half the price of a return.
Thanks for spotting this, els.

They are actually half the price of a normal Super Off Peak single, but that's very close to half the price of a return. They are available to book from Thursday 2 June until Saturday 16 July for travel until Friday 7 October 2011, and must be booked via East Coast.

They are available until 2359 the day before travel only for journeys to and from London wholly on the East Coast network where East Coast sets the fare. They are not offered to/from stations beyond Edinburgh. They are routed Any Permitted, eg. you can book one for the 1948 Grand Central service Kings X - Doncaster. There appear to be some implementation issues: currently they are offered London - Doncaster or London - Leeds but not London - Wakefield.

The press release is here.
 

MadCommuter

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4 Oct 2010
Messages
630
Cashback websites are also worth looking into when purchasing train tickets.

I use cashback websites a lot and find Quidco more reliable and helpful than TCB. Current rail offers include:

South-West Trains 4.5% on ALL tickets
First Trans-Pennine 4.5% on their own services, 1% others
East Midlands Trains 2.5% on their own services, 15 others

If you are considering joining Quidco, than I would very much appreciate you signing up via my referral link:

http://www.quidco.com/user/215394/588
 

MKB

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15 Oct 2008
Messages
601
I use cashback websites a lot and find Quidco more reliable and helpful than TCB. Current rail offers include:

South-West Trains 4.5% on ALL tickets
First Trans-Pennine 4.5% on their own services, 1% others
East Midlands Trains 2.5% on their own services, 15 others

If you are considering joining Quidco, than I would very much appreciate you signing up via my referral link:

http://www.quidco.com/user/215394/588

South-West Trains offer 2.6%, not 4.5%, but still worth having.
 

wintonian

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Hampshire
Southern are now doing 10% off advance and offpeak tickets, inc. 1st advance.

Linkey

T&C's

Discounts will be available from 1st June 2011 until 10th July 2011 additional railcard discounts are allowed.
 

island

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Unlikely to happen as Northern don't sell online or offer TOD!
 

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