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Advance and Anytime - Same price

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najaB

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Was just looking at how to use up some RTVs and came across an interesting one. The Sailrail Advance Dublin to Dundee (via Belfast) fare is exactly the same as the Anytime Day Single - both at £54.10. Are there many examples of Advances being the same price as the SDS? It begs the question why bother with the Advance ticket at all?
 
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Hadders

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There was a thread about this a few months back iirc. The Advance fares are pointless and no-one should ever be sold one.

Let's hope it's not the first stage of getting rid of the Anytime fare.
 

causton

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Virgin and CrossCountry have some Advances that are just less than the Anytime Single. Of course this means they are highlighted on websites as the "cheapest option!" without telling customers they are sacrificing any flexibility for a couple of pounds, and then of course all the money goes to VT or XC and they don't have to share it with Chiltern, LM and LOROL; or LM, VT, Northern, TPE etc!
 

najaB

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There was a thread about this a few months back iirc. The Advance fares are pointless and no-one should ever be sold one.

Let's hope it's not the first stage of getting rid of the Anytime fare.
I remember that thread, I thought there was something funny like the Anytime only showing up on Scotrail's site. Both show up on TheTrainLine* and they're both highlighted as the Cheapest option. Hopefully people will realise that the Anytime is the better choice.

*I find the interface easy to use when trip planning, I always go to the ticket office even if I'm not using RTVs.
 

ainsworth74

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Let's hope it's not the first stage of getting rid of the Anytime fare.

It's got to be surely? I would imagine that various TOCs have been concerned about the ability to abuse the Anytime tickets and so an easy way of solving that issue is to change them into APs.
 

Starmill

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One can go one better. Crewe to Wolverhampton has a First Anytime Day Single that costs less than ALL of the available First Advances for that journey. And it's unlikely you'll find the lowest tier available. The FOS is £28.20, the cheapest Advance is £29.00 and the most expensive Advance is £79.00.

Of course this is because the Advances are priced by Virgin and the walk-up tickets by London Midland. As a side note isn't it funny that the cheapest Advance First from Wolverhampton to London is less by far than that from Wolverhampton to Crewe!
 
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najaB

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It's got to be surely? I would imagine that various TOCs have been concerned about the ability to abuse the Anytime tickets and so an easy way of solving that issue is to change them into APs.
At £53 for an Anytime from London to (stations to) Belfast via Glasgow it's not hard to see why they would want rid of it. Let's hope that enough of a stink can be kicked up to keep it. I genuinely use the Dundee to Belfast ticket a few times a year and I love the idea that I'm not tied to a specific train or ferry.
 

Merseysider

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One can go one better. Crewe to Wolverhampton has a First Anytime Day Single that costs less than ALL of the available First Advances for that journey. And it's unlikely you'll find the lowest tier available. The FOS is £28.20, the cheapest Advance is £29.00 and the most expensive Advance is £79.00.

Of course this is because the Advances are priced by Virgin and the walk-up tickets by London Midland. As a side note isn't it funny that the cheapest Advance First from Wolverhampton to London is less by far than that from Wolverhampton to Crewe!
Similar story on Warrington to Preston: Northern price the FDS at a highly reasonable £15.90, whereas Virgin 1st advances are £10, £20, £30 and £40, with very low availability of the £20 tier, let alone the tier at £10.

Virgin, greedy? Nah
 
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najaB

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Mm.. interesting. In the case of the via Cairnryan Sailrail tickets, both prices are set by Scotrail.
 
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