Gold card with digital season ticket

[points_worrier]

Hi all,

I was looking at thetrainline.com's season ticket offer, and see that they offer a digital season ticket (available through their app it seems) for my route.
Should I purchase an annual ticket, does anyone know how the gold card works with this? Is it simply the same digital ticket? Or do I get sent a gold record card?

Thanks

 

[Watershed]

Hello and welcome the forum!

Only a paper season ticket acts as a Gold Card - because it is issued on ticket stock that says "Gold Card". For any other format of season ticket you will receive a Gold Record Card in the post, which you must show when using a Gold Card discounted ticket, or in order to have your Gold Card discount applied to an Oyster card at an Underground station.

In all honesty I'd not be keen on a digital season ticket. Rather than just getting one PDF/mobile pass as is the case with single/return tickets, my understanding is that you must 'activate' a journey each time you travel and download an "s-ticket" which is then valid for 3 hours. So you'd have to remember to do this twice a day before you travel. Given that all journeys will have the alternative of either a smartcard or paper-based season ticket where such formalities aren't necessary, I don't think I'd be interested. But YMMV!

 

[Starmill]

When I bought the season ticket in the trainline app it was with a discount code, and it was device-locked. If my phone were lost, stolen or stopped working I wouldn't be able to get my ticket back easily. This is entirely unlike with any other kind of ticket, even from trainline, where I'd be able to log in on another device and immediately see my tickets, and either print them out or show them on an alternative screen. I'd also be able to access them from my email account, again not possible in this case.

 

[points_worrier]

Wow, that sounds pretty terrible. They certainly don't mention any of it before purchase. I was mostly worrying about if the phone ran out of battery...

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Only a paper season ticket acts as a Gold Card - because it is issued on ticket stock that says "Gold Card". For any other format of season ticket you will receive a Gold Record Card in the post, which you must show when using a Gold Card discounted ticket, or in order to have your Gold Card discount applied to an Oyster card at an Underground station.

Currently

 

[points_worrier]

Heard back from the trainline officially:

"Thank you for your email.

Gold Cards are not available with digital season tickets as of yet, but we are working with train operators to rectify this in the future.

Kind regards,"

Surprising. Will definitely not be going for it!

 

[OscarH]

Heard back from the trainline officially:

"Thank you for your email.

Gold Cards are not available with digital season tickets as of yet, but we are working with train operators to rectify this in the future.

Kind regards,"

Surprising. Will definitely not be going for it!

That seems very poor, they should surely at least post out physical ones until if/when they can do digital ones, instead of doing nothing

 

[Hadders]

Very poor indeed. They should at least send out a Gold Record Card.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Other sales outlets are available.

 

[Haywain]

Other sales outlets are available.

Indeed. Other sales outlets which can provide both digital annual season tickets and Gold Record Cards.

 

[OscarH]

Indeed. Other sales outlets which can provide both digital annual season tickets and Gold Record Cards.

And you can get all that plus some credit to spend on other tickets