Annual Gold Card - 34% off South East rail tickets

[vinnielo]

I've been able to purchase off-peak tickets with the Gold Card discount for same day travel.
If ever I try to apply this railcard for Advance tickets on eastcoast.co.uk, (for example), no money is knocked off.
Nowhere in http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/season_tickets/goldcard.html does it say the discount can't be applied to Advance tickets.
What's the official line on this?

 

[LexyBoy]

Good question. On the Advance tickets page, it says "National Railcard holders get 1/3 off all Standard Class Advance fares.". The Network Railcard - and by extension a Gold Card - are listed as National Railcards on NRE. Neither give discounts on Advance fares within the Network Area as far as I can see.

 

[island]

I don't suppose you're travelling before 10am on a weekday? Gold cards aren't valid then.

 

[swt_passenger]

Network Railcard discount does not apply to Advance fares according to this:

http://www.railcard.co.uk/network/tickets-types-min-fares

 

[LexyBoy]

Network Railcard discount does not apply to Advance fares according to this:

http://www.railcard.co.uk/network/tickets-types-min-fares

Ah yes, there we go.

The usual story of slightly different versions of the same info popping up, even on the "definitive source for fares and times".

 

[vinnielo]

Thanks very much.

Ah yes, there we go.

The usual story of slightly different versions of the same info popping up, even on the "definitive source for fares and times".

It's a "usual story" is it? Do give more examples of this!
It's dead annoying from my PoV as there's so much time wasted arguing and researching!

 

[trevmonk]

Network Railcard discount does not apply to Advance fares according to this:

http://www.railcard.co.uk/network/tickets-types-min-fares

Yes but that is a Network Railcard not a Gold Card. Can anyone see where advance ticket discounts are excluded from Gold Card holders? I can only see where it says that the discount is available on "single and return tickets".

 

[LexyBoy]

It's a "usual story" is it? Do give more examples of this!
It's dead annoying from my PoV as there's so much time wasted arguing and researching!

There was this thread last week where there was discussion about whether break of journey can be restricted on the return part of an Off Peak Return - one page on NRE suggests that you need to check the restrictions for both legs, whilst another states that the return leg is always unrestricted.

It's a product of an overcomplicated fares system with rule easements and counter-easements created ad-hoc to appease the TOCs, meaning that even NRE can't keep up and in their attempt to make things appear simple for most customers, make things very confusing for some.

 

[swt_passenger]

Yes but that is a Network Railcard not a Gold Card. Can anyone see where advance ticket discounts are excluded from Gold Card holders? I can only see where it says that the discount is available on "single and return tickets".

It is only implied, because the Gold Card benefits are only available within the Network Card area, and the Network Card (and therefore the Gold Card) are not 'national railcards' despite the misleading statement mentioned above...

 

[wintonian]

The term 'national railcard' implies to me any railcard valid on the national rail network, or to put it another way any British railcard. So if it in fact it means any railcard valid throughout the country on the national rail network then for clarity shouldn't the network card be explicitly excluded?

 

[island]

It's getting very semantical already...

 

[swt_passenger]

The term 'national railcard' implies to me any railcard valid on the national rail network, or to put it another way any British railcard. So if it in fact it means any railcard valid throughout the country on the national rail network then for clarity shouldn't the network card be explicitly excluded?

Yes I agree it should be excluded. Anyone who has a Network Card presumably already knows it isn't a nationally available card. I think the national rail site's 'railcard lists' are wrong about the Network Card and the Gold Card.

 

[Mojo]

However TfL refer to the Network Railcard as a 'national railcard'

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/18343.aspx

 

[yorkie]

It is only implied, because the Gold Card benefits are only available within the Network Card area, and the Network Card (and therefore the Gold Card) are not 'national railcards' despite the misleading statement mentioned above...

If the Network Railcard is not a "National Railcard" because it isn't available in the whole of the nation of the UK, then none of the Railcards are truly National!

I would assume it refers to National Rail, and that appears to be the TfL position.

ATOC know they can get away with misleading the public. What's going to happen to them? Nothing! The financial industry has the FSA to ensure they don't mislead us. People who work in banks have told me how shocked they are to see how the railways get away without being tightly regulated. The DfT let ATOC do anything they want when it comes to ticketing & routeing matters and they were getting away with breaking the law on routeing guide changes for years. Nothing changes in that respect.

 

[Stats]

Advance ticket T&C do not allow for a Gold Card discount.

Child discounts, Senior, Family & Friends, Two Together, 16-25 , HM Forces and Disabled Persons Railcards discounts apply.