East Coast Rewards - Free Tickets Collection

[parkender102]

I've booked a free ticket London Kings Cross to Leeds on East Coast Trains using my Rewards Points. As the ticket price was 0 pounds there was no need to put my credit card details in to the payment part of the East Coast Trains website. So now I've got my 8 Letter/Figure Collection Code to pick the ticket up from the ticket machine what do I do when the machine requests the Payment Card I purchased the ticket with?

 

[maniacmartin]

Put any credit or debit card in

 

[parkender102]

Sounds Good - I'm just off to Woking Station to pick up another ticket that I paid for and thought I'd pick up the free ticket whilst I'm there and was slightly confused as I've not used the Ticket Dispensing Machine to pick up a free ticket before!

Thanks

 

[yorkie]

It's the same with tickets which are entirely paid for by voucher - any card will do

Likewise, with tickets purchased on certain websites which mind which card you use either, but most websites force you to use the exact card (well, I think they only check the last 4 digits or something, I am sure one of our card experts could confirm).

 

[Romilly]

On the East Coast website, if you make a booking consisting only of free tickets then, when it comes to Ticket Delivery options, as well as the usual Ticket on Departure option which tends (I think) to come first in the list of options, there will also be a second Ticket on Departure option at the end of the list of options. This second TOD option, if you read the small print, allows for collection with any debit/credit card, and is the one you need to have selected if all the tickets in your booking are free tickets. On the one occasion when I had only free tickets in my booking and had selected the standard TOD option, I had to get the ticket office to print the tickets off for me (I happened at the time to be at a station run by East Coast - I don't know if that made a difference).

 

[parkender102]

OK - that worked fine - I just put in a credit card then the code and printed the tickets out. There were just the free tickets on that collection code - the other tickets I was collecting were on another collection code.

Just one thing - on the screen and the ticket the price says £0.10 - I assume this is because they have to assign a value to the journey and it's not charging £0.10 to your credit card (although it would still be a bargain!).

 

[Hadders]

Your card won't get charged.

 

[andrewkeith5]

OK - that worked fine - I just put in a credit card then the code and printed the tickets out. There were just the free tickets on that collection code - the other tickets I was collecting were on another collection code.

Just one thing - on the screen and the ticket the price says £0.10 - I assume this is because they have to assign a value to the journey and it's not charging £0.10 to your credit card (although it would still be a bargain!).

Indeed correct - there's no such thing as a free ticket in the ATOC Fares Database, there is a specific instruction to retailers that any ticket priced at £0.05, £0.10 or £x.99 should not be made visible to customers as these are all the promotional tickets.

 

[bb21]

10p is the nominal value assigned to complimentary First Class tickets (5p for Standard Class) for accounting purposes.

 

[westv]

On the East Coast website, if you make a booking consisting only of free tickets then, when it comes to Ticket Delivery options, as well as the usual Ticket on Departure option which tends (I think) to come first in the list of options, there will also be a second Ticket on Departure option at the end of the list of options. This second TOD option, if you read the small print, allows for collection with any debit/credit card, and is the one you need to have selected if all the tickets in your booking are free tickets. On the one occasion when I had only free tickets in my booking and had selected the standard TOD option, I had to get the ticket office to print the tickets off for me (I happened at the time to be at a station run by East Coast - I don't know if that made a difference).

I did wonder why I sometimes saw two options for collection at the station. I've always gone for the first tick box without problem...so fat.

 

[CockneySparrow]

On the East Coast website, if you make a booking consisting only of free tickets then, when it comes to Ticket Delivery options, as well as the usual Ticket on Departure option which tends (I think) to come first in the list of options, there will also be a second Ticket on Departure option at the end of the list of options. This second TOD option, if you read the small print, allows for collection with any debit/credit card, and is the one you need to have selected if all the tickets in your booking are free tickets. On the one occasion when I had only free tickets in my booking and had selected the standard TOD option, I had to get the ticket office to print the tickets off for me (I happened at the time to be at a station run by East Coast - I don't know if that made a difference).

Don't think you can book a paid ticket on EC with a free one, I've been on there and had to book again for the paid return after booking the free outward ticket

 

[causton]

Don't think you can book a paid ticket on EC with a free one, I've been on there and had to book again for the paid return after booking the free outward ticket

I could!

I booked a Leeds - Stevenage free single, then realised 'book another journey' option came up, so I clicked on that and booked a Stevenage - Hatfield single. Noticed the two ToD options but one disappeared afterwards, leaving ToD as the only option (guess they would not post my free tickets!)

Mind, EC also says if you have to change trains you have to book 2 separate tickets for free journeys, but it was letting me choose a LDS - PBO / PBO - SVG itinerary as valid...!

 

[poshfan]

I had no problem with a Peterborough to Edinburgh rewards, and an advance for the return. Also, the rewards ticket showed the price as £0.00.

 

[hangus78]

The setup of TOD for the rewards tickets for EC has changed a couple of times in the past as I assume they try to find the best set up that leads to the fewest complaints.

The issue is if you allow the rewards tickets to use the standard 'same card' TOD delivery option you run the risk of rewards only bookers choosing the wrong option and ending up with an uncollectable booking as their is no card to use.

If instead you bar the standard option for rewards tickets bookers can't mix rewards and paid for tickets in a single booking.

Currently EC have the first option set up so if booking rewards only you need to make sure you sellect the right TOD option or you will have to go to the booking office to get them to print out.