Free SWT weekend tickets - supporting gold card

[cfsuarc]

I've tried searching on this forum and while there are a few threads discussing related things, nothing actually touches on my specific question.

I have a few Free South West Trains weekend/bank-hol day tickets, left over from last year of me being their loyal annual season ticket holder.
I am a bit reluctant to do another year of 'old-fashioned' paper slotting/pulling at the barriers, since sometimes said barriers don't easily take the ticket so I have to track back and hit a different barrier.. all against the flow of peak-time Londoners.
But neither do I want to lose the free tickets - I should be able to use them within a year!

My question is, if I get myself an annual travelcard on Oyster (my commute is within London zones 1-5) and receive a paper gold record card by post, would I be fine using those free tickets?
This page seems to suggest that not just any valid gold card will do http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/gold-card-changes.aspx.
Tickets are valid for as long as the valid Gold Card is held at the time of travel.

Does anyone know more specifically,
* what the valid gold card is
* how would a ticket inspector even tell whether the gold card is issued by SWT or TfL or some other TOC?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Also, if this Oyster annual GC / SWT weekend tickets combo doesn't work in any shape, what other ways to avoid messing with the paper tickets would you suggest? showing the ticket every time to a wide gate attendant is an option I am aware of

Many thanks for any suggestions!

 

[mattdickinson]

I've tried searching on this forum and while there are a few threads discussing related things, nothing actually touches on my specific question.

I have a few Free South West Trains weekend/bank-hol day tickets, left over from last year of me being their loyal annual season ticket holder.
I am a bit reluctant to do another year of 'old-fashioned' paper slotting/pulling at the barriers, since sometimes said barriers don't easily take the ticket so I have to track back and hit a different barrier.. all against the flow of peak-time Londoners.
But neither do I want to lose the free tickets - I should be able to use them within a year!

My question is, if I get myself an annual travelcard on Oyster (my commute is within London zones 1-5) and receive a paper gold record card by post, would I be fine using those free tickets?
This page seems to suggest that not just any valid gold card will do http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/gold-card-changes.aspx.
Tickets are valid for as long as the valid Gold Card is held at the time of travel.

Does anyone know more specifically,
* what the valid gold card is
* how would a ticket inspector even tell whether the gold card is issued by SWT or TfL or some other TOC?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Also, if this Oyster annual GC / SWT weekend tickets combo doesn't work in any shape, what other ways to avoid messing with the paper tickets would you suggest? showing the ticket every time to a wide gate attendant is an option I am aware of

Many thanks for any suggestions!

SWT no longer issue any tickets on Oyster.

You could get a paper Annual Travelcard, but this would state the issuing station on it.

 

[cjohnson]

FWIW the letter I have accompanying the free tickets from a couple of years ago states "Tickets are valid from now as long as a current Gold Card is held at the time of travel. You can therefore 'carry forward' any unused free tickets if you renew your Gold Card."

 

[cfsuarc]

thanks for your answers guys.

as regards to

You could get a paper Annual Travelcard, but this would state the issuing station on it.

I guess (in theory) I could get it from an office at Tube station that's also SWT station e.g Wimbledon? or do all ticket offices belong to SWT?

As for

a current Gold Card is held

I vaguely remember seeing the same wording somewhere, perhaps on my own letters.. But upon phoning up SWT 'gold service' line, I am told that I need to renew with SWT. I am not sure how confident the guy was, let alone how easy it is for an RPI to tell the Gold Card is TfL- or SWT-issued if he can't tell that from the "issuing station"*
(*) e.g. joint TfL/SWT, or joint Southern/SWT for that matter (CLJ anyone?)

In the end, I thought I'd spare myself the trouble or risk, renew with SWT and use the stupid awkward paper ticket.

 

[Keith Jarrett]

thanks for your answers guys.

as regards to

I guess (in theory) I could get it from an office at Tube station that's also SWT station e.g Wimbledon? or do all ticket offices belong to SWT?

As for

I vaguely remember seeing the same wording somewhere, perhaps on my own letters.. But upon phoning up SWT 'gold service' line, I am told that I need to renew with SWT. I am not sure how confident the guy was, let alone how easy it is for an RPI to tell the Gold Card is TfL- or SWT-issued if he can't tell that from the "issuing station"*
(*) e.g. joint TfL/SWT, or joint Southern/SWT for that matter (CLJ anyone?)

In the end, I thought I'd spare myself the trouble or risk, renew with SWT and use the stupid awkward paper ticket.

All ticket issuing facilities at Wimbledon are SWT - same goes for Richmond if I remember correctly. Clapham Junction - is a Southern ticket office I think but long time ago, the one at the north end of the subway, used to be SWT.

And it should be easy for your average RPI/guard to tell if the ticket was SWT issued or not as most Travelcards will have the issuing station printed on it. Mine says between Wimbledon & London Zones 1-5 so as long as the inspector knows which stations are SWT, then there's no problem.

Not sure though what origin station telesales issued Gold Cards have.

 

[maniacmartin]

Clapham Junction - is a Southern ticket office I think but long time ago, the one at the north end of the subway, used to be SWT.

Clapham Junction is actually a SWT booking office. See Schedule 17 of the TSA.

 

[cfsuarc]

And it should be easy for your average RPI/guard to tell if the ticket was SWT issued or not as most Travelcards will have the issuing station printed on it. Mine says between Wimbledon & London Zones 1-5 so as long as the inspector knows which stations are SWT, then there's no problem.

Not sure though what origin station telesales issued Gold Cards have.

Interestingly, I've now received mine (telesales) with a definite non-SWT origin station.
So any RPIs looking at the gold card will either:
* not really care (or be able to tell) whether it's SWT or say TfL GC;
* be able to tell it is SWT by looking at some other info on it;
* mistakenly say it's non-SWT because the station is nowhere near them, and only get placated by me showing the corresponding receipt as a proof they sold it to me!

Go figure.