Is there any sign of an East Coast sale this January?

[phil35]

I'm wanting to book some tickets on the East Coast route in February, but I'm wondering if I should hold back for a couple of weeks to see if East Coast announce another £5 seat sale? I think it was in January last year? Do you think it's worth waiting or should I just book now?

 

[island]

I think all bets are off with (a) the franchise change and (b) the current fun and games at Kings Cross.

 

[dfurn]

East Coast have tweeted their sale starts on 5th January.

 

[ainsworth74]

Any more details on what the sale will be?

 

[phil35]

Oh man you have be kidding! I went and bought 2x£40 (including 2 together discount) Leeds to London advance returns yesterday after reading the original replies to this thread that assumed there'd be no sale.

Oh well it's only money...

 

[38Cto15E]

Could this be another 'Sale' where ticket prices are reduced but Railcards are not valid thus making the ticket more expensive?

 

[westv]

Could this be another 'Sale' where ticket prices are reduced but Railcards are not valid thus making the ticket more expensive?

Not sure if most people here have a railcard or not. As someone who isn't able to use one any sale benefits me.

 

[John @ home]

Could this be another 'Sale' where ... Railcards are not valid ... ?

There were no Railcard or Child discounts in East Coast's 2014 New Year sale, which offered tickets from £5 each way in Standard and £20 each way in First Class. See post #1395 in this thread.

 

[ainsworth74]

And to be fair those prices are so reasonable that I don't think there's a need for a railcard discount!

 

[ashworth]

Not sure if most people here have a railcard or not. As someone who isn't able to use one any sale benefits me.

It would be good if there was a railcard for people between the ages of 25 and 60, who don't have children and want to travel alone. I would certainly appreciate one, even if it was only valid for off peak or weekend leisure journeys. I therefore really welcome any very cheap offers that some train companies like East Coast sometimes run available to non railcard travellers.

 

[infobleep]

It would be good if there was a railcard for people between the ages of 25 and 60, who don't have children and want to travel alone. I would certainly appreciate one, even if it was only valid for off peak or weekend leisure journeys. I therefore really welcome any very cheap offers that some train companies like East Coast sometimes run available to non railcard travellers.

There is but your not allowed to use it outside of the extended South East area. If you don't live within this area then the only option is to move within the area.

I was surprised the area of the Network card got extended as it could cost rail companies. Personally I'd prefer it to cover the whole country but there's costs involved with such a thing.

 

[General Zod]

And to be fair those prices are so reasonable that I don't think there's a need for a railcard discount!

Can you remember the prices for singles from Kings Cross to Inverness in the 2014 sale ? I recall a similar promotion in 2012 when I paid £30 for a First Class KGX-INV single on the Friday Chieftain !

Thanks.
Z

 

[Starmill]

And to be fair those prices are so reasonable that I don't think there's a need for a railcard discount!

I agree. It seems that they are the same this year as last - the cheapest East Coast tickets from Leeds to London Terminals, with a 16-25 railcard and the EC Online discount, are £8.60 Standard and £23.10 First. So there is a substantial saving to be had for railcard holders, and potentially huge savings for non-railcard holders. It is however perhaps worth noting that, unless you travel on the 0505 or 0605 departures from Leeds on a Saturday morning, or travel in the middle of the day on any day of the week, it is very very difficult to get these lowest tiers. They are usually available (especially in First Class) on the 2200 (Saturday) and 2330 (weekdays) at fairly short notice too. My assumption is that if you book the day they go on sale it's possible to find these on other trains too, but East Coast more than anyone else it seems you have to be like lightning.

By contrast, if you travel with Virgin Trains at the weekend, you are pretty daft not to get the lowest tier:




Although this is still almost double the price of this sale! Hope I have convinced everyone it's a worthwhile sale anyway NB - that £9.90 fare was £8.25 (both w/ railcard) last year, a shocking 20% increase. East Coast's appear to be frozen.

So I am really going to be interested to see what happens on the East Coast when Stagecoach take over.

Also NB, East Midlands Trains have much cheaper First Class advances from Leeds to London. Theoretically there is one for £15.85, which would be £14.85 if booked on the EMT website with their £1 discount. I have never seen this on sale though (CrossCountrystyle!), but I have seen £20.45 (£19.45) on sale. Doesn't float many boats though because of much longer journeytime and inferior First Class service.

 

[John @ home]

The East Coast Sale fares appear in the National Fares Manual and are available at brfares.com. Look for ticket type EC FLAT FARE (NXP) [restriction code GA, price £5 to £15] or EC FLATFARE 1ST (NXO) [restriction code GA, price £20 to £40]. The Sale appears to exclude stations north or west of Haymarket.

 

[Chrism20]

East Coast have tweeted their sale starts on 5th January.

GRRR, typical that it is Monday that it starts when the amount of points required for redemptions also goes up. I am sitting with 1305 points. If only it had been the 2nd lol.

I think I will just buy the ticket I need to get me over the line for the points and redeem tomorrow.

 

[Hadders]

Buy an evoucher today and use it to pay for your sale tickets next week.

Points are awarded when purchasing evouchers.

 

[Starmill]

GRRR, typical that it is Monday that it starts when the amount of points required for redemptions also goes up. I am sitting with 1305 points. If only it had been the 2nd lol.

I think I will just buy the ticket I need to get me over the line for the points and redeem tomorrow.

You could buy an eVoucher? See this thread.

 

[bb21]

Also NB, East Midlands Trains have much cheaper First Class advances from Leeds to London. Theoretically there is one for £15.85, which would be £14.85 if booked on the EMT website with their £1 discount. I have never seen this on sale though (CrossCountrystyle!), but I have seen £20.45 (£19.45) on sale. Doesn't float many boats though because of much longer journeytime and inferior First Class service.

That is because there is no £14.85 fare. The £15.85 fare is the lowest one with the £1 discount (pre-Railcard discount, approx 65p with Railcard discount). £16.50 is the lowest tier if booked at a ticket office.

There is no £19.45 fare. The £20.45 fare if booked online is £19.80

Every EMT AP fare with online discount is actually defined as a separate fare in the database (which partly explains why there are so many tiers, as half of them are not available from the ticket office). Fare types starting with I1 or 2I (eg. I1A, I1C, 2IE) are all internet-only fares. AFAIK all lower tier fares have a corresponding internet-only fare, eg. 2CS - 2IC, 2DS - 2ID, 1AS - I1A, 1BS - I1B, etc.

 

[Chrism20]

Thanks for the help with the evoucher, I never realised that could be done. Purchased them late last night and the points posted this morning and nicely exchanged for four 1st tickets before the amounts change tomorrow

 

[Starmill]

That is because there is no £14.85 fare. The £15.85 fare is the lowest one with the £1 discount (pre-Railcard discount, approx 65p with Railcard discount). £16.50 is the lowest tier if booked at a ticket office.

There is no £19.45 fare. The £20.45 fare if booked online is £19.80

Every EMT AP fare with online discount is actually defined as a separate fare in the database (which partly explains why there are so many tiers, as half of them are not available from the ticket office). Fare types starting with I1 or 2I (eg. I1A, I1C, 2IE) are all internet-only fares. AFAIK all lower tier fares have a corresponding internet-only fare, eg. 2CS - 2IC, 2DS - 2ID, 1AS - I1A, 1BS - I1B, etc.

Ah I see this makes more sense. I have misinterpreted the way their strange discounting system works, I thought it might be more like the TPE or XG/GC NUS Extra one. Anyway everyone is clear now - and I have never seen the lowest tier on a Leeds train before sadly.

 

[bb21]

Ah I see this makes more sense. I have misinterpreted the way their strange discounting system works, I thought it might be more like the TPE or XG/GC NUS Extra one. Anyway everyone is clear now - and I have never seen the lowest tier on a Leeds train before sadly.

Yes, it is a little confusing, and not the normal way things are done. LM defined separate fares when they did the 50% off sale a couple of years back, but that was about it off the top of my head.

Other operators tend to use transaction discount of one form or another for this type of money off deal.

 

[Starmill]

Yes, it is a little confusing, and not the normal way things are done. LM defined separate fares when they did the 50% off sale a couple of years back, but that was about it off the top of my head.

Other operators tend to use transaction discount of one form or another for this type of money off deal.

Indeed. Sometimes inputting it very clumsily indeed - the NUS Extra offer prints the tickets out with the higher price on them and no mention of the additional discount!

 

[Furrball]

Sale is live - http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/bigsale

 

[Starmill]

Fantastic, loads of five quid availability for Yorkshire to London. Fill your boots people!

 

[TEW]

Perfect. Bagged myself a £20 FC ticket each way London-Leeds in March to do the Joint Line diverts. Didn't seem to be any Standard availability on the diverted services but plenty of First Class sale tickets available.

 

[westv]

Great. EC have left out the service to Hull.
Wasted my time waiting for this sale.

 

[button_boxer]

I was surprised the area of the Network card got extended as it could cost rail companies. Personally I'd prefer it to cover the whole country but there's costs involved with such a thing.

Has the Network Railcard area been extended? I thought it was just the Gold Card area (which only applies to annual season ticket holders).

 

[jopsuk]

It was just the Gold card area, so it doesn't match the Network card area now.

As for those monaing about there being no pre-publicity for the sale or what would be included- er, that's quite normal. In all areas of retail.

 

[infobleep]

I see East Coast appear to be anti people using the web whilst on the go.

Sorry!

This offer isn’t available to book through our mobile site. Please visit eastcoast.co.uk/bigsale on a PC or Laptop to book these promotional seats.

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/bigsale

 

[londonbridge]

Typical! Since the Sunderland Supporters Association London Branch deal with Grand Central collapsed (which I've referenced in previous posts), for home games I've been carpooling with other members, but also using advance tickets where I can get them. We have a home game with WBA on 21st Feb but the period from 13th-22nd Feb is not included in the sale! Next home game after that is Villa on March 14th. TV fixtures for March haven't yet been announced but I could stomach losing £20 if I booked and it then got moved. There are £10 fares going up but nothing available coming back on Saturday evening.