Most Cost effective / affordable Journey Planning

[PGeddon]

Hi all

Don't often get the train though having accepted a new job recently, it will involve me having to travel from Wigan North Western to Euston and back, once per week.

It's considerably more expensive than the last time I travelled this line, so looking around for the cheapest / most cost effective way of planning / booking the journey.

A friend has suggested an app called QuidCo to get cash back on trainline etc, but I dont know what offers to use, or even if this is a good option to consider at all.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Ged

 

[Benjwri]

Hi all

Don't often get the train though having accepted a new job recently, it will involve me having to travel from Wigan North Western to Euston and back, once per week.

It's considerably more expensive than the last time I travelled this line, so looking around for the cheapest / most cost effective way of planning / booking the journey.

A friend has suggested an app called QuidCo to get cash back on trainline etc, but I dont know what offers to use, or even if this is a good option to consider at all.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Ged

It really depends on the specific times, and whether you are eligible for a railcard (On a journey like this the railcard would pay for itself in one journey). If you are just travelling weekly you'll just want to buy tickets each time. I would recommend the forum ticket site personally, it is pretty much the simplest way to find the cheapest price.

 

[Gaelan]

• Buy a railcard, if you're eligible for one.
• Don't use Trainline, as they charge a booking fee on all fares. I generally recommend TrainSplit (or this forum's site, which is just a rebranded version of TrainSplit that supports the forum), as they can often find significant savings over a through ticket and only charge a booking fee if they find a cheaper price than you'd get from a train company. If you book direct with Avanti, you can take advantage of their rewards scheme, which would get you one free first class return a year.
• Book as far in advance as you can - Avanti sell tickets 12 weeks in advance, and you'll get significantly better prices if you book that far ahead.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

In terms of cashback, the first thing you need to know is that you can buy any train ticket from any retailer. So although it looks as if your actual journey (Wigan to Euston) will be on an Avanti train, there's nothing to stop you buying your ticket through (say) LNER.

So have a look at Quidco and Topcashback to see if any train companies or ticket retailers are offering cashback. If so, check the terms and conditions - is your planned purchase going to get cashback?

What is also popular (at least with the retailers) at the moment is offering cashback through your credit/debit card. This is particularly the case with AmEx and Visa, both of whom have LNER offers at the moment. And Nectar Connect also have an offer - the practical upshot is that if you can jump through the hoops you will get 5% off your ticket price against shopping at Sainsbury's.

Ultimately there's no one site which consistently sells train tickets cheaper than the market rate (although on the other hand retailers such as Trainline generally charge commission on top of the fare, so you may want to avoid such retailers as a matter of course). It's often possible to make small savings by ducking and diving - but this will take time and effort which you will have to balance against the savings.

 

[MrJeeves]

Don't use Trainline, as they charge a booking fee on all fares.

...when purchased before the day of travel