Special Offers Discussion

[Mojo]

Mod Note - This post is no longer updated.

I'd like to compile a list of discounts or cheaper tickets which are only available through certain websites (ie. those which you would not get by booking through other Toc websites or at ticket offices), perhaps for inclusion in a help thread or FAQ. This list will not be extended to include cashback websites, etc. or any short-term offers

I've just put together a few off the top of my head, please reply with any more and I'll add them to my first post:

East Coast

• 10% off EC Advance fares booked through http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/
• 1/3 off EC Advance fares for groups between 3 and 9 at http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/special-offers/3plus/

CrossCountry

• Certain routes on which Advance fares have increased; Advance tickets at last year's prices at http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/
• 10% off XC Advance fares booked through http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/ for 'NUS extra' cardholders

East Midlands Trains

• £1 off EMT Advance fares booked through http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/
• Cheap tickets with Advance-style restrictions for certain journeys (need to obtain reference number to travel) at http://uk.megabus.com/

Southeastern

• 25% off Southeastern Off-Peak, Off-Peak Day and Super Off-Peak fares at http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/destinations/save-25-off-peak/ (offer is 26 Mar - 15 Apr 2012 only)

Southern

• 25% off Southern Advance fares and 10% off Off-Peak, Off-Peak Day (including Travelcards) and Super Off-Peak Day fares at http://www.southernrailway.com/
• Cheap tickets valid for unlimited travel on Southern trains on the day(s) selected, time restrictions apply. Must be bought at least 7 days in advance at http://www.southernrailwaytickets.com/buytickets/daysave/DaySave.php?sEvent=TicketDetails
• Cheap tickets valid for unlimited travel on Southern trains and omnibus services for the area purchased provided by certain companies on the day selected, time restrictions apply. Print at home only, must be bought at least 2 days in advance at http://www.southernrailwaytickets.com/main.php?page_id=281
• Reduced price Advance tickets for groups between 2 and 10 at http://www.southernrailway.com/offers/supergroup
• Reduced fares for trains between Victoria and Gatwick, including Southern services branded 'Gatwick Express' at http://www.gatwickexpress.com/en/offers/10-online-discount/

First Great Western

• Cheap tickets with Advance-style restrictions for Paddington to Oxford only (print at home or mobile tickets only) at http://www.gr8traintickets.co.uk/

Virgin Trains

• Cheap tickets with Advance-style restrictions for certain journeys (need to obtain reference number to travel) at http://uk.megabus.com/

South West Trains

• Cheap tickets with Advance-style restrictions for certain journeys (need to obtain reference number to travel) at http://uk.megabus.com/

Grand Central

• Cheap tickets with Advance-style restrictions for the Mon-Fri 08.04 from Kings Cross (print at home or mobile tickets only) at http://www.mobitix.thetrainline.com/GC/

TransPennine Express

• 50% discount (including Railcard discount) on TPE Advance fares booked through http://www.tpexpress.co.uk/ if you hold a 16-25 Railcard

London Midland

• 50% discount on Off-Peak Day Return and Off-Peak Return fares priced by London Midland at http://www.londonmidland.com/tickets-and-fares/half-price-rail-sale

 

[142094]

TPE give a further discount for advance tickets when bought with a YP railcard.

Cross Country do the same if you have an NUS card.

 

[YorkshireRider]

You can get 34% off advance tickets on east coast if buying for a group of 3 to 9 persons. Not sure how long the offer is on for;

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/special-offers/3plus/

 

[Ivo]

You can get 34% off advance tickets on east coast if buying for a group of 3 to 9 persons. Not sure how long the offer is on for;

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/special-offers/3plus/

It does suggest that this is *not* available with Railcard discounts, so you cannot get 56% off in case anyone tries to pull a fast one...

 

[transportphoto]

Cross Country do the same if you have an NUS card.

IIRC - I may be wrong - haven't checked... but XC only do it with a NUS extra card something you have to pay extra for but it also helps as it is a uniform entitlement card and not a different design per college / uni

 

[142094]

IIRC - I may be wrong - haven't checked... but XC only do it with a NUS extra card something you have to pay extra for but it also helps as it is a uniform entitlement card and not a different design per college / uni

An NUS card and NUS Extra card is the same thing.

 

[ian13]

An NUS card and NUS Extra card is the same thing.

It's not. My university card is an nus card (and carries the nus logo), but is NOT eligible for 'NUS extra' discounts. The NUS extra card costs £11/year (and in my view isn't worth it).

 

[SS4]

Excellent thread, will have to look at these if I ever decide to split tickets.

Perhaps this should be a sticky?

 

[dzug2]

I thought Chiltern's barcode/e-mail tickets fell into this category but a browse of their website seems to indicate it's no longer the case - just another method of delivery now

 

[cuccir]

Excellent thread, will have to look at these if I ever decide to split tickets.

Perhaps this should be a sticky?

Yeah, sticky this

 

[CompactDstrxion]

For TPE's student/16-25 discount you must book through the URL http://www.tpexpress.co.uk/students

 

[oversteer]

I thought Chiltern's barcode/e-mail tickets fell into this category but a browse of their website seems to indicate it's no longer the case - just another method of delivery now

Yes, certainly you can get the £5 fares on thetrainline now.

 

[142094]

It's not. My university card is an nus card (and carries the nus logo), but is NOT eligible for 'NUS extra' discounts. The NUS extra card costs £11/year (and in my view isn't worth it).

Your university card is exactly that, a university ID card. The only reason it will have NUS on is that your students union will be a part of NUS. It will be issued by your uni and is nothing to do with NUS. Some uni ID cards don't carry the NUS logo when they should, and some do when they shouldn't (take Durham as an example there).

But I agree, it isn't worth the £11!

 

[csilke]

10% off anytime singles and returns at http://www.gatwickexpress.com/en/offers/10-online-discount/

 

[cuccir]

Your university card is exactly that, a university ID card. The only reason it will have NUS on is that your students union will be a part of NUS. It will be issued by your uni and is nothing to do with NUS. Some uni ID cards don't carry the NUS logo when they should, and some do when they shouldn't (take Durham as an example there).

But I agree, it isn't worth the £11!

It might if you were booking an advance from Aberdeen to Plymouth and back. Also Durham reaffiliated to the NUS this year!

 

[142094]

It might if you were booking an advance from Aberdeen to Plymouth and back. Also Durham reaffiliated to the NUS this year!

My friend who is at Durham told me they hadn't, although you coudl be right!

Just to clarify, I don't see a university ID card as being an NUS card seeing as not all universities are affiliated with NUS, and the only discount you get is a normal "student" discount and not anything in the way of an NUS Extra discount.

 

[tony_mac]

http://www.nus.org.uk//en/Students-Unions/Durham-Students-Union/

NUS Affiliation Referenda

Results: Yes = 2263 , No = 1498, Spoilt ballot = 95.

If it has the NUS logo, then it's a card that shows you are a member of a union that is affiliated to the NUS.
What else would 'an NUS card' mean?

 

[bnm]

Southern Super Group Advance tickets:

http://www.southernrailway.com/offers/supergroup

 

[142094]

If it has the NUS logo, then it's a card that shows you are a member of a union that is affiliated to the NUS.
What else would 'an NUS card' mean?

Not necessarily, you don't get student ID cards every year, only issued with one that last you for the duration of your course. In the case of Durham, when my friend first started it was affiliated with NUS, so had the logo. In the middle it disaffiliated, and now apparently they are affiliated again. Here in York our students' union has been affiliated with NUS for as long as I can rememeber, yet my uni ID card does not show the NUS logo. In any case the discount I get with my ID card is the same discount given to any otehr holder of a uni ID card, whereas an NUS/NUS Extra card has further discounts.

 

[wintonian]

Virgin Mobitix tickets are no longer available.

http://www.mobitix.thetrainline.com/VT/

 

[Mojo]

Thanks, list updated

 

[shinkansen1966]

Virgin Trains

• Cheap tickets with Advance-style restrictions for certain journeys (need to obtain reference number to travel) at http://uk.megabus.com/
  Express

• 
  
  Is that right ? Virgin trains selling tickets via Megabus ?

 

[Deerfold]

Is that right ? Virgin trains selling tickets via Megabus ?

Yes. Has been for some years - it's promoted as megatrain, but if you type in megatrain.co.uk you will redirected to the uk.megabus.com website.

It's a bit crap at letting you find out where you can travel except by trial and error.

 

[OwlMan]

LM Sale is on again

http://www.londonmidland.com/tickets-and-fares/half-price-rail-sale/?=

Travel between Saturday 9 April and Monday 2 May 2011 and you can save 50% on thousands of Off-Peak Day Return and Off-Peak Return tickets

peter

 

[island]

LM Sale is on again

http://www.londonmidland.com/tickets-and-fares/half-price-rail-sale/?=

Travel between Saturday 9 April and Monday 2 May 2011 and you can save 50% on thousands of Off-Peak Day Return and Off-Peak Return tickets

peter

Assuming the trains aren't cancelled!

 

[shinkansen1966]

Looking through this thread, the general advice to would-be rail travellers:

book online (if you can), even for a walk on fare
book through the TOC's own web site selling your fare

now, nationally, are we any nearer having tickets delivered direct to a phone or by email DB-style ?

 

[island]

now, nationally, are we any nearer having tickets delivered direct to a phone or by email DB-style ?

I seem to recall CrossCountry offering this. Having travelled on them exactly once (from BHM to BHI!) I can't say with any authority whether I remember it right.

 

[Deerfold]

now, nationally, are we any nearer having tickets delivered direct to a phone or by email DB-style ?

East Coast offer e-mail tickets with a barcode so long as you're not using any other operator.

 

[MKB]

Virgin Trains: 10% off Advance tickets with a Virgin Money credit card: http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/vmoney/ - In practice, I think this is now restricted to just the bottom three tiers of Advance tickets (both first and standard class).

First Great Western: 10% off Super Off-Peak and Off-Peak fares with a Youth Hostel Association membership: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/promotions/pr90239407db4e9d8d1864453d925445/details.html - I'm a lifetime YHA member, but I've not had chance to try this yet to see if it works.

 

[JKJimar53]

Chiltern trains send a barcode ticket to your mobile phone.