When should I buy railcard

[pinguini]

My 24th birthday is February 1st, I want to buy a 3yr 16-25 railcard whens the last opportunity for me to?

 

[pt15sb]

From their FAQ page: http://www.16-25railcard.co.uk/help/faqs/

Can I continue to use my Railcard if I have my 26th birthday before it expires?
A: Yes. You can buy or renew your 1-year 16-25 Railcard up to and including the day before your 26th birthday and keep using it until its expiry date. With 3-year 16-25 Railcards you can buy them up until the day before your 24th birthday, which will make the expiry date the day before your 27th birthday.

 

[pinguini]

But it also says "You can get a 3-year 16-25 Railcard right up until the week before your 24th birthday.

Please do not wait until the last day before your 24th birthday to apply. Whilst we will fulfil any completed orders we receive we regret that we will not be able to issue you with a 3-year Railcard if problems (technical or otherwise) prevent you from placing your order successfully.

By applying at least a few days in advance of your 24th birthday you will leave time for us to be able to help you if you have any difficulties with your application."


which is a bit vague so I don't know

 

[pt15sb]

I guess it's up to your level of risk. I got my 16-25 issued pretty much immediately, but they took issue with a colleague's submitted photo and made her re-submit a photo and thus their issue date was a few days later than the submitted date, hence the warning about technical or otherwise problems.

 

[bb21]

The website has made it pretty clear.

If you want to avoid situations where the website goes down when you try to purchase your Railcard, and does not get fixed until the following day when you reach your 24th birthday, or there being technical problems on your bank's side, then buy it a few days in advance. Three days in advance is usually pretty much sufficient to account for the vast majority of problems if you want to be sure, so buy it somewhere around 28th January if the website is up that day. If it is a payment issue with your account then at least you have Friday 29th to sort it out with your bank. Leave it too late and you will be taking on a small risk that things could go wrong.

All depends on how risk-averse you are.

 

[kieron]

Bear in mind that the risk from a delay (assuming that it doesn't disrupt any travel plans you had) is that you are only able to buy a 1 year ticket then. If you pay full price, this means a risk of losing £20 in total at today's prices.

I should mention that, when I bought a different railcard on-line, they sent me a card in the post which was valid for 1 year 6 days after the date on which I ordered it.

This means that the earliest date you can order a three year railcard online which expires the day before your 27th birthday is likely to be a few days before the date pt15sb gave. I'd ring them to check first, though.

 

[pinguini]

The website has made it pretty clear.

If you want to avoid situations where the website goes down when you try to purchase your Railcard, and does not get fixed until the following day when you reach your 24th birthday, or there being technical problems on your bank's side, then buy it a few days in advance. Three days in advance is usually pretty much sufficient to account for the vast majority of problems if you want to be sure, so buy it somewhere around 28th January if the website is up that day. If it is a payment issue with your account then at least you have Friday 29th to sort it out with your bank. Leave it too late and you will be taking on a small risk that things could go wrong.

All depends on how risk-averse you are.

I wouldn't say the website has made it clear at all hence my need to ask, but you have made it clear as have the others so thanks all