Alternative working title was “How I saved £150 in one weekend”. Catchy. Click bait’y. And leaning into girl math big time. But ultimately the trained auditor in me went with a safer title… But let me tell you, railcards – they’re a THING! The premise is £30 for an annual railcard to save up to 1/3 on your train tickets. It sounds too good to be true, but friends, it’s real! Let’s all learn together!
The weekend of “The Railcards Epiphany”
We recently needed to book a couple of big expensive train tickets for personal commitments. One was to visit friends in Cornwall (Truro specifically) and the other to attend a friend’s wedding pretty much just south of the Scottish border in Carlisle. And when you’re selecting your train options on Trainline it always prompts you to flag if you’re booking with a Railcard. I LOVE a deal and had heard mention of these railcards before but I had never looked into it.
What’s really fantastic is that you can click on the railcard option and test out the price savings without having an actual card. In fact, you can go so far as booking the tickets without a railcard as long as you have a valid railcard at the time of travel as they DO check.
When testing out the pricing differences of our Truro train tickets – the Railcard secured a £90 saving on a £260 ticket. Yes, that ticket price is offensive from the get-go when you consider the cost of flights to Europe but British rail travel is incredibly expensive and there isn’t much to be done about it. But hey ho, £90 saving!
I then started looking into what these Railcards cost. £30 per annum. ARE you joking? I spent a few hours googling whether Railcards are a scam. Apparently they are not? As someone who has now gleefully used my Railcard for a few months, I can confirm it isn’t a scam. BUT I 100% do not understand the business model. Whatever – go get a railcard.
There’s a ton of different options and I would recommend having a look at the options that would best suit you. When I mentioned railcards to my British colleagues a lot of them said they were only for younger people – not true! We struck gold with the Two Together Railcard. This card works well for two people who regularly travel together between the ages of 30-60 with no disabilities or experience serving the UK armed forces. Don’t laugh – there are many cards for many types of people! Scroll to the bottom of this site to “Help me choose” to find the best one for you.
The even weirder thing about the two together railcard is that the card still only costs £30 even though it covers two people and you still save 30% on your travel. Please, nobody tell them.
Summary of my railcard savings at the time of posting
- London to Truro return – £90
- London to Carlisle return – £90
- London to Bath – £36
- London to Cambridge – £13
- London to Stanstead (on the Stanstead express) – £20
- London Liverpool to Claygate – £5
Total saving = £254
Cost = £30
Free money = £224!!!
YOU MAD!
Emails on Cornwall, Bath and Cambridge are still pending but I’d recommend all these trips. If you’re looking for a little more English train inspiration then have a read of The York email.
Helpful things to know
– You don’t need to be a spring chicken to take advantage of these cards! Do the little quiz and see if there’s an option for you! I think most people forget about the two together and the family and friends cards. And of course, the senior card starts at 60!
– You don’t need to be UK-based to buy the railcard! So don’t be scared to have a look into this if you’re planning a trip to the UK that includes a little travelling about. If you’re spending time in London and only planning one big train trip – it STILL might be a saving worth considering.
– This is my number one tip! When booking your tickets – go ahead and say you have a railcard to secure the discount. BUT only buy the railcard a couple of days before you travel to make sure you maximise your year-long membership!
– They WILL check to make sure you have your railcard. Your photo goes on the railcard so make sure you’re following the rules and travelling with the right people per your card. Make sure you have battery power on your phone so you have your e-card ready to show. It may be worth grabbing a screenshot of your card as the signal is not always great.
– I thought this blogpost on UK train travel by Fueled by Wanderlust was really good too. Her first tip made me laugh because it was pretty much – train travel in the UK is stupidly expensive, consider flying instead!
I hope I have convinced you to get a Railcard. I honestly think it’s one of the best travel hacks I have learnt this year and it brings me such great joy to share it with you.
Happy (train) travels!
with all my love, Tahlia
