Railcards and online train bookings

FaceHead

In the same way that you can buy a discounted ticket at a machine, you can buy it online. As has been said, you don't need the discount card to buy the ticket, only to use it.

What seems broken is ticket offices who refuse to sell discounted tickets (particularly when future dated) without seeing the card, only for the customer to go over to the machine and buy it there. 

zanuda

2Vendee
As everybody says, you should not worry and buy ticket online in advance at better price and buy the card later.

As for my personal experience, I don't buy tickets online or in advance because I could not find a way to get better deal for our station, so I don't stress about being on time (traveling with 2 kids) and buy the tickets when I come to the station. At the station, if you buy through the machine, there no way to prove that you have the card. At the tilt - they ask to show. But you could buy the card from them (done that several times). On our station they might check the card when you get inside to the platforms, they always check on the train, twice in my case because there is a huge station on the way and they chance the crew there. If you forget the card, - no worry -, you pay the difference, keep all the tickets and later on go to the station with the card (valid for the day you traveled & forgot it) and they will give you refund. I've never got into this myself but I've seen several situations like that when the conductor very friendly was explaining this to the passengers who forgot the card.  And they might check the card on arrival, when you getting out of the station. 

As for the card, I've just renewed my Friends&Family one online yesterday. There are no changed on the website. At some point you choose if you want a plastic or an app. If plastic - they promise it will arrive in 5 days.

Another good thing to remember. It's possible to find valid discount code. Anything from £3off to 50%. In my experience, big discount usually come in spring, maybe the end of winter, but £3off is always possible to find. Once I was standing in a queue that was unusually long. It was a time when got to travel in a very short time & I didn't have a card in advance. The queue was so-o-o long that I started to look through various leaflets and in the one about Railroad Cards I found a discount code! So I asked at the tilt and got my card with discount to my surprise... 

ElHar

Vendee said:

Could someone please confirm what a friend has told me, namely that when buying a train ticket online and using a railcard, you don't need to prove you have that railcard at the time of booking? I'm not trying to fiddle anything, its just that my wife doesn't qualify for her senior railcard until the middle of June but we would like to book in the next week or so to get the cheapest fare. She will have the railcard at the time of travel which will be the end of August. Thanks.

i guess you ar right

Neruda

Spelunthus said:

Senior Railcards are sort of broken, as there is no process to check that you have one when making an online booking.  However, your ticket (or e-ticket) is marked as being used "with railcard".  So you may be asked to show it during any ticket inspection. The "new" Senior Railcard is also an app-based e-card - so you may have to use your smartphone to display 1) your e-ticket and 2) your railcard.    This is clearly a crocked process as, in my experience,  the inspector/guard may not even have any technology to validate these items, and you could be displaying any old QR code.

Actually, the inspector DOES have the technology required but may choose not to use it. I know that management is increasing the pressure on train managers to conduct more inspections using their QR readers to eliminate this kind of fraud. Note that an e-ticet without the appropriate QR code will be a forgery, and forgery is a significantly more serious criminal offence than is travelling without the appropriate ticket.

anotheruser

Spelunthus said:

Senior Railcards are sort of broken, as there is no process to check that you have one when making an online booking.  However, your ticket (or e-ticket) is marked as being used "with railcard".  So you may be asked to show it during any ticket inspection. The "new" Senior Railcard is also an app-based e-card - so you may have to use your smartphone to display 1) your e-ticket and 2) your railcard.    This is clearly a crocked process as, in my experience,  the inspector/guard may not even have any technology to validate these items, and you could be displaying any old QR code.

It's not broken, the ticket inspectors (or barriers) have the equipment to cope with scanning QR codes.
More interestingly is that the data is transmitted so anyone scanning (think revenue protection officers) can see exactly where the ticket has been scanned... especially helpful if you've caught a few different trains.

You only need your ticket to get through the barriers.
The ticket inspector may ask to see your railcard after scanning / seeing your ticket.