Advice please. Railcard / TFL

maggiesoup

Hello.  I'm planning to travel to London in a couple of weeks for the weekend.  I have a Senior Railcard.  Probably make about 6 separate journeys overland and subway over the weekend.  Can I use the Railcard too (get about 33% discount here in Scotland) and if so how do I get the tickets as last time I was there everyone just seems to use contactless.
Thanks in advance 

MSE_James

Probably the simplest thing is to buy a railcard-discounted One Day Travelcard.  This will be issued as a paper (magnetic) ticket

maggiesoup

Can I buy that at a machine or speak to someone behind the glass? Thanks.

Emmia

maggiesoup said:

Can I buy that at a machine or speak to someone behind the glass? Thanks.

Good luck finding anyone behind the glass, most ticket offices have shut.

TFL suggests that you can also use an oyster card to access discounts, do you have one of those?

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/national-railcard-discount?intcmp=54723 https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/national-railcard-discount?intcmp=54723#on-this-page-0

*Oyster has a lower fare cap than the one day travelcard cost, depending on where you're travelling. I presume you're not using all 9 fare zones? You use the oyster card by tapping in and out on the same pads as contactless cards.

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/tube-and-rail-fares/pay-as-you-go-caps#on-this-page-1

Where are you arriving into? King's Cross (if you're coming from Scotland)?  If so, there is one of the TFL travel centres near the tube station, shared with St Pancras, they should be able to provide what you need.

https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/getting-around-london/visitor-centres

MSE_James

There's a £7 non-refundable fee for an Oyster card so for a one-off London trip then it may not be the best option.

A paper day Travelcard with a Senior Railcard discount is £10, available from ticket machines (and ticket offices, which still exist on National Rail in London)

Emmia

MSE_James said:

There's a £7 non-refundable fee for an Oyster card so for a one-off London trip then it may not be the best option.

A paper day Travelcard with a Senior Railcard discount is £10, available from ticket machines (and ticket offices, which still exist on National Rail in London)

From the description the OP made it sound like this isn't a one off, and paying for 9 zones if you're just in zone 1 & 2 is madness.

jon81uk

Emmia said:

MSE_James said:

There's a £7 non-refundable fee for an Oyster card so for a one-off London trip then it may not be the best option.

A paper day Travelcard with a Senior Railcard discount is £10, available from ticket machines (and ticket offices, which still exist on National Rail in London)

From the description the OP made it sound like this isn't a one off, and paying for 9 zones if you're just in zone 1 & 2 is madness.

No need to pay for 9 zones. Can get a zone 1-6 day off-peak travelcard with railcard discount for £10.
Full list of railcard discounted caps (for Oyster) and day travelcard prices here National Railcard prices 2023 (tfl.gov.uk)

Should be able to buy it from a ticket machine at a rail station.

However if they are doing more than one day, then it might be worth paying the £7 for Oyster as then get the lower cap for fewer zones.

katejo

If the OP is going to make future trips to London, setting up an oyster card account is worthwhile because the senior citizen railcard can be loaded onto the Oyster account. That has to be done at a ticket office.

martindow

katejo said:

If the OP is going to make future trips to London, setting up an oyster card account is worthwhile because the senior citizen railcard can be loaded onto the Oyster account. That has to be done at a ticket office.

There are now very few ticket offices, but at any tube station staff can link the railcard to the oyster.  You have to relink it every time you renew the railcard.