MoneySavingExpert.com Cheap Train Tickets Article Discussion
Comments
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WashingMan wrote: »I'm surprised the National Express East Coast website isn't mentioned (unless I've missed it) for ticket sales. There is no charge for credit cards and no postage fee. I'm pretty sure they sell tickets for all trains (I've certainly got Arriva Cross-Country tickets from this site) and they offer a 10% on-line discount for all NEEC tickets.
Me too. I often buy tickets for the East Coast line and always go through them for three reasons.
1) They are cheaper than thetrainline as they give 10% discount on the tickets.
2) They allow you to select your price first, and then select the train, rather than selecting the train then the price.
3) No credit card surcharge.
The MSE team obviously need to do a little more research (on their own site) and update the article.0 -
It is a matter of some debate (on both railforums.co.uk and uk.railway newsgroup) whether or not savers are valid for starting or finishing short. At the end of the day it boils down to how you interpret the unclear wording of the NCoC, and of course how the ticket inspector interprets it...!!!!Restricted wrote: »The article mentions 'travelling short' is not valid on Saver tickets, but doesn't point out that it is allowed on unrestricted tickets. Savings can be made on season tickets in particular using this method depending on the routes involved..0 -
Having read on this forum how to travel from a stop further on from the start point on the ticket and getting off earlier than the destination shown, on the return journey, I purchased 2 single advance E tickets for £7 each from Bath to a station in West Sussex, got on at Bradford on Avon (the next stop along), having asked the ticket seller if this was in order, and been told perfectly ok. On the train the guard clipped my ticket without comment and the same on the return journey although that one didnt know obviously my intention to get off before Bath.
So it seems that is is indeed ok to travel short after all and I for one will be doing so again ! I saved exactly half of what I had previously paid for the same journey.
I'm not exactly trying to encourage others to do this but it did work for me......0 -
I think this article is misleading. The biggest savings are made by reducing your flexibility.
Turn up at the BA desk at Heathrow and ask for a return on the next flight to Paris and you'll pay a lot more than if you bought a ticket months in advance. But also that advance ticket might be non-refundable and valid for that flight only. A flexible ticket is available at a much increased cost.
Take the London-Plymouth-Penzance example. A fully flexible any-train-any-operator-no-prebooking ticket (a Standard Open Return) is £257. If you split at Plymouth and buy four Standard Open Singles with the same conditions it's a total of £117.50+£117.50+£13+£13=£261. No saving.
Where you do save is by compromising on flexibility. The headline example of £48 can only be with Advance Purchase tickets. That means you have to decide in advance the day and train you'll travel on. If you change your mind you have to pay a change fee and the difference in fare. If you miss the train you have to buy a whole new flexible ticket.
If you're prepared to do this, you can save. But we're not comparing like with like. It's not specified precisely how far in advance and on which trains the £48 was booked, but it's unlikely you'd be able to get that price on peak-time trains when booking a few days before travel. Looking at trains for Monday, AP tickets aren't available until the 0906 out of Paddington, so if you need to be in Penzance before 2pm you're out of luck.
If you don't need to use peak trains the flexible ticket is a Saver Return, a rather different proposition at £75. This is valid on the 0906 from Paddington, so that's what you have to compare for the AP tickets.
Other than that the article is generally good advice. I disagree though that the railway can know all the things like:
I've got an important meeting so I must be up early and get there with plenty of time to spare. It might end late so I might need to get a later train. So I could book the later train and hang around if necessary. Or I could just stay with Auntie Doris and come back the next day. Or it might be postponed until next week. I could either stay the weekend or go on Monday
Only you know your situation, what flexibility you have and how to work this best to your advantage. Ticket websites and booking clerks can't do this.
One other thing to understand is that trains, like flights, have seat quotas. If I ask Expedia to give me a flight between London and Athens, it might want to send me via Zurich, Rome or Budapest as cheaper than a direct flight. This is because fewer people want to go to Zurich or Budapest, or the mayor of Budapest subsidises flights, or any number of reasons. It's the same with trains, only trains stop more than once so it happens on the same train.0 -
Hi do this journey frquently with and without family railcard has anyone any ideas the best split?0
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Is it just me or has the change in the ticket structure (having just three types of tickets) made prices go up? In the past when I wanted to do a journey - usually from the south coast up north - I bought in advance and travelled really early or in the evening. I was given lots of options for prices with some really low ones. For example I went from Crawley to Sandwell for £14 just before the changes. If I look on websites now booking well in advance, those cheap ones have all gone and the cheapest one for the same train is £72.50!0
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Is it just me or has the change in the ticket structure (having just three types of tickets) made prices go up? ... For example I went from Crawley to Sandwell for £14 just before the changes. If I look on websites now booking well in advance, those cheap ones have all gone and the cheapest one for the same train is £72.50!
Some fares have been 'simplified' upwards, though ATOC claims that there haven't been increases across the board. However Arriva took over the CrossCountry franchise (who operate Gatwick-Birmingham direct trains) from Virgin in December, so these fares revisions have been their first opportunity to change things. They've banned Cheap Day Returns on peak trains, so it wouldn't surprise me if they've also reduced the quota of cheap tickets. Reducing quota is a price rise by stealth, but the quotas are never published so it's hard to find out.
If you look at the 'Booking Horizons' link on:
http://www.atoctravelagents.org/
it tells you the latest booking date for CrossCountry is currently 21st August. If I search for 14th August I find plenty of £14 fares.
£72.50 is the Standard Open Single - ie fully flexible, use at any time of day. If I look into September - past the current booking horizons - it does only offer me the flexible tickets. If you want to book then, keep an eye on the horizons page to see when the tickets are released.0 -
Why does the re-written article still promote Raileasy and The Trainline?!
"There are two main train booking websites: The Trainline and RailEasy, which tend to be quite powerful."
But you can book using any of the Train Operating Companies websites! Most of them use The Trainline anyway but don't charge you for the privelege of booking tickets and receiving them by post!
"Unlike The Trainline, Raileasy lists single fares on the first results screen, so to compare fares, click The Trainline’s “two singles may be cheaper” button"
As you can do with any of the websites, it's really not that difficult. But I save the worst part for last:
"Overall this means of the two, the Trainline is cheapest for debit card bookings or credit card payments over £60, whereas Raileasy wins for credit card bookings under £60."
BUT WHY BOTHER USING EITHER WHEN THEY BOTH CHARGE YOU!?
I realise you make a passing mention that the TOC websites don't charge but then you go on to discuss the use of Trainline/RailEasy anyway
:eek:
Neither site should be promoted in an article that purports to save money on railfares, other than to completely avoid them. This point has been raised several times in several threads on this site, and I would like an honest explanation as to why you continue to promote them at all. They are no more user-friendly/better designed than the TOC's websites, and through their use, waste your money0 -
Only reason that martin links to them is that he gets commission on them. He doesnt get such a commission on the other 'no booking fee' companies.Ex-Employee of a Train Operating Company.
Ticket routing and rules expert.
Been Penalty Fared on the Railway? PM me and Ill try to help you win your appeal.
Been sent a summons on the Railway? PM me and Ill try to help you.0
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