Buy ahead vs Senior Railcard for Seniors

You can do both—-buy the Advance tickets ahead, and get an extra 30% off the discounted price by choosing the Senior Railcard option from the drop-down menu even though you don’t have the actual card yet. Then you buy the Railcard as soon as you arrive, before your first train ride.

Thank you! I'll do that!

One thing I found when I was buying Advance tickets for our trip last September was that they did not aPpear 12 weeks out; it was much later than that (closer to the actual date of travel). I don’t know if that has changed, but it might be worth the time to do some “dummy booking” and figure it out now, so you are ready to pounce when they are released.

are you flying solo, in which case a Senior Railcard might be a good idea if you are travelling enough?

Or are you in a group which is a multiple of 2 or you and one other, in which case Two Together Railcards might be better if you travelling enough?

I'm worried that you will only be making 4 trips. After you save loads of money buying Advance tickets which can save tons of money but are non-changeable (expect by payment of a significant fee and only before the trip begins and paying any difference in fare, and only to change travel time but not route, only in a booking office) and non-refundable, will your travel exceed £100 overall - the approximate break even point for Railcards?

Do you have the details of your trains - hopefully they are all long distance.

The 4 trips are before and after a cruise of the British Isles so I don’t want to try to cover too much territory! I want to wander through the places I’ve chosen.

I'm happy to help as I am sure that others are too, but it is difficult to give accurate info without the detail.

It is possible that a Railcard of any type won't work out a good investment. 4 short trips may well not offer Advance tickets which are often not available on short journeys.

There are several of us here who are very familiar with British trains (and alternatives) and ways to save money, but we can only give the correct answers when we know how many (and how many seniors) are travelling and which trips will be taken. If you don't know yet, or for particular reasons don't want to share the detail, at least give general ideas. Will these be trips in and out of London or a provincial town or city. Where are the cruise starting and ending ports? London, Southampton, Dover, Newcastle, Edinburgh? I'd love to help... and several others

Nigel, the 4 trips are London to Bath, Bath to Cardiff and back, and Dover to London. I’ll be traveling alone. Senior card is the only card I think makes sense.

hi again, rostykoo,

The London to Bath. Will you be in London before leaving for Bath or are you arriving from overseas and going immediately to Bath? If the latter, you basically have two choices - the Heathrow Express or Elizabeth Line to Paddington station in London and then a train direct to Bath; or a RailAir or National Express coach (nice bus) to Reading and pick up the train to Bath from there.

If you will be in London already then just a train from Paddington to Bath.

Those different scenarios have different advantages and disadvantages, do you know which you'll be. They also have different prices.

If you are arriving from overseas, advice is to not buy Advance tickets with all the restrictions for travel right after arrival - you never know what time the flight will arrive, or any changes, or any delays with luggage or Border checks.

Do you hope to travel First or Standard class on the trains?

You also have a choice to make on the Dover/London trip. There is only one station in Dover now but it is not as convenient as when the station was at the dock. You'll need a taxi to the station. The choice then is between the high speed Javelin service which uses part of the line used by the Eurostar, which goes into St Pancras International station on the north side of central London. Advantages - faster, much faster, fewer stops, zippy, quite modern. Disadvantages, only has Standard class, no First, less convenient if your hotel is near Victoria.

The other choice is the traditional train from Dover Priory to Victoria station just north of the Thames in London. These are a mixture of quite old trains and a few new ones. Advantages - cheaper, more convenient if you will be near Victoria, might have a small First class section. Disadvantages, stops a lot, slow,

For Bath to Cardiff you can simply go to Bath station and ask for a return. It is slightly cheaper after 9.30 on weekdays (no time restriction on weekends) in which case you ask for an off-peak return to Cardiff - which will cost around £24 (without a Railcard). Direct trains are hourly & it takes just over 1 hour for the trip. Other trains are available by changing at Bristol. Railcard will knock about a third off the fares.
Here is a video of the train from London (Paddington) to Bath.
Here is a video walking tour of part of Cardiff city centre.