My wife and I will be traveling to the UK this summer and plan on train travel from London to Bath upon arrival at LHR as well as from bath to York and York to Edinburgh during our trip. We would like to purchase our train tickets in advance and claim a Senior discount at the time of purchase. However, since we do not have a UK address, we cannot buy the Senior Railcard online and will have to wait until we arrive to purchase. I've already downloaded and printed the forms so we can buy them upon arrival at the train station (since cannot buy card at LHR). I just want to know if I am taking a big risk by claiming the discount at purchase without physically having the card. Thanks for the help.
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2600 posts
No risk. You can buy tickets online indicating you have the card. But you must buy the card when you're in the UK and have it with you when you travel.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8913 posts
Have you considered the two together card?
Posted by
OP
46 posts
Thank you Ramblin. Much appreciated.
Posted by
OP
46 posts
What's the advantage of the two together vs the Senior Card?
Posted by
Lake District, England
8136 posts
With a Senior Railcard you would need one each- £30 each- whereas with the Two Together Railcard you only need one between you. There are very minor differences, notably that on Two Together you can only travel after 9.30am, but on Senior Railcard you can travel anytime, That is unlikely to affect you.
I'm not sure why you can't get Senior Railcard online as many other people on this forum have managed to do so.
The usual recommended route from Heathrow to Bath is on the direct National Express Coach.
It is just easier when arriving jetlagged.
If you go by train to Bath, if you already have a railcard you could use it from Heathrow. Otherwise (depending on the route taken) you spend extra time and money going either to London Paddington for your railcard, or buying it at Hayes and Harlington (the station you can change at if you want to avoid London).
Posted by
OP
46 posts
Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately my wife is not a big fan of coaches so the National Express is not an option upon arrival. Seems like the two together makes more sense. Again, much appreciated.
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2805 posts
Sent you a PM.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33994 posts
the Two Together, if in fact you will both be together when using it, is a great deal.
As mentioned, after 9:30 in the morning M-F, and you need to be together.
You do each need a photo, unlike a Senior Railcard which doesn't need them, but a good savings. https://www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
Note that you can collect tickets at Heathrow but not get a Railcard issued there. So if coach travel is out you will need to travel to a national rail station if you can't get an app version of the Railcard.
Posted by
CT
104 posts
I haven’t tried it, but I just read a tip on the Man in Seat 61 website for using a UK post code to order a rail card ahead of time. At the page below, scroll down to the section titled “If you're visiting the UK from overseas and want to save money with a railcard, here's how.”
https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-britain.htm#railcards
Posted by
Denver, Colorado, USA
713 posts
Wait a minute! You can definitely buy a senior railcard online, with a US address. I bought my digital senior railcard recently. It was easy. The worst part for me was taking a selfie to use for the card, because I didn't have a recent headshot photo that I could use.
The card was instantly loaded onto the Railcard app that I downloaded to my phone. I also of course was immediately given the railcard number which I used when buying advance rail tickets online. Here's a FAQ from the Railcard website:
Q: Can visitors to Britain buy a Railcard online?
A: Yes, you can. Simply click ‘Buy Now" on the website homepage to get
started. When you get to the question 'Choose the type of Railcard you
would like' select 'Digital' and follow the instructions on the screen
to complete your purchase.
If you prefer a physical card, then I suppose you are limited to buying it in the UK. The FAQ adds: "You can also buy a Railcard at Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport rail stations, Luton Airport Parkway and Manchester Airport – but NOT at London Heathrow Airport."
Posted by
New England
701 posts
Just last week, I bought a digital two together rail card for me and my friend and the process was straightforward.I had seen the advice from the man in seat 61 to use a UK postcode, but that turned out not to be necessary for my purchase to go through. We were really happy with our savings on long distance train tickets, with a combination of advance purchase fares and the railcard discount for our upcoming visit in May. If you’re still deciding between the senior rail card and the two together rail card, do look at the FAQs to make sure the terms and conditions work for you.
https://www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/using-your-railcard/the-benefits/
https://www.senior-railcard.co.uk/help/railcard-terms-conditions/