Senior Railcard

Yes I have a Senior Railcard and you do pay 2/3 pf the regular price. on all the rail tickets you purchase. There are terms and conditions attached to the use of the card.

I also thought about getting the Senior Rail Cards, but realized the Two Together accomplished the same thing for my DH and I for only￡30. If, however, you are traveling alone then yes, it's a great deal. And often you can find promo codes on the web. I'm not sure if you can use those when purchasing the cards in person at the rail station but perhaps you can. Hopeful someone on this forum will know.

What's great about these rail cards is when you book and pay for your advance ticket train journeys the savings are really good. You do not have to have the Rail Card in hand when you book and pay for your train journeys. You do have to have it when you board the train.

Our plan is to buy our Two Together Rail Cards at the Paddington Train station on our arrival day. You can have your photo taken in the booth there. You can download the application for any of the Rail Cards on the National Rail website, usually on the same page as the Rail Card you want to buy. I did that today, and have the form ready to complete and bring with us. You of course can do the same for your Senior Railcard.

I had hoped to purchase the railcard and have it waiting for me at my AirBnB in London. (My wonderful hosts agreed to hold it for me.) But I needed not only a local address to receive the card, I also needed a local address to use my debit or credit card. My address in the states for the credit card just would not go through.

My rationale for trying to purchase online was my concern I needed to have the card to make the purchase using a railcard. I was also worried about how long it would take to apply for and get the railcard at Paddington. I did an online search and learned it doesn't appear to take very long at all.

However others on this Forum have clearly stated it was not necessary to have the railcard to book, and that all I needed to do was state the type of railcard I had in the purchase --but definitely upon boarding have the railcard in hand. I also will need to have the same credit card and the booking number and email when I pick up the purchased tickets.

It's always good to save!
Sonja

It's true, it's true!

I booked all my England and Scotland rail travel online in advance for my trip May-June last year. Booking ahead saved tons of £. Add in the Senior Railcard and you save even more.

My first train journey started in Bath. It was there that I got my Senior Railcard. It wasn't very crowded at that time, so the agent was able to print out all my tickets for the 6 weeks. There was only one journey for which I could print out my ticket at home.

More rail advice here:>https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/how-to-save-money-on-railfares-not-pre-book

The Senior Railcard has the advantage that outside of London and the South East it is valid through the morning peak - good if you want to get away before 9am or so.

We are using the two together and the savings are great. I was able to get the card here in the states and paid for it with my credit card. I am having it delivered to the Paddington train station so hope it all goes well. Anyway I will bring my receipt for the two together if they don't have the card at the station and hope they will be able to give it to me. We have purchased all our tickets online and on the drop down box just select two together.

There is no need to purchase the Senior or Two Together Railcard in advance. You can take advantage of the discounts when you buy your tickets online before your trip, then get the Railcard at a station when you arrive. Just be sure to have it before your first train journey with the discount!