Two Together Railcard?

You do it when you get to the UK. You can even get your picture taken in the train station. Just buy your tickets online as though you have it. Make sure you have the two together before your first train ride. That is what we did this past summer and it worked fine.

I think that it is not valid before 9.30am on weekdays.

agreed - get a physical one, not an electronic one. Railcards are not posted overseas. Easily done in a staffed station.

It begins to pay off after you have spent £100. You pay £30 for the Railcard and get 34 percent off most fares. So break even is £100. As mentioned, M-F it is not valid before 9:30. Weekend it is valid all day. Both parties must be together every time the ticket with a Two Together discount is checked - at the barriers and on the trains.

We arrived at the station with photos and the printed application in hand. The friendly folks at the counter did the rest. It worked well for us, but as mentioned, you have to do the math to be sure. Safe travels.

Each of you need a passport size photo of yourself. Go to station fill out application which only takes a few minutes, give them your photos, then they will give you your railcard.

I guess this wouldn't be an issue for most family travel groups, but I want to point out that the TwoTogether card appears to be worthless on any day on which you are not, in fact, together. So if you buy a couple of TT-discounted tickets for a day-trip and one person decides not to go, neither ticket is valid. Perhaps one of the tickets could be exchanged for a full-fare ticket after paying fee and the fare differenc, but that might not be any less expensive than just buying a new ticket without the TT discount.

I'm glad I thought about, but ultimately rejected, the TT card this summer. My partial-trip travel mate and I both qualified for senior rail cards, so we did have that option. We ended up taking different transportation twice on hotel-change days, and we split up twice for day-trips. It's nice when your instincts prove to be correct.

acraven, you are correct about splitting up with a Two Together Railcard. As mentioned above. The key is in the name of the Railcard.

But £30 for a Two Together is half the price of 2 Senior Railcards (2x£30) so that two seniors can travel and not need stay together.

A Two Together has another advantage - adults of any age or combination of ages can get one, unlike Senior Railcards.

People considering railcards need to look at their plans and do the arithmetic.

Thanks for the suggestions! Very helpful! The first leg of our adventure goes from Kings Cross to Edinburgh. If I'm understanding it correctly, we need to get the Two Together Railcard at Kings Cross station. Then....do we buy our ticket to Edinburgh for the same day travel, or can we purchase our ticket ahead of time (bearing in mind that we wouldn't have the Two Together Railcard yet?).
Thanks for your help everyone!

My travel mate bought some of Senior Railcard-discounted tickets before she even left home. We just needed to have our senior cards before we actually got on the train. I can't imagine the rules are different for the TwoTogether Card.

You don't want to rush to buy tickets before your schedule is locked down, but you may save money by buying now rather than after arrival. Sometimes fares are different on different trains, and availability can shrink as the departure date approaches. Plus the base fares tend to rise as others buy the less expensive tickets, and you may be paying a discounted version of the base fare (unless there are still cheaper Advance fares available--which there may be).

Take a look at the NationalRail website and explore the current fares for the longer trips you want to take.

Yes you can buy the discounted tickets before,just indicate in the drop down menu you have the TwoTogether Card.
The TwoTogether card only takes a few minutes to be issued at a manned railway station.

Most people I know from overseas will always travel together

My daughter and her travelling friend always travelled together

It seems suited to overseas travellers

It is a bonus if you book ahead in advance ( either economy or “first class “ ) don’t forget first class

ps Nigel have you retired from the “ railway “

I have retired after 40 years of “ railway work “ for NSW RAIL “ love trains !

Phil

In unplanned situations most train companies will allow an unexpectedly unaccompanied person who had tickets on a Two Together Card with a partner either to allow travel if the original ticket is excessed to the full cost at the time of original purchase (the other ticket being refundable under whatever are the applicable T&Cs) or both tickets being marked as used and no refund or extra to pay. This is outside the T&Cs of the TTC so there is no contractual obligation to do so, just goodwill. Tickets would need to be endorsed before travel.

ps Nigel have you retired from the “ railway “

Yes, the railway tea supply is safe now...