Railcard, buy a physical one, or an online one?

[Appalonia]

I'm nearly 60 ( no I can't believe it either...) And one benefit is that you can get a railcard that gives you a 30% discount on train travel. However I'm not sure how it works if you buy a paper one, then try to buy a ticket on Trainline? Or, you buy it online and then buy a ticket at the train station. I've not managed to find an answer online, so I'm hoping someone on here might have an answer? Thanks in advance!😁

I bought mine online from Trip.com as there was a third off. Before that I had a physical one, you just have to show it on the train if asked. You check the drop-down box on Trainline or Trip if you buy a ticket in the app

You don't need proof of a railcard when you purchase your journey through Trainline, you just need to be able to show it to the conductor on the journey. I prefer buying my railcards online as it means I don't lose it!

Paper on you just show when you buy from ticket office.

If you use a ticket machine you just press the extra button to say you've got the card.

If your tickets checked on the train they may ask to see your "old persons " pass. 😉

Much easier to get a digital one in my experience. Just do as the PPs have said when buying a ticket and everything is good.

I got one when I turned 60 earlier this year. I got a card one - I was able to get a 3 year one for £70 rather than £30 for one year.

There is an option on the Trainline and other rail company websites when buying tickets to select which Railcard you have. You will be asked to show it on the train journey along with your ticket. If you don't have it with you, you will be charged the standard fare. If you buy a ticket in the station, you show the Railcard at that point. I would expect it is the same with an electronic version.

I've got a digital one, was just easier to buy it online. I've got a 16-25 one but am 49. Im a fulltime student so entitled to it but not all ticket office staff or ticket inspectors know that so I do get some funny looks sometimes, and had a few questions about why I have it!

Probably only get asked to see the Railcard about 50% of the journeys though.

I have an online one I bought through Trainline. I like it as it’s automatically there when I buy tickets. I tend to use Trainline or Northern so if I purchase on the Northern app I can still say I have the railcard, but would need to show it on the Trainline app. I find it handier than a physical card as I always have my phone on me when travelling and pretty much always buy tickets via the app anyway.

Also have a digital Senior Railcard bought via Trainline. Seamless as pretty much all my tickets are online too.

(You can btw buy your ticket online and pick it up at a station if you must.)

(Can’t recall if I’ve answered your specific question but I can assure you there’s no difficulty at all marrying paper and digital railcards and tickets in practice.)

We usually buy through Trainline and just tick the Railcard box. You can also use more than one Railcard so if you have another remember to use both

You can use Tesco clubcard vouchers to buy these - inc the digital ones

I'd never get a digital one voluntarily. The physical one works all the time, while the digital one requires a charged phone on you. Why get something that only works some of the time?

Thanks for all your replies. Am still a bit confused.So, if you buy a digital railcard, but buy a ticket at the machine at the train station, how does that work?

Digital one is good if your phone has a good battery life. I tend to keep my phones for years and have had a few hairy episodes where I nearly didn’t have enough charge on my phone to be able to show it/my phone went into meltdown and wouldn’t switch back on. I also sometimes need to re-download the app from the cloud so something else to think about/check before travelling. I would probably get paper next time around, given the choice.

You just select that you have an over 60 card and they reduce the price, you don't have to show it or anything.

I agree. I'd prefer to get a physical one, but don't know how you can apply the discount if you buy your ticket on line on Trainline?

So it's on trust??

You buy the ticket at the machine and select the type of Railcard you have. You'll get it at reduced price Then when your ticket is inspected on the train you show the ticket which says it has been bought with a Railcard and show your Railcard at that time

Yup. Just tap the relevant railcard option / price and buy that. You don’t need to show your railcard at the point of purchase (unless you’re buying from an actual human) but you must have it with you on your phone when you travel, to show the ticket inspector.

Oh ok, that's clearer. I wondered if you had to put in a code or something? Thanks!

Yes - when you buy your ticket, whether physically or online you just say you have a railcard. When your ticket is inspected you will need to show both the ticket and railcard to prove you are entitled to the discount.

Thanks everybody!😁

No - not on trust. Not being able to produce your railcard when asked for it …

I have mine as a digital card on the app. If you buy a ticket from a machine or online, it's on trust, but if there's a ticket inspector on the train they'll ask to see your Railcard on the app. If you buy a ticket from a ticket office they'll ask to see it.

I use Tesco clubcard points to get money off it so for that reason now do it online.

It doesn't make any difference to how you buy your tickets whether you have a physical or digital one.

If you were booking say 12 weeks in advance, you can select the Railcard option but leave it until just before the journey to buy the Railcard as no point wasting three months of its validity.