5 UK Train Ticket Secrets That Will Save You Money

Alyssa Hollingsworth | February 1, 2016

3. Railcards

National Rail offers numerous railcards for travelers, and they’re available even if you’re international! For about £30, you can buy a card that will give you about 30% off all your ticket needs. There are a lot of different types of card, but I’m betting you can find one you’d be able to use.

It’s important to note that you cannot order a railcard online unless you have a UK address (they won’t deliver the cards internationally). However, if you don’t have a UK address, you can buy a railcard at a staffed ticket office in England, Wales, or Scotland. Pretty sweet.

“But wait!” you say. “I’m only going to be in the UK a week. There’s no way I’m going to spend £30 just to get 30% off.”

Alyssa Hollingsworth / Own Work

Well, that depends on what you’ll be doing, my friend. While pricing tickets for a recent short trip to England, I was faced with the prospect of paying £145 for a return ticket to Northumberland. Throw a railcard on that puppy, and the ticket becomes £95—enough to pay for the card and still save me some money. I also got to use my railcard on my other train travel during my stay, which probably saved me an additional £50 in the course of two weeks.

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