Travel by train for less (Young Persons Railcard)

Member Name: alexela

Product:	Young Persons Railcard
Date:	16/06/09 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 1/3 off most rail fares

Disadvantages: £12 minimum fare before 10am

I bought my Young Persons Railcard on the advice of my boyfriend, who I had started regularly travelling to go to see. Beforehand, I had just stuck with my student Oyster card, rarely travelling outside of London and when I did, usually by coach. However, to get to where he lives, there is no cheap coach option - so the train it had to be! The fare wasn't cheap either, bearing in mind I was visiting pretty much every weekend, my student loan is only so much, and so saving a third on the rail fare seemed a great idea. Even if it would be a few weeks before I'd effectively save my money back.

The Young Person's Railcard is available to anyone aged 16-25 or full time students over 25. At £26 a year, it's certainly a worthwhile investment for any eligible that uses trains regularly. Usually for travelling in London, I have a pre-paid Oyster travel card during University term-time, however, when I don't have this; I can get an off-peak travelcard for £5, saving £2.50 on the normal price of a zone 1-6 ticket. Not to mention saving a third off any other fare I purchase - whether it be a return to London terminals, or an open return to go visit a friend in Birmingham. All these little and big savings mean the railcard more than earns its worth throughout the year.

On the occasion where I am travelling longer distances during peak, the railcard also comes in handy, yes there's a £12 minimum fare, but then it's still a saving on the £15 I would have otherwise paid - or even more!

You can also connect your Young Persons Railcard to your Oyster card and this will allow you to save a third on the off-peak daily cap, meaning the most you'll pay for using the tube, tram, bus, DLR or London Overground for will be a third less than the normal off-peak Oyster cap - which is already 50p lower than the paper ticket price!

The Railcard can be purchased from any train station with a ticket office or from the young persons railcard website. Or, if you have a student account with NatWest - you can get one for free!

I have found my railcard extremely handy over the past year and will definitely keep renewing it as long as I can to get the most out of this very useful discount!

Summary: Defnitely worth picking one up if you're a regular train user