Which ticketing app is the best? (for changing Advance fares, loading Smartcards etc)

[hvshe]

I have been using the XC app for tickets for a long time, but I am looking to see if it is optimal or not.

My requirements are as follows:

musts:
- ability to change advanced tickets to flexible tickets by providing only the difference and no change fee
- ability to print and collect changed tickets at ticket machines for no extra fee (the XC app allows this only when changing tickets)
- no booking fee
- integration with online platform, possible to buy tickets online

nice to have:
- possible to load advanced tickets onto a smartcard
- some kind of kickback (like in credits or avios) for buying tickets, but not really important

do not need:
- show railcard
- split tickets for me, as I split my tickets myself
- show live train info about booked trains

what app would be the best? I was looking into GWR but I wasn't sure if it is the best option given my desires

thank you in advance for your responses!

 

[bananas]

TfW is the only other option with fee-free exchanges for advances afaik

 

[yorkie]

I have been using the XC app for tickets for a long time, but I am looking to see if it is optimal or not.

My requirements are as follows:

musts:
- ability to change advanced tickets to flexible tickets by providing only the difference and no change fee
- ability to print and collect changed tickets at ticket machines for no extra fee (the XC app allows this only when changing tickets)
- no booking fee
- integration with online platform, possible to buy tickets online

We do all the above, except for fee-free changes. For a retailer to provide fee-free changes probably requires them to make a loss, so not many do it.

Railsmartr may be worth a try; you'd need to rebook and refund the original.

nice to have:
- possible to load advanced tickets onto a smartcard

I am not sure why anyone would want to do this, but I don't think you are going to get all of those things from one retailer.

- some kind of kickback (like in credits or avios) for buying tickets, but not really important

Again, more loss for retailers, so not many are going to do that.

After a quick search, TfW might fit the bill.

do not need:
- show railcard
- split tickets for me, as I split my tickets myself

That must be very time-consuming, manually searching every possible combination!

I did this once for a journey involving picking up a family member to take them from Cornwall to Yorkshire and back again; it once took me about 30 mins to book all the tickets, without counting any time searching for the cheapest possible combination!

- show live train info about booked trains

what app would be the best? I was looking into GWR but I wasn't sure if it is the best option given my desires

thank you in advance for your responses!

I think GWR charge a change fee on a per-ticket basis (not per booking), so that could get very expensive on longer journeys with multiple tickets.

 

[Starmill]

Most retailers charge an admin fee of you wish to amend time of departure on an Advance ticket. Only some don't, and CrossCountry is an example. Railsmartr might work but I've not bought through their app personally.

 

[hvshe]

I am not sure why anyone would want to do this, but I don't think you are going to get all of those things from one retailer.

i've gotten tired from having to flash my e-ticket on a phone at the barriers at birmingham new street in early mornings when hauling multiple pieces of heavy luggage and rushing for a train

That must be very time-consuming, manually searching every possible combination!

i only buy tickets for one single departure every week that has 2/3 intermediate stops, and 1 never knocks the price down ever so i only have to check 2 or 3 different combinations

the admin fee-free change is for deviations from the typical train i catch, of which i change it to a flexible single on the app, print it out at a ticket machine, and get a ticket office to further excess that printed ticket to maximise value

 

[Watershed]

I don't think Advance tickets can be fulfilled to a smartcard at all, so that requirement can't be met by any retailer.

Railsmartr would appear to meet your other requirements.

 

[Starmill]

I don't think Advance tickets can be fulfilled to a smartcard at all, so that requirement can't be met by any retailer.

Railsmartr would appear to meet your other requirements.

It used to be possible for ScotRail only Advance tickets, but I'm not sure it is any more, and I'm not sure that at all helps the OP!

 

[styles]

Not sure about some of the features but as someone mentioned TfW do fee-free advance changes; they also are available on the nxrewards cashback website giving you 10% back. Just remember to make at least one purchase a month to avoid the mo though fee for the cashback website. Shouldn't be a problem if you say you're travelling weekly, but if you do have a month with no travel, buy a cheapo ticket like Litchfield City to Litchfield Trent Valley, which will be <£1 after cashback.

 

[kkong]

It used to be possible for ScotRail only Advance tickets, but I'm not sure it is any more, and I'm not sure that at all helps the OP!

Indeed - as I recall there was no specific journey time encoded onto the smartcard, so it wasn't possible from a scan to know which train your Advance ticket was for...

Perhaps explains why they are no longer available on smartcard.

 

[fandroid]

Railsmartr seemingly will only change an Advance to another Advance. They don't mention any option to change to a flexible ticket.

 

[TUC]

i've gotten tired from having to flash my e-ticket on a phone at the barriers at birmingham new street in early mornings when hauling multiple pieces of heavy luggage and rushing for a train

You mean the same thing as everyone else does at a ticket barrier? It is the nature of what ticket barriers are for.

 

[fandroid]

You mean the same thing as everyone else does at a ticket barrier? It is the nature of what ticket barriers are for.

I know what they mean. Tapping a Smartcard on a gate reader is far less liable to error than sticking a phone screen over a reader. Haven't you been stuck behind someone who repeatedly waves their phone over a reader before giving up and going to a staff member? Smartcards don't have batteries which lose charge either.

Oyster and Contactless (incl. phones using NFC) are extremely popular already.

 

[yorkie]

I know what they mean. Tapping a Smartcard on a gate reader is far less liable to error than sticking a phone screen over a reader. Haven't you been stuck behind someone who repeatedly waves their phone over a reader before giving up and going to a staff member? Smartcards don't have batteries which lose charge either.

Oyster and Contactless (incl. phones using NFC) are extremely popular already.

e-tickets are not going away; I can't see many people wanting to faff about loading an Advance ticket, or any other pre-purchased single or return ticket, onto a Smart card, just for the sake of potentially saving a few seconds at a barrier.

Apart from the awkward barcode readers at stations such as Manchester Victoria, I usually have no issues at all scanning e-tickets at barriers.

I've also bought tickets for large groups of up to 30 passengers; I can't imagine how much hassle it would be to obtain and load 30 smartcards for such a group!

Smartcards are quite niche; if you don't have a pre-loaded Season ticket, travel discount etc loaded onto them, there is no justification for the majority of passengers to obtain one. It is far easier to use e-tickets for pre-purchased tickets and Contactless cards for shorter distance PAYG journeys.

If anyone wants to debate the topic of Smartcards vs e-tickets further, feel free to create a new thread (or find an existing one; feel free to report it to request an unlock, if it's >6 months old), as it's arguably beyond the scope of this one.

 

[mb]

I moved from Crosscountry to TFW.wales to book my tickets.

I particularly like the slickness of exchanging an Advance ticket with no fees.

There's a tiny bit of Topcashback and Airtime Rewards money to be had too.

The only thing I wish it could do is have both Google Wallet AND a PDF ticket download option available, as I wasn't sure how you could do a Delay Repay claim with the ticket stored in Google Wallet. Is a screenshot of the ticket acceptable?

 

[Watershed]

I moved from Crosscountry to TFW.wales to book my tickets.

I particularly like the slickness of exchanging an Advance ticket with no fees.

There's a tiny bit of Topcashback and Airtime Rewards money to be had too.

The only thing I wish it could do is have both Google Wallet AND a PDF ticket download option available, as I wasn't sure how you could do a Delay Repay claim with the ticket stored in Google Wallet. Is a screenshot of the ticket acceptable?

It should be, as the barcode is encoded with all of the necessary details. But if you want to be on the safe side, I'd suggest providing a copy of the PDF e-ticket.

 

[mb]

It should be, as the barcode is encoded with all of the necessary details. But if you want to be on the safe side, I'd suggest providing a copy of the PDF e-ticket.

Thank you.

 

[Cloudrak]

I have been using the XC app for tickets for a long time, but I am looking to see if it is optimal or not.

My requirements are as follows:

musts:
- ability to change advanced tickets to flexible tickets by providing only the difference and no change fee
- ability to print and collect changed tickets at ticket machines for no extra fee (the XC app allows this only when changing tickets)
- no booking fee
- integration with online platform, possible to buy tickets online

nice to have:
- possible to load advanced tickets onto a smartcard
- some kind of kickback (like in credits or avios) for buying tickets, but not really important

do not need:
- show railcard
- split tickets for me, as I split my tickets myself
- show live train info about booked trains

what app would be the best? I was looking into GWR but I wasn't sure if it is the best option given my desires

thank you in advance for your responses!

SWR app is fee free and has smartcard functions

 

[rrapynot]

I moved from Crosscountry to TFW.wales to book my tickets.

I particularly like the slickness of exchanging an Advance ticket with no fees.

Please let me know if I understand this correctly. I can buy an advance ticket on the TfW website for another operators service, for example Northern Railway, and change it to a different train for fare difference but no fees?

 

[Watershed]

Please let me know if I understand this correctly. I can buy an advance ticket on the TfW website for another operators service, for example Northern Railway, and change it to a different train for fare difference but no fees?

Yes, TfW's website makes no mention of their "no fee" offer being restricted to Advances that involve travel on TfW. Others who have used the TfW site to make such a change will be able to confirm, but I'd expect to be able to make it fee-free.

 

[mb]

Please let me know if I understand this correctly. I can buy an advance ticket on the TfW website for another operators service, for example Northern Railway, and change it to a different train for fare difference but no fees?

Yes. I have done so with London NorthWestern and Avanti.