Annual gold card

[mauebl]

I bought an annual season ticket between Wellingborough and London at St Pancras earlier today. The season ticket was issued on an East Midlands Rail smart card.

I asked the clerk about the annual gold card, which I understand I am entitled to as one end of the season ticket is in the gold card area. The clerk said that the EMR-issued smart card acts as the gold card - he didn’t give me anything else to prove entitlement to the gold card discount.

Is this correct? I thought that the gold card is valid on the underground, where smart cards can’t be used?

I was also a bit surprised that he said a photo card wasn’t needed either, but apparently he registered it against my driving licence. Things have obviously moved on since I last had a season ticket five years ago!

 

[Haywain]

I asked the clerk about the annual gold card, which I understand I am entitled to as one end of the season ticket is in the gold card area.

Where did you buy the season ticket? If you bought it at Wellingborough there is no entitlement to a Gold Card as the issuing station must be in the Gold Card area, as well as one of the stations named on the season.

 

[mauebl]

Where did you buy the season ticket? If you bought it at Wellingborough there is no entitlement to a Gold Card as the issuing station must be in the Gold Card area, as well as one of the stations named on the season.

I bought it at the ticket office upstairs in St Pancras

 

[MrJeeves]

I bought it at the ticket office upstairs in St Pancras

Staff should have issued you with a "Gold Record Card" with the Smartcard.

I thought that the gold card is valid on the underground, where smart cards can’t be used?

A gold card can be added to discount journeys made with Oyster, but it does not entitle you to free travel on the Underground.

On a tangent, smartcards can be used on Underground, and you can load Travelcards onto them, for example.

 

[mauebl]

Thank you - I’ll go back and ask about it when I’m back in London later in the week