(Network) Gold Card Upgrade

[stut]

Is this still going? I was down at the coast at the weekend, and, as it was getting busy, I thought an extra fiver for the 3h journey home would be well worth it. However, the (very friendly and otherwise helpful) ticket agent swore blind that the Gold Card upgrade no longer existed.

I've used it a number of times in the past (great for going to the Cotswolds!) and find it's a great deal - has it been silently withdrawn?

 

[Daimler]

It's still going (Barry Doe mentioned it in Rail this issue), but when my dad had a Gold Card a couple of years ago, and tried to get first class upgrade, the same thing happened - unfortunately, we were in a rush, and had to give up...

 

[stut]

Oh, good to hear, thankyou. I'll press the point a little further next time. I was quite surprised, as I've bought them before from relatively small stations (Biggleswade, Brockenhurst, Evesham) and had no problem.

 

[adrianboult]

I put in a thread about this about 2 months ago asking if any ticket staff could tell us punters the screen that they use for this upgrade so that I can tell my local station (St Leonards Warrior Square) how to issue the upgrade - as they and the staff at Hastings say that it does not exist even when you show them the t&c's.

I got one at Victoria station the other night for a train that left for Hastings after 7.15pm and they pleaded ignorance to its existence there.
I had some time to kill, so I asked the ticket guy to get his supervisor who (after a bit of fussing) issued the upgrade.

I have had more luck getting them on the actual train from the guard, but still get ****ed off that the people whom should know how to issue them at the station often do not know of their existence.

What's the betting that this perk is withdrawn quite soon.... high I would say!

 

[stut]

Interesting, as it was at Rye that I was refused. Perhaps a SN/SE issue?

 

[adrianboult]

Maybe worth sending a letter to Southern and Southeastern?
I might do that tonight.