Railcard renewal timing

[swt_passenger]

Quick question for you please, how long before the expiry date should it be ok to renew a 3 year senior railcard? Can you be too early?

 

[contrex]

I usually renew my one-year card a couple of weeks before, at a station. I surrender the current one and they add the days onto the new one. You can renew your railcard online up to 30 days before it is due to expire, so maybe the same applies to in-person renewals.

 

[swt_passenger]

I usually renew my one-year card a couple of weeks before, at a station. I surrender the current one and they add the days onto the new one. You can renew your railcard online up to 30 days before it is due to expire, so maybe the same applies to in-person renewals.

Ah, thanks for explaining. I think if it’s up to 30 days online I’ll probably do that next week.

 

[TheManOnThe172]

Quick question for you please, how long before the expiry date should it be ok to renew a 3 year senior railcard? Can you be too early?

I hit problems buying a 3 year railcard online - it came promptly with 3yr 6d validity - which Tfl machines couldn't accept when I tried to have the railcard linked to an Oyster. (That was a couple of years ago so may have been fixed.)

 

[wildcard]

I hit problems buying a 3 year railcard online - it came promptly with 3yr 6d validity - which Tfl machines couldn't accept when I tried to have the railcard linked to an Oyster. (That was a couple of years ago so may have been fixed.)

I believe this issue is still with us. You can apply up to 30 days before expiry - the response is normally quick so you get your new card well before the old expiry date - giving it a 3yrs plus validity. The maximum validity that can be loaded via the Oyster terminal at a station is 3 years hence . What I do is get say 2 years loaded ( from the current date ) - then diarise a return in say 18 months to get the real expiry date entered . This solution was suggested to me by TfL staff when I first got my 3yr Senior card - although others have reported that some staff say they are not allowed to do this . The alternative is to turn up on the day after your old one expires and hope station staff are free to load your new expiry date before you travel ( and have allowed time for ) . Not something I am prepared to risk.

 

[Buzby]

Indeed it is! I spent 15 minutes at KX trying to find a staff member in attendance at the machines so that they could go into admin mode and add the Railcard to my Oyster. She entered the Railcard expiry date which was exactly 3 years with no problems.

 

[microrich]

I usually renew my one-year card a couple of weeks before, at a station. I surrender the current one and they add the days onto the new one. You can renew your railcard online up to 30 days before it is due to expire, so maybe the same applies to in-person renewals.

Just a word of caution on buying physical railcards at stations - these are printed on paper/card rather than the plastic ones you get if you order online. Maybe I was unlucky, but I've now twice in a row had a problem where the ink wears off the paper/card ones issued at stations long before the expiry date (despite keeping the card in a protective plastic sleeve and being very careful with it). On both occasions I've then had quite an argument with the issuing station (in both cases Euston) to persuade them to give me a replacement without paying a £10 replacement fee. On both occasions I stood firm and one the argument but it was a time consuming hassle.

For that reason I would strongly suggest not getting railcards from stations since the paper/card versions issued are simply not durable enough to last a full year (and certainly not 3 years). Get a plastic one online (or an eRailcard if you need it immediately and you're confident with that format, which I know not everyone is).

 

[Gwr12345]

are simply not durable enough to last a full year (and certainly not 3 years)

And that's why you can't buy 3 year railcards from ticket offices, although there are plenty of disadvantages to this.

 

[contrex]

Just a word of caution on buying physical railcards at stations - these are printed on paper/card rather than the plastic ones you get if you order online. Maybe I was unlucky, but I've now twice in a row had a problem where the ink wears off the paper/card ones issued at stations long before the expiry date (despite keeping the card in a protective plastic sleeve and being very careful with it).

I've had two, on my third, all bought at stations, and they've all been kept in a little blue wallet with a BR/National Rail logo, along with my over 60 bus pass, and I've never had any trouble at all like you describe.

 

[Starmill]

I've had two, on my third, all bought at stations, and they've all been kept in a little blue wallet with a BR/National Rail logo, along with my over 60 bus pass, and I've never had any trouble at all like you describe.

Thermal printer and paper quality can be quite variable. You may theoretically only experience minor fading after twelve months on one ticket, and on another have it faded almost beyond reading after just three months or so.

 

[contrex]

Thermal printer and paper quality can be quite variable. You may theoretically only experience minor fading after twelve months on one ticket, and on another have it faded almost beyond reading after just three months or so.

One each from Bristol TM, Bath Spa, and Cardiff Central. Maybe we have superior printers and paper in Wales and the West? Perhaps the particular plastic used in the chosen sleeve has a bearing - this is a little wallet I was issued at Bristol TM some years ago when I bought a weekly season to Clifton Down. I suppose it might be vetted for use with this kind of ticket/card?