Ticketing sites / apps

[Openfold]

Hello there,

Really random question, but where does everyone suggest buying rail tickets from. I’m not too fussed about split ticketing, and I do like to order through a TOC. It’s just there’s so many options to choose, and I’m not sure if there are any advantages by ordering through certain companies.

Thank you

 

[Llanigraham]

Personally, direct from the operator, or from the scheme mentioned at the top of this section.
NEVER from Trainline!

 

[Autoticketgate]

Here's a few reasons to buy from a specific retailer that I can think of (in no particular order):

• Some TOCs have automated or semi-automated Delay Repay which only works with tickets you buy on their website. Manual Delay Repay isn't that annoying but if you are commuting on a frequently delayed train then ADR can make things easier
• Some TOCs have special offers if you buy their tickets on their website - the Special Offers thread pinned to the top of this forum has some but it's not updated anymore, not sure if there's a more up to date list anywhere, but you can check the last few pages of that for new deals.
  • One I can think of straight away that's not on there is LNER Perks giving 2% cashback on LNER trains purchased on their site/app
  • or ScotRail's Super Off Peak Returns which are only available as e-tickets on (I think only the ScotRail?) app or on smartcard at a TVM.
  • Personally I'm a semi-frequent user of Transpennine Express's offer which gives 16-25 Railcard holders a 50% discount instead of 33% on TPE advances.
• Some TOCs offer free postage on posted out paper tickets if you still need those for some reason (I've just checked and Chiltern do it, apparently some others used to but don't anymore)
• One reason not to buy from a specific retailer - Trainline has a flat £1.99 booking fee for the majority of tickets even when you don't use their "split save"
• If you buy from a TOC then there is no percentage commission to a third party retailer so more of your money supports the railway
• If you buy from the forum's (Trainsplit powered) ticket site then some of that percentage commission supports the forum
• Some sites may have cashback available through third parties - I know LNER used to have cashback on my Lloyds "Everyday Offers" for a while, so check any bank accounts/credit cards/cashback sites you're signed up for if you care.
• Buying from a ticket office or in some cases a ticket vending machine can allow you to buy some obscure types of tickets that are not usually available online, like rangers/rovers, non-advance tickets for journeys where reservations have been set to sold out, Boundary Zone tickets to use with a Travelcard in London, and a few others.

Other than that a ticket is a ticket pretty much, unless I've missed anything! All retailers sell most tickets so in 90% of cases it doesn't matter that much.

 

[Wallsendmag]

I always buy through the LNER site or App

 

[Watershed]

Hello there,

Really random question, but where does everyone suggest buying rail tickets from. I’m not too fussed about split ticketing, and I do like to order through a TOC. It’s just there’s so many options to choose, and I’m not sure if there are any advantages by ordering through certain companies.

Thank you

I would certainly steer clear of any of the retailers that charge additional booking or other fees. There are plenty of retailers that don't charge such fees, so there's no reason to pay them. However, there is still reason to choose some retailers over others.

Some retailers don't charge the maximum £10 admin fee for changes to or refunds of tickets:

• Railsmartr doesn't charge any admin fees for either refunds or changes
• CrossCountry and TPE don't charge any admin fee when changing Advance tickets bought through their site or app, provided you're logged in
• GTR and Southeastern don't charge an admin fee for refunds of walk-up tickets, provided you selected ToD collection and haven't yet collected the tickets
• Trainline charge a stepped refund fee based on the transaction value, but they charge a booking fee unless you buy your ticket on the day of travel through their app, so I'd generally avoid using them
• TrainSplit offers fee-fee refunds on all purchases (including Advance tickets) if requested within 2 hours of purchase
• Chiltern only charge a £5 admin fee for changes or refunds

There are also some other minor points in terms of refunds and changes, such as whether admin fees are applied per transaction or per ticket. But as there are sites that don't charge an admin fee, this seems rather a moot point; I don't use sites that charge admin fees.

Obviously if you want split tickets, there are various retailers out there that offer these (such as Trainline and TrainSplit), but currently these all charge some form of fee (booking and 'share of saving' respectively). Hopefully there will soon be other retailers that offer split tickets without fees; in the interim, there is always the option of adding the tickets to the basket individually in the case of TrainSplit.

Some retailers offer cashback, such as through various banks and credit card providers and the usual suspects of Topcashback or Quidco. However in most cases I feel that the value of having no admin fee outweighs any cashback that's available. LNER and Avanti also offer various benefits to buying tickets for journeys involving their own services, though these are generally quite marginal.

Unfortunately some tickets and particularly sale fares are only available through specific websites (e.g. cheaper tickets for the Heathrow and Stansted Express, priced based on how many days in advance you buy, are only available through their respective sites). So you may have no choice but to use a specific TOC's site if you want to avail of these, although this is clearly an anticompetitive practice, which may in some cases even be unlawful.

 

[yorkie]

I always buy through the LNER site or App

Out of interest, do you manually check for splits first, or use another site for that, or just take the hit?

Given I travel on XC a lot, that would cost me - or the organisations I am claiming from - a good few hundred quid a year extra!

 

[Wallsendmag]

Out of interest, do you manually check for splits first, or use another site for that, or just take the hit?

Given I travel on XC a lot, that would cost me - or the organisations I am claiming from - a good few hundred quid a year extra!

I don't buy for myself and friends and family are happy with the prices

 

[realemil]

or ScotRail's Super Off Peak Returns which are only available as e-tickets on (I think only the ScotRail?) app or on smartcard at a TVM.

For clarification, ScotRail Super off peak are only available as an m-ticket (not E-ticket), on the app. They can be applied on a smart card at any ScotRail TVM or ticket office, or on the app.

edit - fixed as per post #15 and #16

 

[yorkie]

I don't buy for myself and friends and family are happy with the prices

Ah, I think we're at cross purposes; buying friends & family discounted tickets for travel on a specific TOC is a bit different to what the original poster had in mind, which I would assume to be general purposes for a wide range of journeys probably involving multiple TOCs.

 

[James H]

The LNER site / app is my current go-to ticketing site - mainly because of the Airtime Rewards cashback

 

[mikeg]

If using an app (a big if) it's generally LNER but it has the disadvantage of needing at least 15 minutes before the journey commences, also it won't let you book when LNER timetables aren't available but other TOCs are ... Two things that prevent it from being my in all cases go to.

Otherwise I generally support my local ticket office or failing that buy from a TVM

I did however book a walk up ticket to Fort William thru the LNER app, albeit in advance because of the 2% perks credit combined with a spend £70 or more with LNER offer on my main current account. Saved me roughly a tenner .

But I only go to other toc sites when there's a special offer on for said toc only available through their site. Haven't seen as many of those recently.

 

[mirodo]

The LNER site / app is my current go-to ticketing site - mainly because of the Airtime Rewards cashback

Same here, plus often 5% cashback with Virgin Money.

The problem I find with the LNER website and app is that it copes very badly at times of high demand - e.g. when the advance tickets went on sale for last Christmas, it was impossible to book anything as both the app and website kept timing out. I was anxious to get my journey booked before all the cheaper tier tickets got bought up, so I ended up booking elsewhere. I figured the loss of cashback was preferable to waiting for the site to become responsive and find out I had to buy a higher priced ticket at ££££££.

 

[yorkie]

LNERs website will often cost you more money if you are making journeys that involve multiple operators or travel on XC, as you will be paying a premium for a through fare

 

[Haywain]

LNERs website will often cost you more money if you are making journeys that involve multiple operators or travel on XC, as you will be paying a premium for a through fare

What you really mean is that many websites that don't split tickets will cost more if a cheaper split is available. But it's not always the case that a split is available and it certainly isn't specific to LNER.

 

[kkong]

For clarification, ScotRail Super off peak are only available as an m-ticket (not E-ticket), on the app. They can be applied on a smart card at any TVM or ticket office.

They can also be loaded on a smartcard using the ScotRail smartphone app.

 

[Wallsendmag]

For clarification, ScotRail Super off peak are only available as an m-ticket (not E-ticket), on the app. They can be applied on a smart card at any Scotrail TVM or ticket office.

Fixed that for you

 

[realemil]

Fixed that for you

They can also be loaded on a smartcard using the ScotRail smartphone app.

Thanks both, I'll get that edited in for clarification, didn't realise I missed that

 

[setdown]

The LNER app also forces you to use e-tickets if available, if that's a consideration.

 

[yorkie]

What you really mean is that many websites that don't split tickets will cost more if a cheaper split is available. But it's not always the case that a split is available and it certainly isn't specific to LNER.

Yes of course many sites do indeed have this limitation; I was just responding to others recommending this particular site.

Indeed, such sites will often cost more (than, for example, the forum's site) in the circumstances I described, but by no means always!

I am just surprised how many people are happy to pay such premiums, given so many of my journeys would cost a lot more if I bought from a TOC site.

 

[miklcct]

Yes of course many sites do indeed have this limitation; I was just responding to others recommending this particular site.

Indeed, such sites will often cost more (than, for example, the forum's site) in the circumstances I described, but by no means always!

I am just surprised how many people are happy to pay such premiums, given so many of my journeys would cost a lot more if I bought from a TOC site.

I would do so if I can get a PlusBus / bike reservation at the time of booking rather than visiting a ticket office.