Top Deals From the Weekly Email
Train & Coach Deals
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Whether it's by coach, train or bus, there are always a storm of deals to let you travel across the UK. Often if you know where to look you can get journeys of 100s miles for as little as £1.
This is a list of checked out deals, vouchers, and codes updated once a week that will enable you to cut your travel costs to the bone.
Yet these are just one-off promotions, it's also important you check out the Cheap Trains guide, full of cutting edge techniques to cut any journey’s cost. And if the worst comes to the worst there’s the Cheap Petrol guide too.
URGENT! Ends Wed 4 Nov
You can get £9 one-way tickets to and from anywhere along the National Express East Coast route, a great offer as the line runs from London right up to Edinburgh, with destinations including York, Glasgow and Newcastle.
It’s valid for travel between Thurs 19 Nov 09 and Sun 24 Jan 2010, excluding the festive period 18 Dec 09 – 5 Jan 2010. To get it, book online by midnight on Weds 4 Nov, print the travel voucher and make sure you take it with you.
The offer’s subject to availability, so grab your tickets early. There’s limited availability on Friday and Sunday afternoons, and it’s only valid for Standard Class seats on selected off-peak services. It isn’t valid with railcards, child discounts or other offers. See full terms.
Until midnight Sun 8 Nov, you can grab a 1 year Family & Friends Railcard at just £19.50 instead of the usual £26. Using a railcard when buying train tickets cuts a third off adults' fares and 60% off kids', when you have at least one adult and one child aged 5 to 15 travelling.
Up to four adults and four kids can travel at one time and get the discounts from the railcard, which could be a huge saving. You must be 16 or over to get one and while it's being promoted as for new customers, there's nothing stopping existing customers who want to renew their current railcards using the code too.
How to buy: Use the special railcard link and code "halfterm25" (it's not case sensitive so you should be able to enter it in upper or lower case).
Exclusions: The railcard can't be used on weekday morning peak services entirely within the London and South East area. If you're unsure when these times are, as they differ according to the route, then check with your local station or call the National Rail Enquiries line on 08457 48 49 50.
All TransPennine Express services are offering holders of the 16-25 Railcard (formerly the Young Persons Railcard) 50% off advanced fares rather than the 34% discount card holders normally get. To get 50% off bookings have to be made through the Transpennine Express website.
Tickets are non-refundable and only valid on the specific train booked. There is no end date set for the deal yet, the First Group plans to run the offer for the foreseeable future. Advanced tickets to and from Manchester Airport are excluded from the offer.
Routes included: All TransPennine Express routes except tickets to and from Manchester Airport.
How to book: Online only, via the special Transpennine Express web page.
Travel anywhere on the First Great Western network during off-peak times for £25 return (£45 for First Class) if you’re over 55. Senior Railcard holders will get an extra £5 off per return too. There’s potential for big savings here, for example, travelling off-peak on a return from Penzance to London Paddington would cost £100, so using this offer would save you £75 (£80 if you have a Railcard).
Travel has to be after 9:30am Mon - Fri or anytime at the weekend and Club 55 tickets can't be used on trains leaving London Paddington between 1610 and 1801, or leaving Reading between 1640 and 1830. The offer runs from Sun 6 Sept to Sun 13 Dec (13 Dec is the last date for your outbound journey) and you must return within one month.
If you're planning to travel into South Wales on Arriva Trains, use Club 55 Plus and it's just £5 extra on top though do check the extra part of your specific journey isn't cheaper bought separately.
Routes included: Those provided on the First Great Western route by First Capital Connect, First Great Western, Cross Country, London Midland, Chiltern Railways, Southern, Arriva Trains Wales and South West Trains.
How to book: ‘Club 55’ tickets can be purchased from any First Great Western station, by calling 08457 000 125 or online by clicking the "Book your train tickets now" link on the First Great Western Club 55 webpage. Make sure you have your proof of age with you when booking and travelling.
Well-known US bus company Greyhound has launched in the UK with routes between London Victoria, Southampton and Portsmouth and tickets from £1. Every coach will have at least 3 fares for £1 and a further 10 under £5. Normal prices for tickets bought online range from £6 to £10. A booking fee of 50p applies on all fares. Greyhound expects the offer to run indefinitely.
Routes included: London Victoria, Southampton and Portsmouth.
How to book: Visit Greyhound UK.
Another member of the First Group, Transpennine Express, is offering travel for over 55s on parts of its network during off-peak times, starting at £5 return. Travel anywhere within one of its zones and it'll cost you £5. Cross a boundary into another and it'll cost £10.
Each time you cross a boundary into a new zone it costs a further £5 up to £20 for travel covering all four zones. Senior railcard holders get an extra 20% off. Travel must take place by 23.59 on 31 October.
So, travel off-peak on a return from York to Leeds and it would cost you £21.50, yet use this Club 55 offer and it'd cost just £5, saving you £16.50 (£17.50 with the Senior Railcard).
Tickets aren't available for travel on trains leaving your station before 9am, or between 4pm and 6pm, Mondays to Fridays but you can use them at any time at weekends.
Certain routes aren't valid including Glasgow - Edinburgh, Sheffield, Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Cleethorpes - Edinburgh, Huddersfield, Leeds and stations to Hull, Scarborough, Middlesbrough, and Newcastle. If you're unsure your route is included check with your local station.
Routes included: Transpennine Express network.
How to book: These ‘Club 55’ tickets can be purchased from any station, by calling 0845 678 6974 or on the train if the station you're boarding at is unmanned.
Travel anywhere on the Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) network for £15 return if you’re over 55. Senior Railcard holders will get an extra £2 off per return too. So, travel off-peak on a return from Cardiff Central to Holyhead and it would cost you £72.10, yet use Arriva's Club 55 offer and you'd save £57.10 (almost £60 with a Railcard).
You must travel after 9:30am weekdays but it's available anytime at weekends. The offer is on until Sat 12 Dec, but excludes Cardiff on 7, 13, 21 and 28 Nov.
Routes included: All Arriva Trains Wales network.
How to book: ‘Club 55’ tickets can be purchased from any station or ATW train where there is no station ticket office, just make sure you take along proof of age. Tickets are also available by calling 0870 9000 773.
Students who have an "NUS Extra" card can get an extra 10% off on certain Cross Country Advance tickets (the applicable tickets will show up in green in a search).
You can get the discount in addition to the 16-25 railcard discount if you have one.
Get 10% off lowest Standard Advance fares when you book online with National Express East Coast trains. To search for discounted tickets, just visit the National Express East Coast website and enter your journey details. Available discounted tickets will be displayed by a small red star.
The offer isn ’t valid on trains arriving into London before 11.15am, or leaving London before 9.29pm or between 3.33pm and 7.01pm inclusive, Monday – Friday. The promotion's currently ongoing.
Sister companies Megatrain and Megabus offer train and bus fares across the UK for £1 each way plus a 50p booking charge per transaction. Trips include Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Cardiff and many more. Go to Megabus or Megatrain (you're directed to the same site), pick where you're travelling to and from, and opt for train or bus to find available fares.
Routes included: Aberdeen, Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh Airport, Exeter, Leeds, Leicester, London, Oxford, Sheffield & many more.
Save up to 40% on Southern Advance train tickets when you book online through Southern’s website. Discounts are available on standard class tickets with selected routes.
Routes available under the discount are Brighton – London Victoria, Portsmouth – London Victoria, Littlehampton – London Victoria, Bognor Regis – London Victoria, Arun Valley (Arundel to Christs Hospital) – London Victoria, and London Metro area – Brighton.
Discounts are subject to availability. Book by 6pm before the day of travel and remember to bring your reservation coupon (issued with your ticket). No refunds are available, so check the terms and conditions on the website before you book.
Sister companies Megatrain and Megabus, which offer train and bus fares across the UK starting at £1 each way plus a 50p booking charge per transaction, have set up a combined train and coach service from London to Yorkshire called Megabusplus. Travel between London and new train station East Midlands Parkway is via train, and between East Midland Parkway and Yorkshire by coach.
Routes included: York, Castleford, Harrogate, Hull, Halifax, Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Huddersfield and Bradford.
How to book: Go to Megabusplus
Get advance tickets from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly from £8 each way with Virgin Trains. To find the tickets, enter your chosen dates on Virgin’s Farefinder. Tickets are subject to availability, and can be bought using railcard discounts.
This fare isn't as cheap as Virgin's previous 'print@home' promotion, which offered £1-£10 tickets, but it's still good value if you're booking in advance. The £8 fares can also be bought through Virgin’s mobile phone ticketing service, Mobitix, although railcard discounts aren’t available with these.
Routes included: London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly.
How to book: Visit the Virgin Farefinder website.
Railway operator Southern offers an Advance one way ticket to London Victoria on its routes into London from Brighton, Portsmouth, Littlehampton and Bognor Regis. It's available to book up to 6pm the night before travel either online or from ticket offices where reservations can be made.
There's more info on the Southern Railway website. To look for tickets you'll need to use the National Rail website then follow the links to book. If the £3 fares don't appear when searching for tickets from/to London then try narrowing your search to London Victoria.
Routes included: Brighton, Portsmouth, Bognor Regis to London
How to book: Visit Southern Railway website
This is a nifty service to slash the cost of travelling between Birmingham and London. Use the Chiltern Railways special ticket to your mobile service which costs from £5 each way and you could pay just £10 to get to London and back.
While the route is slower and takes you from Birmingham Snow Hill or Moor Street to Marylebone rather than Birmingham New Street to Euston, if you're willing to spend a little longer getting there, then the price difference can be huge.
Routes included: London to Birmingham
How to book: Visit Chiltern Railways website
Cheap bus operator Easybus is currently offering journeys from Central and West London to Gatwick, Stansted and Luton airports starting at £2 each way. You don't have to be flying to use the service.
Routes included: Gatwick, Stansted & Luton to London
How to book: Visit the Easybus website or buy at the departure point
European low cost city shuttle bus company Terravision offers fares between Liverpool airport and Manchester city centre for £7 one way or £10 return.
Routes included: Liverpool to Manchester
How to book: Visit Terravision website
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There's a host of the other tips and techniques to bag yourself dirt cheap train tickets. Here's a few quick tips but for full info read the Cheap Trains guide.
Buy early, specifically 12 weeks early
Everyone knows book early and you can get cheaper fares, yet often these disappear quicker than empty seats on a commuter trip. Therefore to ensure a bargain, the key moment is buying 12 weeks in advance. This is because, contractually Network Rail must have the timetable set 12 weeks in advance; therefore this is commonly - though not definitely - when tickets are released.
If you know when and where you want to go, there's a sneaky way to be first in the cheap tickets queue. The TheTrainline's* ticket alert system emails the moment cheap advance tickets for a specific journey come on sale (commonly the cheapest fares).
Get early booking discounts at the last minute!
Everyone knows booking train tickets in advance is much cheaper, but what needs to be understood is Advance tickets can often be bought the night before, or even on the way to the station. So the golden rule is... Always check or call if advance tickets are still available, even if you're on the way to the station.
Spend over £72/year? Get a 16-25, Family & Friends or Senior Railcard.
Railcards which can be bought from the Railcard website typically cost £24 per year, or £65 for three years, and cut a third off the bill. Therefore spend over £72 a year (even in just one trip) and you save. Until May '08 railcards weren't valid on some super-cheap promotional fares; now they're valid on all tickets bought in advance and all standard class tickets.
Local rail cards, season tickets and Rover & Ranger tickets
Local rail cards, season tickets and Rover and Ranger tickets, such as the Network Railcard in the South East, are also available, offering holders unlimited travel within specific areas for specific periods of time. There's a full list of these on the National Rail website.
Calling National Rail Enquiries? Pay less for the call
If you need to dial National Rail Enquiries, the official number is 0845 748 49 50; yet you can cut the cost of calling by dialling 0121 634 2040 and then pressing '1', you'll get through to the same thing. See the SayNoTo0870 guide for more info.
* Using these links helps the site stay ad-free and free to use, as they're affiliated links which invisibly take you via price comparison services like Moneysupermarket or affiliate sites, this then means if you end up getting a product this site gets revenue
You shouldn't notice any difference, the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things we write) iss NEVER impacted by the revenue. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, its still listed in the same way. The following link thetrainline is an identical unaffiliated link provided for the sake of transparency. Click on the following link for more details on how this site's financed.
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