Best ticket, 3 days a week? (Edit: with WM zone 1-5 card?)

[giblets]

See Edit at post #8!
So I'vejust got a new job role, having been made redundant back in June, but the new role is going to be Birmingham based (I'm near Banbury), so looking at options for the train, normally I guess a season ticket would be best but the new role is looking at 3 days per week in town (there may be some travelling nationally/ internationally which would mean not using, not sure how much though for the foreseeable future, so currently discounting that!).
So what is the best option to get? I've seen some tickets that consist of 8 return passes?). Starting next Monday guess I would look at a monthly pass up to around 20th December as a starter?

Banbury-Birmingham Central (Snow Hill/ Moor Street or New street work fine)
Typical 8/9am-4/5pm
3 days per week.
No discount cards (and don't believe I qualfy)

 

[Starmill]

A Chiltern Only Flexi Season is £119.20 for eight days. £14.90 per round trip. Just have a check of the times of the Chiltern trains to ensure they are convenient for you.

 

[TheManOnThe172]

If you are allowed to choose which three days to work in the office, and can vary these from week to week, then it would be worth checking whether you could manage with a 7-day season ticket plus a single-day ticket to cover every fortnight:

Odd Week: Buy 7-day ticket on Wed to cover Wed, Thu, Fri in office
Even Week: Mon, Tue in office using the rest of the 7-day ticket - plus Wed or Thu or Fri covered by a single-day ticket

 

[giblets]

Thanks, like the thinking, you have to be in Mon+ Thurs, plus one of Tue/ Wed.
That option might work well if I am out of the office!

 

[Watershed]

Thanks, you have to be in Mon+ Thurs, plus one of Tue/ Wed.

Ah, that limits your options rather more. The Flexi Season offers a miserly 10% discount on buying individual tickets, but in the absence of any Railcards it's still likely to be your cheapest option.

As you have flexibility on when you use your Flexi Season, I suppose you can always look and see if on any particular day there are any Advances totalling less than £14.90, but that strikes me as pretty unlikely, seeing as that would require Chiltern to release availability for their cheapest two Advance tiers, which is very rare.

 

[hkstudent]

Is OP currently claiming Job Centre Plus Job Seeker Allowance (Income Based, NI funded)?
If yes, it maybe worthwhile for OP to discuss with the caseworker for applying a Job Centre Plus Discount Travelcard.

 

[giblets]

Thanks all, was not at the job centre, but that would have been useful!

 

[giblets]

So a bit of an update, and thanks for the advice so far, currently awaiting my smart card (thought you’d be able to get one at the station.

So update on the ticket situation, after my probation period I will be given a fully paid West Midlands (zone 1-5) rail annual pass. For me this essentially means Dorridge or Coventry on my possible routes are included. So would this mean I would need a season ticket to Dorridge?!

 

[Watershed]

So a bit of an update, and thanks for the advice so far, currently awaiting my smart card (thought you’d be able to get one at the station.

So update on the ticket situation, after my probation period I will be given a fully paid West Midlands (zone 1-5) rail annual pass. For me this essentially means Dorridge or Coventry on my possible routes are included. So would this mean I would need a season ticket to Dorridge?!

You can buy a (Flexi) season to either Dorridge or Coventry; whichever one you buy, you will be limited to travelling that way. Unfortunately there is no way of buying a Banbury to "WM Boundary Zone 5" season ticket.

It is worthwhile asking your employer whether they would consider putting the cost of the Zones 1-5 pass towards your commute directly, as with a Flexi season there is only a very marginal saving in buying to Coventry/Dorridge vs Birmingham.