Gold Card - Do I have to use the discount when travelling with others?

[class442]

Hi all,

I'm a Gold Card holder, and also a railway employee so I have a 75% discount on leisure travel.

I'm planning a trip where I was going to use the 75% off for myself, and then my partner could use the 1/3 off from my gold card. I was wondering if this is legitimate; the details for the gold card are a bit vague, which say:

You can get 1/3 off:

• Standard and First Class Anytime and Off-Peak tickets for you and up to 3 adults travelling with you

My point is I won't be using the Gold Card discount myself, so not sure if it would apply to others travelling with me.

 

[Haywain]

My point is I won't be using the Gold Card discount myself, so not sure if it would apply to others travelling with me.

It wouldn't. The wording is clear: "you and up to 3 adults...", not "you or up to...".

 

[CyrusWuff]

It wouldn't. The wording is clear: "you and up to 3 adults...", not "you or up to...".

Though it doesn't apply here, there's an exception if the journey is covered by the season ticket, in which case you don't need to buy a ticket for yourself unless you're buying Day Travelcards and your Season ticket doesn't have the same zonal validity.

So if, for example, you had a Cambridge - Zones 4-6 Travelcard Season you'd need to buy a Day Travelcard for yourself in addition to the rest of the group, but if you had Cambridge - Zones 1-6 you wouldn't.

 

[iphone76]

Please ignore this if any of this doesn't apply in your case, but I was just thinking....

This may not be any use for this trip, but could you not apply for PRIV facilities for your partner so they also get the 75% off? If you check out the Rail Staff Travel website, I believe they no longer need to live with you if they don't. Then they will have their own travel facilities at a greater discounted rate.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Frequently asked questions about Rail Staff Travel facilities.

www.raildeliverygroup.com

Also do you get a PRIV rate annual season ticket? If so, I don't believe they should be printed on gold card stock. I have had an annual PRIV rate season for the past 10 years and it has always been printed on grey ticket stock. If you don't, are you able to get one at the PRIV rate to reduce the price you pay to travel to and from work?

As mentioned, please ignore the above if I have misunderstood anything.

 

[soil]

It wouldn't. The wording is clear: "you and up to 3 adults...", not "you or up to...".

As noted in post #3, this isn't clear at all.

The purpose of the Gold Card is to provide a 1/3 discount for passengers travelling with the holder. In many cases, this will be the normal commute, and the holder won't buy a ticket. Clearly the Gold Card is valid in this scenario.

Therefore, the more reasonable conclusion is that this a discount offered to the holder and all people travelling with them. To assert that the gold card is intended to disadvantage the holder and that they MUST buy the discounted ticket even if they don't need to, when it's advertised as a perk, really makes no sense at all.

If you read the first part of the sentence, which you've omitted in order to reach your conclusion.

"you can get"

This does not mean you MUST get.

 

[Haywain]

The purpose of the Gold Card is to provide a 1/3 discount for passengers travelling with the holder. In many cases, this will be the normal commute, and the holder won't buy a ticket. Clearly the Gold Card is valid in this scenario.

This was clearly - very clearly - not the scenario the OP was asking about, proven by their reference to buying a discounted ticket for their own use.

Therefore, the more reasonable conclusion is that this a discount offered to the holder and all people travelling with them. To assert that the gold card is intended to disadvantage the holder and that they MUST buy the discounted ticket even if they don't need to, when it's advertised as a perk, really makes no sense at all.

If you read the first part of the sentence, which you've omitted in order to reach your conclusion.

"you can get"

This does not mean you MUST get.

What you think is a reasonable conclusion is up to you, but you are not entitled to determine the rules for the use of a railcard.

 

[soil]

What you think is a reasonable conclusion is up to you, but you are not entitled to determine the rules for the use of a railcard.

And neither are you.