GWR rewards scheme

Wed 2 Apr, 04:15

Man at ticket office: "I'd like to buy a return ticket, please."

Ticket clerk: "Where to?"

Man: "Here, of course."

Wed 2 Apr, 04:12 (last edited on Wed 2 Apr, 04:22)

Yes, I use train-splitting whenever possible .. finding the splits on Trainline and then buying the tickets through (fee-free) GWR. I'm travelling from Bognor to Torquay (for the CAMRA conference) next week for less than £25 thanks to train-split advance tickets.

If you're not in a hurry, and being retired I rarely am, then changing trains at Oxford means that you can use an Advance single to Marylebone for less than £10, and often for just £3.65 (all prices with Senior Railcard.)

I often don't know exactly when I'll want to come back from London, in which case I travel there by a known-time train for less than £10 as above (ordinary-single to Oxford and then advance-single to Marylebone) and for my return home buy a SuperSaver return from Paddington, which gives me a trip back to London the next time for just £1.20 (the difference in price between the Supersaver single & return), or for less than £10 again if you include the cost of the first journey.

An added bonus is that those Supersaver returns from Charlbury to London (or vice-versa, as above) cost £30.40 .. just above the £30 spend needed to accrue GWR reward points. And just for joining the Reward scheme you get 40% off a ticket (Cornwall here I come!) and a free hot drink .. so what's not to like?

Mon 31 Mar, 13:02

In March most GWR rail fares increased by around 4.6% and the price of railcards increased by £5. 

The Rewards Scheme might benefit some travellers (including Season Ticket holders) who book direct with GWR, but it's always worth checking an individual fare on trainsplit.com or splitticketing.com. Other split ticketing sites also available, and it's entirely legal as long as you check what trains and routes you can legally use.

I recently saved just over £9 on a Super Saver return ticket to Paddington from Charlbury with trainsplit, and had a choice of trains that I could legally travel on. I did not need to change trains, or get off and on the same train. Had the train been very full, I might have needed to move to a different reserved seat at Reading on the way out. Split ticketing offers much more flexibility than Advance Fares.

Mon 31 Mar, 11:08

This has restarted:  www.gwr.com/rewards