Cheap train tickets

[Woodsey]

What's the best way to get the best fares these days?

I used to use the trainline and could normally get a return from Nottingham to London going Friday and coming back Sunday for £50 or so, doesn't seem to be much less than £100 now. Plan on going 21st nov and back on 23rd.

Ty in advance.

[Waz1892]

Normally if you're booking that far in advance you can get good rates from the train company themselves. Normally 8weeks in advance is the key

[Marky147]

I used to use http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/


I had a look, and you can't get prices for the 21st yet, but on the 7th-9th it's about a bullseye.

Go from Notts at 1030am for £9, and come back at 1315 on the 9th for £17.50.

[Woodsey]

I used to use http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/


I had a look, and you can't get prices for the 21st yet, but on the 7th-9th it's about a bullseye.

Go from Notts at 1030am for £9, and come back at 1315 on the 9th for £17.50.

Ok mate cheers, appears the trainline is no longer the best place to buy.

[Jon MW]

I used to use http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/


I had a look, and you can't get prices for the 21st yet, but on the 7th-9th it's about a bullseye.

Go from Notts at 1030am for £9, and come back at 1315 on the 9th for £17.50.

Ok mate cheers, appears the trainline is no longer the best place to buy.

I don't think Trainline ever has been - I stopped even looking on there ages ago because the best they did was only what you could get from the train companies anyway (if you booked far enough in advance - which is what I tend to do)

[Woodsey]

I used to use http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/


I had a look, and you can't get prices for the 21st yet, but on the 7th-9th it's about a bullseye.

Go from Notts at 1030am for £9, and come back at 1315 on the 9th for £17.50.

Ok mate cheers, appears the trainline is no longer the best place to buy.

I don't think Trainline ever has been - I stopped even looking on there ages ago because the best they did was only what you could get from the train companies anyway (if you booked far enough in advance - which is what I tend to do)

Don't know if it was the cheapest or not, but it has always been cheap for me in the past until this time.

[AndrewT]

Never use The Trainline - you get the same prices on the train company's website but you don't pay booking fees.

Tickets are released 12 weeks in advance so buy your tickets then and you can snap up the cheap tickets (there aren't many released - just enough so the companies can legitimately advertise lol cheap fares on their adverts)

[KarmaDope]

East Coast have something where you put in your dates and it emails you when the tickets become available IIRC.

[Tal]

Sign up to a cash back website if you haven't already. Quidco, for example. Might only save you a couple of quid but it's free money.

[david3103]

It's best to buy the outward journey and return on separate days to catch the cheapest fares.

EastCoast give points that can be converted into free fares when you have enough.

[baldock92]

Buy a child's ticket and claim "you are a child of God".

[Longines]

For Nottingham to London I'd use http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/tickets-deals/best-fare-finder/.

Choose your dates and it'll show the cheapest fares by morning/mid-morning/evening etc. End Nov is too far off, none of the cheaper Advance tickets for then have been released yet.

Topcashback currently offering 3.67% cashback on East Midlands purchases.

[Redsgirl]

Great thread! Was going to book what I thought were cheap tickets, 5x Doncaster to Edinburgh return for £225 from the trainline until I saw this.
Got the same tickets direct from East coast trains for £170.
Cheers people!

[DMorgan]

First check the train company website, they quite often have sales that you won't get on thetrainline

If there aren't any offers check on red spotted hanky, they're usually a couple of quid cheaper and they have smaller fees for paying with visa

Also have a look at Tickety Split, sometimes if you're travelling with two separate companies then splitting the hourney into two singles rather than one is significantly cheaper

[MintTrav]

Splitting is often cheaper than buying a through ticket. This is especially true if you get a Network Railcard, which gives you one-third off between all stations South of Banbury or Bedford. If I'm travelling between Portsmouth and the Midlands, I buy a ticket to one of those, depending on where I'm headed, and another for the rest of the journey. If you don't have a card, it can still often be cheaper to split, but they are worth having as you get the cost of the card back in a couple of journeys and you are quids in after that.