Cheaper Southern and Thameslink train tickets accepted on Gatwick Express until September

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• Alan says:

  14 Jun14 June 10:02

  Presumably that excludes Advance tickets that are for a specific train though…

• Ian says:

  14 Jun14 June 10:13

  It’s true that ticket acceptance is in place, however staff have been instructed to sell the ticket that matches the journey the customer intends to make. So they will ask you what time you want to depart, and if you answer with a GX train then they will sell you the more expensive GX ticket.

  If you want to take advantage of this tip you should specifically ask for a “Southern Only” ticket.

  By the same token, they should be able to sell you a TL Only ticket assuming you can convince them that you plan to travel over to Blackfriars or London Bridge to start your journey.

• Harpreet says:

  14 Jun14 June 10:22

  OT was hoping for some advice.

  My partner currently has Platinum amex (hit sign up bonus few months ago) and BA premium card (hit 2-4-1 voucher this week).

  The plan is for her to refer me for Amex gold next month (will be 6 months since I closed my card). The question is what should we do with her current BA card? We were going to downgrade it to get a pro rata refund of the £195 fee. However the other option is to cancel it completely so that we can reapply for it sooner.

  I am eligible for the new BA card sign up bonus in September so after I hit the target with the gold card, I will be getting BA card. Usually we keep my partner’s BA card so that we can refer ourselves again to maximize the referral bonus, but now that there is a loophole by referring from Amex platinum/gold, is there any point keeping it?

  Thanks

• Nathan says:

  14 Jun14 June 10:22

  OT was hoping for some advice.

  My partner currently has Platinum amex (hit sign up bonus few months ago) and BA premium card (hit 2-4-1 voucher this week).

  The plan is for her to refer me for Amex gold next month (will be 6 months since I closed my card). The question is what should we do with her current BA card? We were going to downgrade it to get a pro rata refund of the £195 fee. However the other option is to cancel it completely so that we can reapply for it sooner.

  I am eligible for the new BA card sign up bonus in September so after I hit the target with the gold card, I will be getting BA card. Usually we keep my partner’s BA card so that we can refer ourselves again to maximize the referral bonus, but now that there is a loophole by referring from Amex platinum/gold, is there any point keeping it?

  Thanks

  • Genghis says:

    14 Jun14 June 11:02

    Cancel ASAP.
    “Usually we keep my partner’s BA card so that we can refer ourselves again to maximize the referral bonus”. Surely cancelling and getting another 26k in 6 months vs say what 4k or whatever it is from BA blue for a referral was more advantageous?

• Relaxo says:

  14 Jun14 June 10:27

  I’m flying into Gatwick later this month & need to get to Victoria station. I was planning on taking GX. Which ticket do i need to purchase to save me money? And would I need to buy in advance? Sorry for the rookie question….dont ever make it to Gatwick……

  • Lumma says:

    14 Jun14 June 11:33

    With the ticket acceptance in this article you probably be best off buying a paper Thameslink ticket (£10.70) and using it on the Gatwick express. Seems to be cheaper than the peak prices on Oyster/Contactless even on the slower trains, although off peak would be cheaper with Oyster as long as you don’t get on the Express.

    No idea how bad the service is on the trains from Gatwick presently, maybe look at getting a coach to Victoria instead?

  • Andy Stock says:

    14 Jun14 June 19:19

    A single Thameslink only ticket, which can be used on Gatwick Express until 28 August 2018.

• IslandDweller says:

  14 Jun14 June 14:11

  Trains to Victoria are running (relatively) well, both Southern and Express brands. Although the timetable for services under these brands was adjusted, it’s still the same drivers operating the same type of trains on the same route – signing on / off at the same depots.
  Thameslink brand is a debacle because they’ve introduced a new timetable with new trains (not all delivered yet) over changed routes (nowhere near enough drivers trained on new routes yet), whilst simultaneously changing which depots operate which service. A case of what could possibly go wrong,….
  For a Gatwick to Victoria journey, no reason at all to switch to the coach. The service is so incredibly frequent that you’ll hardly notice the occasional cancellation on that route.

• Andy Stock says:

  14 Jun14 June 19:16

  Don’t forget to claim delay repay if you’re delayed for more than 15 mins on Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern, Gatwick Express, Sourh Western Railway and London North Western. You can claim against the original 20th May 2018 timetable.

  I make a note of the delay on my mobile, then I add the delay to my ‘Delay Repay’ spreadsheet while completing the claim.

  So far in 2018:

  20+ claims with Great Northern & Thameslink
  1 claim with South Western Railway
  2 claims with the DLR (TFL)
  1 claim with the met line (TFL)

  • the real harry1 says:

    14 Jun14 June 19:23

    no good for season ticket holders, unfortunately

    • Genghis says:

      14 Jun14 June 19:34

      Why not? I claim when I buy my weekly travel card and the train is delayed.

      • the real harry1 says:

        14 Jun14 June 19:40

        Weekly is different to season tickets 1 month or longer, unfortunately. Feels like a right get-out clause, my kids’ trains (GWR) have rotten reliability, but usually zilch compo. Eg

        Season Ticket compensation
        If you have a season ticket for a month or longer, compensation is based on whether we meet our punctuality and reliability targets. If we don’t, we’ll give you a discount when you renew your ticket.

        Punctuality and reliability
        We measure punctuality by the number of trains arriving at their final destination ‘on time’; every service has a small allowance of leeway. Our reliability is based on the number of scheduled trains that actually run.

        When we pay
        If we don’t meet one of our targets, and fall below a certain percentage, compensation will be triggered. If we fell below the trigger percentage in the last 12 months, we’ll give you 5% off your next season ticket. If we miss both the punctuality and the reliability targets, and fall below both triggers, we’ll give you 10%.

      • the real harry1 says:

        14 Jun14 June 19:52

        This has made me think, however. For students, most season tickets/ half terms (ie the time at school) are going to be 6-7 weeks, there’s no saving by buying a longer season ticket eg 14 weeks & ‘wasting’ the half term holiday in the middle.

        Maybe I can calculate what I might get as a result with 2x 3 week season tickets per half term @ school. Divide the half term in 2. Ie then we could get compo for all the rotten reliability.

        I already split tickets, which saves £180 pa

      • Genghis says:

        14 Jun14 June 19:58

        Didn’t realise it was different in some parts of the country. I know some TOCs don’t use the delay repay model but thought its application (except time) was universal. Southeastern for example have delay repay on annual season tickets at a /464 rate
        https://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/compensation

      • the real harry1 says:

        14 Jun14 June 20:01

        Unfortunately it wouldn’t work – delays would have to be over 1 hr down here in Cornwall to get compo, rubbish GWR policy – the trains are often late but not usually that late

      • Lev441 says:

        15 Jun15 June 02:04

        @genghis /TRH1 – many of the rail franchises have moved to the delay repay model but not all – this has been changing slowly depending on when the franchises have been renewed/changed hands. However the current GWR dates back to 2006 (and has had some direct award extensions since this time) and this form of compensation was common back then!

• Caleb says:

  18 Jun18 June 13:44

  With a advance single ticket like this, can I go to Victoria and pop on GX instead? Thanks.

  Journey 1: BATH SPA to GATWICK AIRPORT
  Departs Arrives By Reservations
  10:43 BATH SPA 12:14 LONDON PADDINGTON Train (GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY)
  12:14 LONDON PADDINGTON 12:54 FARRINGDON Tube (Unknown Service Provider)
  12:54 FARRINGDON 13:34 GATWICK AIRPORT Train (THAMESLINK)
  Ticket details
  Passenger(s) 1 Adult(s)
  Ticket type ADVANCE SINGLE
  Route Only valid on booked trains and required connecting services.

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