Are Senior Rail Cards worth the expense

To purchase a Disabled Person's Railcard, you need proof of disability.

Used to visit elderly parents in Cornwall and I live in Cheshire, travelled once a month.
Railcard paid for itself over and over again!

I don't know about Seniors Railcard, but if you wear a hearing aid, private or NHS, buy a Disabled Person's Railcard. £54 for 3 years. Benefits are 30% off ticket price, can be used at any time and you can take someone else with you who also gets 30% off. Definitely worth it!

Very interesting re the hearing aids - which I've just got. Nobody told me anything about this discount as a result of the aids.

We normally drive together due to poor local public transport but getting to the stage where we'd rather not. We could drive to the nearest station instead and get into Manchester etc easily.

I've always had a discount for my Senior Railcard through the local council which might be worth looking into. Saves a few pounds on the cost, but wouldn't like to guarantee it will continue though. I use mine regularly so is worthwhile.

Definitely worth every penny. My family all live a long way away so I use it a lot. Never experienced any restrictions.

If you decide to get a rail card, I would suggest you get a Two Together card which which will allow both of you to get the 1/3 off discount and you will only need to pay for one card. The only proviso is that you travel together to get the discount. Whether it is worth it or not, will depend on how often you intend to use the card for travelling. But if you do go away more than say a couple of times a year, you will find that it pays for itself.

I have a two together railcard for train journeys that me and my husband make. It can only be him as photo ID, but we only need one card that covers both of our fares. If there are usually two of you travelling together then this is ideal for you. If I make a train hour on my own, which I rarely do, I pay full fare.

If either of you wears hearing aids, you qualify for a disabled person's railcard, same discount bit it's for 2 people so that halves the outlay xx

Railcards are really worthwhile, especially if you book ahead for even more savings.
Can I also praise the Assistance Scheme. Last year I travelled from Canterbury to Carmarthen with my dog , a suitcase a backpack containing essentials for the journey and my walking stick. I hadn't booked assistance but they sprang into action at Canterbury West Station and continued to provide help throughout the long and complicated journey including a designated waiting room at Paddington and a buggy to the platform. Staff at each change were notified in advance and were waiting for me. They even refilled the dog's water bottle.

There are no restrictions on times for using your railcard, apart from London, of course!
At present you can even use a bus pass before 9.30, . Perhaps that's why some get muddled re times.
Senior Railcard can be used on discounted over 60's tickets for travel across the National Rail network at any time of day – except for journeys within the London and South East area during morning Peak hours – and at any time on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays.
www.thetrainline.com
Senior Railcard | Buy the Senior Citizen (60+) Railcard for £30 | Trainline

I’ve only managed to use mine twice this year but it has paid for itself. We’ ve had so many disruptions, strikes, engineering works, floods etc that I have not felt inclined to make any journeys over the winter. I shall renew it,

Definitely worthwhile. I don't travel by train often, maybe only a handful of journeys a year. I have a 3 year railcard.

My long trips are to family in the South of England, to my DD in the Highlands and recently to Clydebank for hospital appointments. A saving of 33% each time is very helpful.
The card pays for itself.

We use ours a lot, me more than my DH who prefers to drive, but he still goes on the train at least once every couple of months.
I need it to babysit GCs in London and Brighton. Use the train at least once every couple of weeks, are using it every week right now because the GS has been in hospital. It saves us loads of money per year on fares, we just can’t travel at peak time.

If you are always going to be travelling together you can get a "Two Together Rail Card" which means you only need one card at £30 or £15 via Tesco Rewards. My husband and I buy this type of Railcard and get it by using £15 of our Tesco Reward Vouchers. We have never had a problem getting 1/3 off the price of our tickets when we travel so great saving,

I also have a disabled person's railcard, it has more than paid for itself, because DH and I travel together.

I don't understand the comment about travelling after 9.30 only. I regularly use mine earlier than that. Are you confusing railcards with bus passes, B9exchange?

Nandalot

We always use our Tescos vouchers to get ours.

As we do too.

My helpful GS tells me that I could do even better by booking a ticket well in advance - he often does this, and saves a large sum every time. If you know what your plans are reasonably well in advance, and use the Senior Railcard, you could find it most economical.

I agree with the other posters, worth it I buy a 3 year one. I think the overall savings are good, especially the more you use it.

I use mine every week and save about £10 a week so yes well worth it for me. I've also made a saving with the current sale on rail fares and I've bought my tickets till the beginning of April so I got some real bargains.

DH used his to upgrade to first class, as he used to travel down to London from Durham for monthly meetings.

We always use our Tescos vouchers to get ours.

Yes so worth it, takes a third off every train journey!

We had them when our family lived on a direct train route. We usually travelled first class on a Friday evening. That meant we got comfortable seats and a meal so that we didn't need feeding when we arrived (too late to eat a meal, really).

I travelled a few times on my own and wouldn't have enjoyed it much if I'd been in a standard carriage.

They certainly made our journeys cost effective.