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Avoid
express trains
Avoid
costly airport express trains and take the normal
service instead. A standard return on the Southern
train from London Victoria station to Gatwick airport
costs £21.80, whereas the Gatwick Express
fare is £28.80. Yet Southern says its fast
service takes only five minutes longer.
If you are flying from Heathrow, consider taking
the tube instead of the Heathrow Express from London
Paddington station. A standard return on the Heathrow
Express costs £32. A single tube ticket from
central London to Heathrow is just £4.
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Book
train tickets in advance
As with most modes of transport, booking train travel
as far in advance as possible is the way to get
the cheapest fares. As soon as you have decided
upon your dates and a destination, you should register
the details with Trainline’s ticket alert
system. You will then be emailed as soon as the
cheapest advance tickets come on sale. You
will need to be quick off the mark. Tickets are
limited at the lowest price and tend to go quickly. |
The National Rail
website has a page devoted to special promotions all
over the country, including discounted rates, two-for-one
offers and group savings. In some cases buying two single
journeys beats one return journey on price, because most
of the best deals are available only as singles.
If you are booking in advance you can bag fares for as
low as £1 return on the Megatrain website, which
covers train routes in the south-west of England and the
East Midlands.
Splitting your train tickets can save you a fortune compared
with buying the whole journey in one. Rather than buying
a straight return from London to Penzance with National
Rail for £260, for example, buy four tickets –
from London to Plymouth, Plymouth to Penzance, Penzance
to Plymouth and Plymouth to London – you’ll
pay just over £50 (a saving of £210).
If you are still think plastic is fantastic, when it comes
to big meals out or hotel bills overseas then opt for
credit not debit cards to settle up. Most debit cards
levy a fee, sometimes referred to as a handling fee (typically
2.75%), on all purchases overseas. Some credit cards,
by contrast, offer low, or no, charges for usage abroad.
Since Nationwide's recent announcement that it is to start
charging for overseas credit card purchases (but the bank
does offer the handy FlexAccount), The Post Office and
Abbey Zero now issue the only cards that charge nothing
for such transactions. |
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