Another question about "Days Out Guide" 2 for 1 Tickets in London.
Aug 31st, 2009, 10:26 AM
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Another question about "Days Out Guide" 2 for 1 Tickets in London.
We leave in 3 days for our first trip to London. At the risk of asking a stupid question, can anyone please tell me if our ticket from Heathrow Airport into London's Paddington Station via the Heathrow Express train qualifies as a "National Rail Ticket"? I understand that we need to show tickets with the National Rail symbol when taking advantage for the 2 for 1 specials from Days Out Guide.
Aug 31st, 2009, 12:17 PM
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Out of curiosity, is there a particular reason you're taking the Heathrow Express? Unless you're staying near Paddington Station, there may be a less inexpensive and/or more convenient way to get into town.
Aug 31st, 2009, 12:28 PM
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There's a great deal of unnecessary confusion caused here by people who don't read the rules properly.
I've no idea what Hooamye means by saying "Heathrow Express is not run by any national rail company", or what this meaningless sentence would imply if it had a meaning. I doubt Hooamye has any idea what he means either.
The crowsfoot logo is NOT necessary. The 2 for 1 guide says merely "most rail travel tickets show the Double-Arrow (or 'crows-foot') National Rail logo", Lots of perfectly valid paper tickets DON'T. What the site demands is "2FOR1 and special offers/admission vouchers are available with almost ANY type of train tickets issued to London" though it goes on to exclude most e-tickets and some tickets issued by TfL
Heathrow Express Ltd is a member of the Association of Train Operating Companies, and its services are fully featured on the National Rail website. It's possible to get tickets for its services from any ordinary railway station - and in that case the ticket will have the double arrow. Last time I bought a HEX ticket from a HEX machine though, it didn't have the logo - but that was about the day after HEX launched.
What does this add up to?
- Buy a HEX ticket the way I do (from an ordinary railway station) and there's nothing to worry about
- Buy a HEX ticket from HEX and you get a railway ticket to London. That's all the 2 for 1 deal requires.
End of story. To check, google this. If you can find a single story about anyone showing a HEX ticket and being denied because it was from HEX, I'll translate this answer into Greek.
I've no idea what Hooamye means by saying "Heathrow Express is not run by any national rail company", or what this meaningless sentence would imply if it had a meaning. I doubt Hooamye has any idea what he means either.
The crowsfoot logo is NOT necessary. The 2 for 1 guide says merely "most rail travel tickets show the Double-Arrow (or 'crows-foot') National Rail logo", Lots of perfectly valid paper tickets DON'T. What the site demands is "2FOR1 and special offers/admission vouchers are available with almost ANY type of train tickets issued to London" though it goes on to exclude most e-tickets and some tickets issued by TfL
Heathrow Express Ltd is a member of the Association of Train Operating Companies, and its services are fully featured on the National Rail website. It's possible to get tickets for its services from any ordinary railway station - and in that case the ticket will have the double arrow. Last time I bought a HEX ticket from a HEX machine though, it didn't have the logo - but that was about the day after HEX launched.
What does this add up to?
- Buy a HEX ticket the way I do (from an ordinary railway station) and there's nothing to worry about
- Buy a HEX ticket from HEX and you get a railway ticket to London. That's all the 2 for 1 deal requires.
End of story. To check, google this. If you can find a single story about anyone showing a HEX ticket and being denied because it was from HEX, I'll translate this answer into Greek.
Aug 31st, 2009, 02:08 PM
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jent103: Is there a better way from Heathrow to Paddington? We are using Marriott points to stay at the Marriott Park Lane Hotel. I do not know the distance from Paddington to the hotel but we thought maybe a taxi after we reached Paddington. We were not wanting to take a shuttle with various stops from the airport to Paddington. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Aug 31st, 2009, 02:24 PM
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It looks like that's quite close to Marble Arch? The cheapest way would be to take the tube, but that would involve either a line change or a longish walk from Hyde Park Corner, and only you know how much you want to save money vs. schlep luggage through either of those.
If the tube won't work for you, I'd look into a prebooked car service. As best I can tell, booking Just Airports (just an example - there are other companies if you do a bit of searching here) would cost you £24 from Heathrow straight to the hotel, which is less than two single tickets on the HEX. I'd double check with them, of course, but at a glance that's my advice. Saves you carrying luggage through the train station and finding a cab.
Of course, if you want to do the 2-for-1 deals, you'd still have to go to a rail station to get your travelcards. So there are pros and cons. flanneruk lives there and has actually taken the HEX, sounds like, so he may have more/better advice for you!
If the tube won't work for you, I'd look into a prebooked car service. As best I can tell, booking Just Airports (just an example - there are other companies if you do a bit of searching here) would cost you £24 from Heathrow straight to the hotel, which is less than two single tickets on the HEX. I'd double check with them, of course, but at a glance that's my advice. Saves you carrying luggage through the train station and finding a cab.
Of course, if you want to do the 2-for-1 deals, you'd still have to go to a rail station to get your travelcards. So there are pros and cons. flanneruk lives there and has actually taken the HEX, sounds like, so he may have more/better advice for you!
Aug 31st, 2009, 02:58 PM
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We took the HEX from Heathrow to Paddington in May 2007, and did the 2 for 1 deals at Westminster Abbey and the Cabinet War Rooms with no problems. No one actually asked to see the tickets, as I recall, but we had them just in case.
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