7 day travelcard & 2for1 offers
 

Has anyone actually been to London and tried using the 7 day travelcard with the National Rails double-arrow symbol on it for the Days out guide 2for1 offers? I've planned a trip for a group using numerous 2for1 offers and really need to know if this still works.

I know on the daysout website it says valid with monthly or yearly travelcards. Yes, I have read the other postings about this subject but do not recall seeing a definitive response from someone who has actually tried this.

I have the same question after reading the posts, going over the Days Out Guide website carefully and even calling the National Rail and Transport for London customer service numbers. (They didn't know what I was talking about when I asked if a 7-day travelcard would have a National Rail symbol/logo on it.)


The FAQ section of the Days Out Guide states: "2for1 and special offers/admission vouchers are available with almost ANY type of train tticket issued to London on normal 'paper' ticket stock ... and valid on the day you wish to the visit the attraction, theatre, or restaurant, e.g. rail tickets include DAY TRAVELCARDS, Family Travelcards, Cheap Day Returns, Savers, SuperSavers, Advance Purchase Tickets, Apex, Open tickets, SEASON Tickets..."

The National Rail website includes the 7-day travelcard in the chart for "season tickets" along with monthly and annual travelcards. That seems to make it clear that the 7-day travelcard IS part of the 2for1 offer.

I think my confusion comes after reading the following, also from FAQ section of the Days Out Guide website:"IF your travel ticket shows the Double-Arrow (or 'crows-foot') National Rail logo you're safe to assume it is valid."

The "IF" seems to open the possibility that I might get a travelcard that DOESN'T have the National Rail logo on it. Could it be that there a distinction between buying a travelcard at a National Rail station and buying one at an Tube station? Would one purchased at a Tube station NOT have the National Rail logo?

7 day travelcards bought at Tube stations will come on an Oystercard and so aren't eligible for 2-for-1.

The 7 day cards sold at train stations used to come on PAPER and if you believe the following FAQ should be eligible for 2-for-1

<<< Can I use Underground/tube only tickets and/or London Bus only tickets?

No, except as shown below.

However if your travel ticket has an element of National Rail/train company travel included, e.g. ANY TYPE OF 'PAPER' TRAVELCARD, train/tube inclusive ticket, then the answer is Yes. By way of recognition if your travel ticket shows the Double-Arrow (or 'crows-foot') National Rail logo you're safe to assume it is valid. If you are unsure in any way please ask at your local staffed National Rail station. >>>

www.daysoutguide.co.uk/faq.aspx#3

I sent an inquiry on the daysout website inquiring if a paper 7 day travelcard would be valid for the 2-for-1 offers. Here is the reply:

Yes, that’s absolutely fine to use a 7-day “printed” Travelcard which allows you to travel on National Rail services (it’s the Oyster electronic card that the attractions won’t generally accept!).


Now, it seems, the tough part will be finding a convenient location to buy a paper travelcard. I'll be quite near Charing Cross station, so I'm planning to buy it there.
Barb

Along with the question of the 7 day travelcard being valid with the 2 for 1 offers, all the offers on the current website say they expire May 31. I had emailed this company earlier this year to ask if the offers would be valid in June-July-Aug. and they said that they would. Anyone use these offers last summer? Did they eventually change the expiration dates to include the summer months?

every year the offers expire, and then most of the same and new ones are added from the new starting date

Don't know if this helps any, but last year we used our Gatwick Express ticket for the Days Out 2for1 offers.

(and our tickets for the for the Gatwick Express were "4for2", ie 4 people riding for the price of 2 tickets)

I've done the 7-day TC with the 2-for-1 offers. It was extremely beneficial and efficient in terms of cost saving.

Most of the time, when we used the 2-for-1 coupons printed off from the website, they didn't ask to see our Travelcards (which were loaded on Oyster cards btw). But at the Tower of London, they did ask to see our cards.

The good thing is that I still have the Oyster card, which I can reuse for my next trip to London :)

P.S. I don't know about the person who replied saying that if the TC was loaded on an Oyster card, it wouldn't be valid....

We did have an Oyster card that was OUR travelcard. We had our receipts to prove that it was indeed a 7-day TC loaded on our Oysters...

pointofnoreturn - when was your trip? We did the same thing as you in late October (7-day travelcard loaded on an Oyster, and kept receipts to show the validity dates for the travelcard) to be eligible for the 2-for-1 offers). But from what I've been reading that has changed -- at least I know for sure that we had nothing to show with a National Rail logo on it, and that seems to be what's required now.

Have no idea why this issue seems to be so complicated, though...

Our trip was this this Feb and we used our Oyster 7 day travel cards with no problems. No One even asked to see the receipt.

The rules have changed since then

http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/faq.aspx#2

Can I use an Oyster card?

No, except as shown below.

The 2for1 London Attractions partners DO NOT generally recognise Oyster Cards as being valid accompanying rail tickets.

However you are able to use Oyster cards that are issued in conjunction with:

1. Freedom passes
2. Travelcards - monthly or yearly. However your Oyster card MUST be accompanied by your Record Card (showing the National Rail logo as proof of purchase) which is valid for the date of your visit and has been purchased at a National Rail station.

Barb - thank you for sharing the response you received from the daysout website. That is reassuring!

Like you, I've been trying to find out where the 7-day paper travelcard with the National Rail logo is available.

I found the following quote at http://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard.htm

"If you are buying a 7 day Travelcard you will need to get an Oystercard. If however you purchase from a railway ticket office (not underground), you still get a paper 7 day Travelcard."

You can buy the paper 7-day TravelCard at Gatwick Airport. We purchased this at the same time we purchased our Southern train tickets to Victoria Station.

If you are at Heathrow, I suspect you might be able to get the paper 7-day TravelCard there.

Strange... they did really change the rules. I remember they said if you had an Oyster, it was okay as long as it was a weekly (7-day) month or yearly card.

My trip was in May-June 2007 so quite a bit of time has passed. I purchased my travelcard at Paddington station so when you arrive, you can ask about the whole debacle.

Because of the apparently new changes, I wouldn't be surprised to find more questions regarding the TC popping up on the forum.