I'm looking at the website familyandfriends rail card website (https://www.familyandfriends-railcar.../the-benefits/) and I'm curious if I'm understanding this correctly.

This is a 30/year membership that allows me to use this membership card for use in travelling with a train. This allows me 1/3 off in Kids rail/1st class fares?

I plan to book from London to Edinburgh train from Kings Cross to Edinburgh. Would this apply to that? I see right now tickets for both myself and my son for 1st class is approximately 115 pounds. I'm assuming it would save more if I had this card?

Is this right? I'm not sure if I'm missing something.

It's £30 a year for the card, you can book 33% off train tickets so for £115 you'll save £38 - ie a net saving of £8 on that one journey alone.

You can buy tickets with the railcard discount before you have bought the railcard but when you travel you must have the railcard

Are there any blackout periods?

Anyway a great deal and first class is much better than standard class IME. www.seat61.com is the site for discounted UK train tickets info

Ok so you technically don't have to have the railcard handy at the time of purchase. Hmm, how do apply the discount when I purchase online? I don't recall seeing the discount being applied.

Sorry I don't know how I'm to get a discount when purchasing. Obviously, since this is definitely a discount, I'll go ahead and purchase the railcard before I arrive in London.

I know that the net savings is only 8 but it's still a discount.

Oops, Just saw where to add the rail card. Sorry.

https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/

choose your origin and destination

click "find trains" then the railcard option will appear

You can use the card in Edinburgh area if doing day trips by train like to Stirling or St Andrews.

"Are there any blackout periods?"

Sort of.

Senior railcard discounts AREN'T offered on
- Season tickets including Travelcard Season tickets
- Eurostar tickets
- Some Train Company specific promotional offers
- Tickets for special excursions or Charter trains and some coach/bus links, including Railair services
- Most London Underground and Docklands Light Railway tickets (unless using Oyster pay as you go)
- any travel between two stations inside London and the South East area during morning peak time. Except, of course, the London-bound 0746 from Shipton under Wychwood and the 0737 from Worcester. Aka the "Peter Parker exception" on account of they're both full of peers, militant LibDem candidates, flanneruks and other potentially difficult complainers the old British Rail management decided not to offend and the current UKIP-lite government is still too frit to take on.

Aka the "Peter Parker exception" on account of they're both full of peers, militant LibDem candidates, flanneruks and other potentially difficult complainers the old British Rail management decided not to offend and the current UKIP-lite government is still too frit to take on.>

Ah the squeaky wheel does get the most grease!

flanner -thanks for all that info. So on cross-country long-distance trains virtually no black outs.