Travel Question of the Day: Simon Calder on the best railcards for families

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Railcards: Which is the best for a young family? ( )

Q My husband and I are expecting our first child in August. A colleague insists that, when he or she is born, it is worth our while buying a Family & Friends Railcard. Even though the child won’t legally need a ticket for several years, apparently the discount still applies. Is this correct?

Name withheld

A Yes, but it’s probably not the optimum answer. These very useful railcards are intended for families with children aged 5-15. They gets you a one-third discount on adult fares, and 60 per cent off for child fares (with a minimum fare of £1). You can buy a Family & Friends Railcard online at www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk; the one-year version costs £27 (so long as you use the discount code LEAFLET3 when you buy, to secure £3 off) or you can go for a three-year version, price £70.

The rail industry is happy for you to buy a card even if your child is under 5 and therefore does not need a ticket. On all journeys when you claim a discount, you must take the card, a child and tickets for all three of you.

To give you an idea of the savings on a London-Manchester off-peak return: with no card, two adults pay a total of £164.80; with a card and child, it’s £150. But a better plan is probably to get a Two Together Railcard, which offers that one-third discount to two adults so long as they travel together. On London-Manchester, you’ll pay a total of £108.80. The card also costs £27 for a year, again if you apply online at www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk with that LEAFLET3 discount code.

On both railcards, morning peak-time travel is excluded.

The only advantage of buying a Family & Friends Railcard is if only one parent is likely to be travelling frequently with the child. The net discount in such a case is 15 per cent.

Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles readers’ questions. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder