(This subject is a bit hard to define so I think this is the best place for it. It's long I know but it could in the end save you some money)
Now let's set the scene. Let's say you buy £20 worth of train tickets a week. Like you do for your normal commute to work, or for leisure. You go up to the station and you buy them. What do you get? A train ticket. That's it. No frills. Well, there's something more. Or, at least there was. The East Coast Rewards Scheme. Of course now taken over by Virgin-Stagecoach and promptly abolished despite it making a profit, the scheme allowed you to collect points on any Train Operating Company (e.g. Southern, Southeastern, Thameslink, South West Trains) within Britain. This meant for every £1 spent on standard travel on for example a Southern Rail service you get 1 point, and for first class you get 1.5 points for every £1, as long as you booked it through East Coast's site. You don't even need to be using one of their services!
Now here's the rewarding part. You can collect points and use them for various things. They last for 2 years. So let's say you do spend that £20 a week on train tickets at the ticket office or at Southern Railway's website. This equates to £1040 a year.
This means that this £20 a week effectively gives you away travel to Sunderland and Newcastle for £0. This is not the only benefit, and all you'd need to do is buy through East Coast's site, at no extra cost with no booking fee.
Unfortunately Virgin-Stagecoach scrapped it in favour of Nectar despite pressure, which means my current 270 points, which is enough for a single ticket anywhere between King's Cross and Inverness if I really wanted to is now worth £2.70 at Sainsbury's.
But, there is a campaign to bring it back. And this is what my post is about. To bring not only the East Coast rewards scheme back, but to bring one to other TOCs too. Grand Central, the free-access operator to Bradford and Sunderland from King's Cross, are currently in the consultation period to start such a scheme.
And this is where you guys come in. We need your help to pressure railway companies to do what East Coast did. Currently, First give 2 Nectar points for every £1 spent (about 2p in Sainsbury's) which is better than nothing, but still nowhere near as good as EC's. Still, for now, I'm booking with them.
For more information, see their site: To view the link you have to Register or Login
To sign the petition, click here: To view the link you have to Register or Login
I hope you'll join me in supporting this campaign. It can help everyone save a lot of money. :)
Now let's set the scene. Let's say you buy £20 worth of train tickets a week. Like you do for your normal commute to work, or for leisure. You go up to the station and you buy them. What do you get? A train ticket. That's it. No frills. Well, there's something more. Or, at least there was. The East Coast Rewards Scheme. Of course now taken over by Virgin-Stagecoach and promptly abolished despite it making a profit, the scheme allowed you to collect points on any Train Operating Company (e.g. Southern, Southeastern, Thameslink, South West Trains) within Britain. This meant for every £1 spent on standard travel on for example a Southern Rail service you get 1 point, and for first class you get 1.5 points for every £1, as long as you booked it through East Coast's site. You don't even need to be using one of their services!
Now here's the rewarding part. You can collect points and use them for various things. They last for 2 years. So let's say you do spend that £20 a week on train tickets at the ticket office or at Southern Railway's website. This equates to £1040 a year.
- 255 points buys a train ticket anywhere on the East Coast network. A totally free ticket for the away games at Sunderland and Newcastle for example. This means that for every £255 in standard and £170 in First you buy, you get a free ticket. So all you'd need to do every year is to spend £510 a year in train tickets (which I'm sure some do easily) and your travel to an away day is included!
This means that this £20 a week effectively gives you away travel to Sunderland and Newcastle for £0. This is not the only benefit, and all you'd need to do is buy through East Coast's site, at no extra cost with no booking fee.
Unfortunately Virgin-Stagecoach scrapped it in favour of Nectar despite pressure, which means my current 270 points, which is enough for a single ticket anywhere between King's Cross and Inverness if I really wanted to is now worth £2.70 at Sainsbury's.
But, there is a campaign to bring it back. And this is what my post is about. To bring not only the East Coast rewards scheme back, but to bring one to other TOCs too. Grand Central, the free-access operator to Bradford and Sunderland from King's Cross, are currently in the consultation period to start such a scheme.
And this is where you guys come in. We need your help to pressure railway companies to do what East Coast did. Currently, First give 2 Nectar points for every £1 spent (about 2p in Sainsbury's) which is better than nothing, but still nowhere near as good as EC's. Still, for now, I'm booking with them.
For more information, see their site: To view the link you have to Register or Login
To sign the petition, click here: To view the link you have to Register or Login
I hope you'll join me in supporting this campaign. It can help everyone save a lot of money. :)
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire