Published on: Wednesday, 17 July 2019
Last updated: Wednesday, 1 March 2023
At Greater Anglia, we’ve got a range of discounts and special tickets to help make rail travel an attractive option for everyone.
Here are our top nine money saving tips to help you travel with us for less:
1. Book in advance
By purchasing an Advance ticket, you’re able to choose the best time to travel at the lowest available fare.
Advance tickets are usually released for booking around three months in advance of travel and you can sign up for our alerts to let you know when the first tickets go on sale for a particular date.
Advance fares are great value - from just £10 single between London and Norwich, £8 single between London and Cambridge and £6 single between London and Southend.
Railcard and Child discounts also apply to all Advance fares for even greater savings.
On all Greater Anglia services where Advance tickets are available (except Southend services), you can now buy Advance tickets up to ten minutes before the departure of your chosen train.
Advance Purchase on the day tickets cost less than the equivalent flexible single ticket and are available to buy on the Greater Anglia website and the GA App.
2. Buy a season ticket
If you travel every day or regularly, you get 12 weeks’ free travel by buying an annual season ticket!
Season tickets are far cheaper than the equivalent anytime return tickets and you can use them at weekends without further cost for leisure or shopping trips.
Annual season tickets are issued as a ‘Gold Card’ which offers savings on leisure travel within a large area of south-east England including almost all of the Greater Anglia network for the season ticket holder and up to three other adults and four children.
There’s also the option to join our Commuter Club which helps you spread the cost by paying monthly via direct debit.
Our Season Ticket calculator can help you see how much you can save https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/tickets-fares/season-tickets/season-tic…
3. Renew your smart card or season ticket before prices change
Season ticket prices usually go up from 1st January, so make sure you renew your Smart Card or Season Ticket in December, before prices change to defer paying the increase.
4. Buy a Railcard
Railcards offer up to a third off train fares. There are various Railcards available to suit a range of travellers. Choose from the Family and Friends Railcard, the 16 – 25 and 26 – 30 Railcard, the Disabled Persons Railcard, Network Railcard, Senior Railcard, Club 50 and Two Together Railcards and you can use them to get discounts on our cheapest Advance tickets.
https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/tickets-fares/discounts/railcards
5. Get a great kids’ deal
Children up to the age of 15-years-old can travel for just £2 return off-peak between any two stations on our network.
These great value tickets can’t be booked in advance or online - simply buy them from the ticket office at the station on the day of travel.
6. Look for discounts – such as group travel
With Greater Anglia’s GroupSave offer, groups of three to nine people can get 1/3 off all off-peak fares.
GroupSave is available at all of our stations and can be combined with our London 2FOR1 offers for even better value.
What’s more, our amazing Kids for £2 offer can also be used in conjunction with Group Save tickets.
There are lots of amazing discounts on our website such as deals for two people travelling together, ranger and rover tickets and bus add-ons.
With our London Overnight Return you can travel to London and return on any train departing London Liverpool St. between 09:30am and 12 noon the following weekday, or on any train until 12 noon on weekends for just £23 return.
Take a look (terms and conditions apply) – https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/tickets-fares/discounts
7. Student discounts
Students travelling for school or college can save 50% on their rail travel.
https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/tickets-fares/business-travel/schoolcol…
8. Book direct – our price promise
Book via our website or mobile app and you can be sure the price you pay is the best you'll find anywhere thanks to our Online Price Promise. And unlike other ticket sellers, we don’t charge a booking fee.
In the unlikely event you do find a cheaper deal for the same point-to-point journey and ticket type, we'll match it and refund the difference.
9. Use our Best fare finder
Our Best Fare Finder helps you find the cheapest Advance tickets available.
Just look up a journey on a route where Advance tickets are available.
If you can be flexible with your travel date and time, the 'More great fares' box will show the lowest priced ticket on your chosen day and if a lower fare might be available a few days either side.
https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/tickets-fares/best-fare-finder