26-30 railcard: How to buy new millennial pass and what the benefits are

The card goes on general sale today
Tom Herbert9 January 2019

Millions of millennials are now able to get their hands on a new railcard offering them discounted train fares.

The new 26-30 railcard, which went on general sale earlier this month, reduces fares by a third for people aged between 26 and 30.

Holders can save around £125 a year and with the card costing just £30, it is already proving popular.

Not only did a trial run last year sell out within hours, but frustrated customers reported queues of more than an hour when it first went on general sale.

So how can you get hold of one and what does the first digital-only card offer? The Standard takes a look at how you can buy the new 26-30 railcard.

Customers reported waiting more than an hour when the card first went on sale

How to buy the new railcard

You can only buy the new railcard online here from midday today.

To be eligible you will need a digital passport-style photo and a valid debit or credit card, along with either a valid passport, UK driving licence number or National Identity Card.

The card is available to anyone aged between 26 and 30, although you can use it up to and including the day before your 31st birthday.

Once the card is bought it is then downloaded onto your smartphone via Railcard app. You can swap the ticket to another phone if yours runs out of battery.

What does the card offer?

The 26-30 scheme, the so-called millennial railcard, is being made available for all 4.5 million Britons.

It is the first nationwide railcard available for people travelling alone who are aged 26-30 and not disabled or in the armed forces.

Industry body the Rail Delivery Group says the £30 card will save holders around £125 a year on average - meaning a saving of around £95 when the cost of the card is taken into account.

It offers a third off most off-peak journeys across Britain, but time restrictions and minimum fares do apply.

It also saves on some TfL Oyster cards and PLUSBUS tickets, but anyone who travels between 4.30am and 10am Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays, will have to pay a £12 minimum fare charge.

The discount does not apply to sleeper trains, first-class fares, season tickets and the Eurostar.

The RDG initially said the roll-out of the card would take place before the end of last year, but this date was pushed back to Wednesday to avoid launching it over a bank holiday.

The delay meant people born on January 1 or 2 1988 were unable to purchase the card before becoming ineligible due to being too old.

When can I start using the railcard?

The general sale starts at midday - as soon as the clock hits 12pm, you will be assigned a random place in the queue.

Once you've entered all your details and bought the card you can start using it straight away using the app.

You can start using the card straight away using the app once you have bought it.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in