25% off CrossCountry Advance Purchase tickets

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

CrossCountry are offering a 25% discount on their Advance Purchase fares, in both Standard and First Class until 31st May 2011. The discount is available for journeys after that date so long as they are booked before 31st May. The promotional offer page of their website appears to suggest that the offer is only available on journeys to/from Newcastle, but I've checked various journeys across the CrossCountry network and all appear to offer the 25% discount.

Booking from the promotion page automatically includes the 25% discount. Alternatively you can book from the CrossCountry homepage and enter 'OFFER25' in the 'Promotion Code' box under 'Journey Options'.

The offer appears only to work on journeys wholly with CrossCountry, so doesn't include 'XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) & Connections' AP fares.

Cumulative discount for Railcard holders.

http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/offer25/

EDIT NOTE: The T&Cs on the XC website make no mention of the end date being 31st May, but I'm reliably informed by someone who has seen printed promotional material that this is the case.

[Tim]

Thanks BNM.  I have justed booked a return trip to Leeds from Bristol for ^63 inlcuding first class in one direction.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

I remember not that long ago (no more than 5 years) when you could book a trip to Manchester from Exeter for ^12 each way, you have no chance of that price now even with 25% off, I have to say I see this as a strange promotion while I have no doubt that some xc services have room for growth using current timetables and stock, most are packed and can't take more passengers, and these are the services most people will use this promotion for.... So why?

[IndustryInsider]

Perhaps it's got more to do with encouraging passengers to book through the Cross Country website, rather than through trainline.com or the other TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) sites?

[JayMac]

Just checked up on the 'OFFER25' discount code and it now appears that XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) have 'fixed' the offer to only allow it with journeys to/from Newcastle, as originally advertised. One or two First Class fares are still allowing the discount code to other destinations but it appears to no longer work for Standard Class fares to other XC destinations.

Well done to anyone who bagged the 25% discount before the fix. 

Unfortunately this appears to be a case of of folks (like me!) seeing a loophole, then advertising it publicly, only for the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) to realise their error and fix it. A thread on RailUK Forums is most likely to have alerted XC to the loophole.