When the commuter life becomes a reality, you need to weigh up all your ticketing options. It comes down to the simple question "what is the 'cheapest' way to travel?" (I quote mark cheapest as train travel is anything but). You can buy daily, weekly, monthly or annual train tickets to and from your home and destination stations. I dabbled with a monthly pass for a couple of months before committing to the 12 month'er. Although I had no intention of leaving my new job within the first few months, I erred on the side of caution in case they hated me or I spectacularly failed (e.g. accidentally kicked the office dog down the stairs, dropped my laptop onto the tracks, or lost a key account). Thus resulting in my probation being terminated - pleased to report, that I am still in employment, and not travelling the rail network at peak times just for the pure enjoyment of it.
Back to what a gold card is. For no logical reason, an annual pass is not called 'a yearly pass' or 'annual pass' or anything else that would be clear. No, it is called a 'Gold card'. They look like this:
First thing that struck me, other than not understanding the illogical name, was the fact that they are not gold... Now, I know yellow is similar to gold, but given the amount I paid, you would hope that the name lived up to the expectation and comes with gold leaf or plating. Alas, that was not to be. However, my yellow/gold card does give you something unexpected - a rare commuter victory!
The power of the gold card
Don't believe me? Next time you are in the presence of someone with a gold card, you watch when a conductor checks their ticket. Before, when I was asked for proof of eligible travel, I would give my ticket to the conductor, he/she would scrutinise it, scribble on it/punch a hole in it, and give it back with as minimal human interaction as possible. Not now. With a gold card, I barely show a corner of my 'golden' ticket and the guard nods approval and moves on to bother a commoner with a mere orange card in hand. It is almost like they pity you for your expensive life choices so much, that by being in possession of a gold card means that you are worthy of both travel and not being bothered. Unconvinced? Well, there have been quite a few times when I have gone to get my orange ticket out (additional trip to London or something) and the guard has caught a glimpse of my annual pass and waved away my efforts before I can prove I have paid my fare. I am clearly trustworthy (or mad) enough for the conductors.
As a result, now when I travel, (gold) superiority comes with standard. Can you imagine the smugness if you have a first class gold card - besides the fact you must already be a millionaire to afford it, you are top dog on the commuter life train travel environment.
I am being a little unfair not to mention that the gold card does come with a host of tangible benefits. Some of these include: 1/3 off the cost for travel outside of your gold card route; 1/3 off those travelling with you; discounted bus travel, cheaper entry into some London tourist sites; and money off railcards. There are others, but those are less impressive/memorable.
I will keep this simple... no. I would prefer to find ways to show off my smugness that didn't cost me so much, and the additional benefits are nice but not exactly life changing / achievable via other means. Having said that, having a gold card is definitely cheaper per trip than the other options. To demonstrate this:
- On the day: £42 for a return
- Weekly pass: £16.60 per return journey
- Gold card: £10.04 per return journey
Would I recommend a gold card to boost your status... of course not. Would I recommend it if you commute every/most days... absolutely.
Us commuters don't have much to be boastful about, so when you see us clutching onto our annual train ticket, please do let us revel in our gold card's shine.
