16-25 railway card

I will be going to uni soon but I am not sure which 16-25 card to get. There is trainline one or 16-25 national rail card. I am not sure which one to go for. Firstly because i dont travel by train that often and i dont remember the last time i went on one also because i dont know how trainline works. Can someone explain it to me and suggest which one is best please

I will be travelling from basingstoke to reading for uni almost everyday

Why would you want a 16-25 railcard if you "dont travel by train that often and i dont remember the last time i went on one"?

They're not free, so you'll be spending money to get discounts on a service which you don't need or use. What would be the point?

i know they are not free. I didnt have the need to travel by train but since i am going to uni, which is 45mins away from I have to take the train, there is no other option

Well, that makes more sense!

Personally, I've never understood the point of Trainline. They're just a reseller of a product I can get elsewhere for the same price, but without the ads. The same is true of the rail card. You can see this on their web site here: "Official retailer of Railcards by National Rail. Buy a digital 16-25 Railcard online with us – it's stored directly in the Trainline app, so you can use it right away to get 1/3 off eligible journeys for a whole year."

As far as I know, the same railcards offered by different entities are the same. But some (like trainline) offer discounts sometimes. It's pretty easy to recoup the money spent on a railcard too, you only really need to be making a few journeys a year to make it worth it - even less if you get a 3-year card. Additionally, if you haven't already opened a student bank account, lots of banks offer perks like railcards, such as Santander who offer a 4-year railcard.

How do you use trainline? whats the difference between that and normal student rail cards

trainline is really confusing. Do you have to book tickets in advance to use them?
So do u think national rail is the best option?

I've not used Trainline so I can't comment on how it works. If it were me, I'd get the 16-25 railcard from National Rail, rather then from another organisation who simply resells it.

You use it like you'd use any other app? Just download the app and book tickets via there I guess. And there is no difference in rail card, its just a standard 16-25 railcard

oh so u have to book it in advance with trainline
with national rail one u dont have to right?

may not be true any more but Trainline used to charge for every booking, its why I use Cross Country to book all my tickets - no booking fee.

The Cross Country App can be unstable though, its logged me out while travelling on more than one occasion, but it always emails you a copy of your ticket which you can pull up easily enough (or print out if you wish)

if you are travelling every day you will want to look at season tickets, they are (usually) much more flexible than you might realise and also save a few quid

I will be going to uni soon but I am not sure which 16-25 card to get. There is trainline one or 16-25 national rail card. I am not sure which one to go for. Firstly because i dont travel by train that often and i dont remember the last time i went on one also because i dont know how trainline works. Can someone explain it to me and suggest which one is best please

I will be travelling from basingstoke to reading for uni almost everyday

I would like to know too, because I find the train system so confusing. I’d rather drive but parking is a nightmare

The trainline app is great and I’ve had my railcards on there for years, never had any issue buying them.

Ik this may sound stupid but how does trainline app work? I havent travelled by train by myself so i am scared