Southern Season Tickets: Unlock cheaper, unlimited travel

A Southern Season Ticket lets you travel as much as you like between 2 specific stations for a set period. You pick your route – maybe East Croydon to London Victoria or Three Bridges to Brighton – then choose whether you want it for a week, month or year. After that, you can jump on any Southern train between those stations whenever you fancy.

The ticket works any time of day, including for rush hour services when fares are at their priciest. You'll generally benefit from a Season Ticket if you travel on the same Southern route at least twice a week. They typically suit office workers travelling into London Victoria, retail staff working in Croydon and students heading to Brighton.

Find out more about Season Tickets and purchase yours today.

• Pay less for rail travel – One payment sorts you out for weeks or months, so you won't get stung by peak fares or have to pay booking fees every time. If you travel the same route twice a week, you stand to save money.
• Jump on any train – Your Season Ticket works on every Southern service between your two stations. With just one ticket, you catch the early train to work, the late one home after dinner, and weekend services to see friends or go shopping.
• Skip the dreaded ticket machine queues – When you've got a Season Ticket, you breeze straight through the barriers instead of messing about with ticket machines when you're running late for work in the morning.
• Pick what works for your routine – Go for a weekly ticket if you just need it short-term, a monthly one if you want to spread the cost, or an annual if you're after the biggest savings. You have full control over the commitment and duration.
• Travel freely in London – If your Southern Season Ticket is within London Zones 1 to 6, you'll get unlimited TfL travel within the zones covered.

Southern Flexi Season Tickets

The Flexi ticket lets you travel any 8 days within 4 weeks and saves you about 20% compared to buying day tickets. You decide which days to use it, and activate it at the start of each one. Whether you travel from Haywards Heath or Redhill, the Flexi Season Ticket is perfect if you're a hybrid worker or have an irregular schedule.

Southern weekly Season Tickets

This covers you for 7 days straight from whenever you start using it. If you're travelling 3 times in that week, you're better off with the weekly ticket (instead of buying separate tickets). It's handy for short courses, temporary work or if you're testing out a new job in Clapham before committing to a longer Season Ticket.

Southern monthly Season Tickets

As you can tell by the name, this Southern Season Ticket gives you a full month of unlimited travel between your 2 stations, starting from any date. It costs less than buying 4 weekly tickets and makes sense if you're travelling regularly. Monthly tickets are also popular with commuters, as you get decent savings without having to drain your bank account to pay for an annual ticket.

Southern annual Season Tickets

The yearly Season Ticket gives you 12 months of travel for about the price of 10 and a half months (when paying monthly). The savings are even better compared to weekly tickets – it works out about the equivalent of 3 months' free travel. Best of all, there's no risk as you'll usually get a refund for the unused months and days if you no longer need the ticket.

Photo by Matt Davis

It depends on how often you travel – and working this out can be a pain sometimes. The good news is that National Rail's Season Ticket calculator does the maths for you. Just tell it your route and how often you travel, and it'll show you which ticket saves you the most.

Check out the National Rail Season Ticket Calculator here.

Head to the Season Tickets page, and it's pretty straightforward from there.

Pick what type you want – flexi, weekly, monthly or annual – then enter your 2 stations and hit search. You'll see the different options with prices and important info like route restrictions. Pick the one that works for you and pay – it couldn't be easier.

The system knows which company runs each route, too, so you won't need to select Southern specifically. It'll issue your Season Ticket to the right operator automatically based on the route.

Southern runs trains from London down to the south coast, connecting places like Brighton, Portsmouth and Gatwick Airport with the capital, and covering towns across Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire.

Southern connects London with destinations right across the south of England, with trains going from major London stations like Victoria, London Bridge and East Croydon down to the coast.

These are some of the routes people use Season Tickets for most:

• London Victoria to Brighton
• East Croydon to London Victoria
• Three Bridges to Brighton
• Gatwick Airport to London Victoria

Find out if Southern covers your route on our dedicated Southern page.

Go to the Trip.com website or app and follow the instructions for a refund. If your plans change, you can usually get money back for the portion of your Season Ticket you haven't used yet – how much you get depends on how much time's left on your ticket. Just check the refund rules when you buy, so you know what you can claim back.

With Flexi tickets, once you've activated a day, it's non-refundable – but you can get refunds for any unused days left in your 4-week period.

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