I have to start by telling you that as of May 5th 2011, a travel card that allows students to receive discounts for all areas of travel are unavailable. I am only aware so far of one in Ireland, called the “Student Travel card” but there is currently not an all-encompassing student travel card available to UK students.

This doesn’t mean that you should stop there, there are cards out their that you can purchase that will entitle you, as a student, to discounts when traveling via rail, coach or the underground.

I’ll start with the 18+ Student Oyster card. This is definitely worth your while for only 310. You can apply for an 18+ Student Oyster card over on the Transport for London website, or if you would prefer, you can check out Student value in order to find out more information and click through to the page you need on the Transport for London site. In order to qualify for an 18+ Student Oyster card, you must be over 18 years of age and be registered with an education establishment participating in the scheme. In order to find out whether or not your place of education participates, all you have to do is check with one of your union reps.

If you attend a University that is far away from your hometown, then it is natural to become homesick. If and when that day comes, you want to make sure that it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg. Luckily for you, whether you want to travel by coach or by train, there are ways that you can get discount just by being a student.

If you wish to travel by rail, the 16-25 rail card is the one for you. This is the card that Natwest used to offer along with their student account and entitles you to up to one third on rail fares throughout Great Britain. If you’re not between the ages of 16 and 25, fear not, because you too are entitled to this card provided that you can prove that you are still in full time education. You can purchase this card and experience the discounts it has to offer for a year at £26.00 or for three years at £65.00.

If you would prefer to travel by coach, then you can apply for a Young Persons Coach Card, which you may do if you are between the ages of 16 and 26, or a full time student. Flashing this card will entitle you to up to 30% discount and is well worth it at just £10. If you would like this card for 3 years, than it would cost you only £26.

The globe acclaims London as a wonderland for its scenic landscapes, historical monuments and unlimited entertainment. A trip around the whole of London might cost a lot and if you are looking for a comfortable journey, it’s advisable to use a travel card.

The travel card is like any other prepaid card, which you can top up with cash periodically. Using this card will provide you transportation at a cheaper price. While a single fare by Train costs £4, it is just £1.50 with a travel card.

There are two types of cards available in London. The ‘Off-Peak’ card is valid only after 09.30 Monday to Friday, weekends and public holidays whereas the ‘Anytime’ card doesn’t have any travel time restrictions. Both the cards are valid on all trains, underground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink and bus services within zone limits.

These days, Oyster cards are the most commonly preferred travel cards used in London and are available at many places in London

Online at http://tfl.gov.uk/oyster
Tube station ticket offices
Over 2,200 Oyster ticket stops
National Rail ticket offices
8 London Travel Information Centres
By phone on 0845 330 9876
Visitors can buy any Card at London underground ticket offices and Local retail ticket points. Apart from these centres, signboards at many shops, newsagents and advertising companies indicate the sales of cards at the same price available in Underground stations.

Usually, visitors prefer using one day or three day Cards that are valid on all public transport options within set zones.

There are certain conditions involved in the usage of Cards.

If you have used the card before 9.30, then you will have to pay more. Children under 16 years of age can travel on buses for free. For children, a card worth 1 pound gives them access to all zones. It is enough if you purchase a card for zones 1 & 2 as you can use it for buses on all zones. Almost all the sightseeing areas are located in Zone 1, which can be reached easily from any London bus terminus.

Well, you have your card now. What’s next? It’s time to enjoy Covent Garden, Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street to catch a sight of Selfridges, Liberty of London and House of Fraser. Especially during the Christmas season, it’s a pleasant experience to see London embellished with colours and lights.

With Christmas approaching soon, most people seem to be in a mad rush to buy Christmas gifts. There is a strong attempt to meet sale quotas, generate end of the year reports, plan a great Christmas party and most importantly to come up with the plans the Christmas gifts in the offices and businesses.

Something unique this Christmas

Bored with same old Christmas gifts? How about gifting your employees with a stylish and elegant looking travel card holder this time? After all the efforts and hard work put in by the employees, you surely want to gift them with something at the end of the year. Don’t you? Presenting a card holder will be something unique, rather than presenting the same traditional type of gifts like umbrellas, pens or mugs.

Usher the passing year with something really useful

A Travel cards holder is a great way to store your important business cards. Presenting a fine quality and an elegant card holder to your employees, clients and other business associates will help them to keep their business cards and other cards in an organised and a safe manner.

You can find a variety of travel card bearers in the market. Nowadays you can even find the card holders made up of materials other than leather. Travel card bearers, as the name suggests can be taken along with you wherever you go.

Besides this a travel card holder is very handy too. You can keep it in your shirt’s pocket, jeans pocket or even hold them in your hands. Presenting them as a gift item to your clients and employees will surely be something unique.

Getting something new at the same old cost

Being functional, stylish and elegant the travel card holders are considered as a great give-aways. If ordered in a bulk, you can avail a lot of discounts as well.

One of the most impressive features of presenting travel card holders as gifts is that, these are not much expensive than mugs or umbrellas. If ordered wholesale, you can easily present a different gift at the cost of other corporate give- away.

Customization

These travel card holders can easily be imprinted with the company’s name, logo or message. By this you can easily promote your brand. Being a useful product, a travel cards holder is used many times. People use the card holders to give away their visiting cards, save the cards of other clients etc. There are people who might keep their credit cards in their card holders, thus every time they will take their credit cards out to shop or to pay bills, your brand will be displayed via the travel card holder. The more number of times your product is used, the better brand visibility it gets.

By presenting the corporate give-aways, you can ensure the patronage of your customers as well as clients. Apart from this it also ensures the loyalty of your employees. It also shows how much you care for your employees and the clients who are valuable for your business. But before availing such gifts, there are a few things to be kept in mind:

Always buy quality stuff.
Check whether the product will be useful for your employees and clients or not.
Gift your employees and clients with the product that is worth giving and the gift that must make sense. Gifting any gift without thinking twice on it an really affect your business.
Ensure that the gift is packaged and delivered on time. There is no point of sending a Christmas gift after the occasion.