Bad idea.
ACP travel company's price is NOT necessarily the best deal for Britrail. After I stupidly bought the pass from them, here are my lessons so you don't make the same mistake:
- Price shop. Surprisingly the rail pass price is not the same from one company to another. I found out Rail Europe would have saved me 30 USD vs. ACP travel/Britrail.net because their pass was cheaper, they didn't charge an extra handling fee, and shipping was free if I spent over a certain amount (which was true for me buying two flexi passes).
- Check travel books for legitimate recommendations, but still price shop. After I already bought the pass, then I realized Fodor's, Rick Steves, etc. had different recommendations for how to buy the pass, and the prices were different! You don't want to buy from a bogus company that will steal your credit card, but you don't want to get ripped off, either.
- Beware of timing restrictions. The pass I bought must be validated within 6 months of purchase even though the flexipass is technically good for longer than that once it is validated. This doesn't make any sense if you, like me, don't live near England or happen to travel enough to conveniently drop by England to validate your pass and tuck it away for future use. So in total, 6 months time is all I get from time of purchase to start using it, so luckily I didn't buy it too early. However, all flexi days, once the pass starts being used, must be used within 1 month.
The only positive thing I can say was the pass arrived in 2 days via Fedex and came with a free magazine on Britain. Nice but not worth 30 USD!
Of note, the pass can be validated at the Heathrow Express main ticket office if it is open. It is right before the elevators to the Heathrow Express on-boarding. That way you can use your rail pass to pay for the Heathrow Express if you were planning to use it for other train travel upon arrival. Use for Heathrow Express alone may not be worth it since you will likely save money by buying Heathrow Express tickets in advance (i.e. 30 days or more online) or if you take the London Underground or train.
Of note, the pass can be validated at the Heathrow Express main ticket office if it is open. It is right before the elevators to the Heathrow Express on-boarding. That way you can use your rail pass to pay for the Heathrow Express if you were planning to use it for other train travel upon arrival. Use for Heathrow Express alone may not be worth it since you will likely save money by buying Heathrow Express tickets in advance (i.e. 30 days or more online) or if you take the London Underground or train.
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