Wightlink's My Link Loyalty Scheme - Is It Any Good?

**Wightlink's latest deals: Kids Go Free during holidays + Afternoon return for £15.60 + Car ferry offers**

My Link gives a discount on foot passenger fares as well as money off at Wightlink's cafes

Wightlink's My Link loyalty scheme has been running for a few years now, but we've not really got round to crunching the numbers...(*dramatic pause*)...until now! Here's our guide to the discounts you can get with the MyLink scheme and how it compares to other available discounts.

Who can sign up for Wightlink's My Link?

The My Link scheme is only available 'if you live on the Isle of Wight'. That differentiates it from Wightlink's Multilink deals, which are valid to:

• those with an Isle of Wight residence for car ferry travel
• anyone who travels regularly for foot passenger travel

You aren't asked to provide proof of residency, but journeys have to start from the Isle of Wight.

What discounts are available with Wightlink's My Link?

You get food and foot passenger ferry travel discounts with Wightlink's My Link discount scheme. Honestly, food discounts don't excite me as I'm a bit of a cheapskate who never buys anything onboard a ferry (or onboard a plane or train or from a hotel minibar, football stadium or cinema - as I said, I'm a cheapskate).

However, ferry discounts excite me greatly so let's examine those in more detail.

The Wightlink My Link discount gives you a reduction of 'up to £2.40 on a standard foot Day Return ticket' or 'up to £3.20 on a standard foot Return ticket to the mainland'.

There are also 'surprise seasonal offers'. I can't say any of these have blown my socks off recently but it may be the case that some customers are given better offers than others. I may have just been unlucky.

The My Link discount varies as a percentage. For example:

• an adult day return from Fishbourne to Portsmouth as a foot passenger is reduced from £21.80 to £19.20, which is a 12% discount.
• a period return from Ryde Pier Head to Portsmouth Harbour is reduced from £37.60 to £33.80, which is a 10% discount

Is Wightlink's My Link the best deal around or are there better alternatives?

The good thing about My Link is that it is hassle free. I would encourage you to sign up and use it as a default discount if you would rather not spend too much time jumping through hoops. 

If you book online, 'your reduced foot passenger prices will automatically apply'. If you are buying a coffee onboard, you can show a QR code on the Wightlink app to get the discount.
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However, I am of the opinion that most people can beat a 10-12% discount on Wightlink foot passenger fares with a little bit of effort. There are several ways to do this, but I'm just going to discuss the main two on this blog.

Firstly, if you are a semi regular traveller then the Multilink foot passenger deal is excellent value. If you pre-pay for five return journeys in a year then you'll pay £16 per return. That's a whopping discount of 57% off the standard period return fare on the Ryde Pier Head to Portsmouth Harbour crossing. It's a more modest discount if you do day trips or use the Lymington to Yarmouth or Fishbourne to Portsmouth crossing. In some cases, My Link actually beats Multilink - for example, a day return from Yarmouth in December 2023 will cost a pensioner £14.10 return, which is £1.90 cheaper than Multilink. My advice is to take a look at the prices on this page and have a best guess of what type of journeys you will be doing.

Secondly, there are several ways to get yourself a 20% discount on Wightlink's foot passenger fares which will beat MyLink. Some require paid memberships, others are free to join. For example:

• Sign up for DiscountsForCarers.com, DiscountsForTeachers.com, CharityWorkerDiscounts.com or HealthServiceDiscounts if you fall into any of those groups. The smallprint on these websites is interesting as it explains that - for example - the charity worker discount is available to 'anyone who volunteers in any role for any organisation or group'. There are other membership groups which give the same discount including CSMA for civil servants and Blue Light Card holders
• English Heritage Membership offers the same level of discount. You have to pay for this, but many Islanders have it already because it gives free access to Osborne House, Carisbrooke Castle and Yarmouth Castle.
• AA Members also get a 20% discount on foot passenger fares. Again, you may have this already. 

My Link Conclusions

My Link is worth signing up for if you fit into either of these categories:

• you want to get a discount on Wightlink foot passenger fares but don't want any hassle and only travel across one or two times a year
• you can't resist a cappuccino and a croissant onboard the ferry and would rather it was a little cheaper