The carte Liberté, the advantages through 4 different profiles

• Julie, architect in Bordeaux
• Antoine, business consultant in Lille
• Sébastien, sales manager in Nantes
• Aurore, Paris-based mom on the go

Do you frequently travel for work, or do you like to go on weekend getaways on a whim? With the carte Liberté, you get access to reduced fares all year round, -60% in 2nd class and -45% in 1st* class, even when booking the day before departure.

The card pays for itself with just 4 round-trips per year. Your carte Liberté now also entitles you to the carte Avantage fares, if you want to travel as a family or for leisure (weekends or with a child during the week).

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Julie, 40, has just set up her own architecture agency in Bordeaux. Construction sites have resumed, along with a number of on-site meetings, not to mention multiple client appointments. "I've always traveled by train for the convenience of getting from city center to city center.

With my business just getting off the ground, I need to be very flexible, so I need to travel frequently, in Aquitaine as well as in Paris or Lyon, and very often on short notice! After a little research, I quickly saw that the carte Liberté was the most cost-effective solution for me."

Indeed, Julie's fare stays the same, even if she books 20 minutes before departure, and her tickets are 100% flexible, i.e. exchangeable and refundable free of charge up to 30 minutes after the train's departure. "This is a real advantage for me in my day-to-day work, as I often have to postpone or reschedule an appointment, depending on the progress of construction work," explains Julie. 

I'm called on for different projects in France, and have to travel at least 2 to 4 times a month. I can work 2 days in Brest one week and 4 days in Marseille the next. It's this frequency of travel that made me choose the carte Liberté".

Antoine has also made it a habit to work on the train: "My job requires a lot of preparation beforehand. Rather than working from home, I like to work on the train: I book a 1st class seat, for maximum comfort, and at least I know it'll be quiet all along the way to prepare for my meetings".

The carte Liberté entitles the holder to a 45% discount all year round in 1st class. "With the carte Liberté, I don't have to worry about anything anymore, because I know that even if I travel in 1st class, it pays for itself very quickly. And as I often arrive early at Lille, I like to read the press while sipping my coffee in the Salon Grand Voyageur," adds Antoine.

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From central Nantes, Sébastien takes the train every month or so. At 28, this young sales manager for a luxury fabrics brand, often travels with his team for client meetings, all over France and Europe.

"With my team of 4, we have to visit our clients to show them our products, but also to foster better relationships, a key success element in our business. There's no need to schedule a meeting at the office beforehand, we optimize and take advantage of the TGV journey: we sit down on a Carré to face each other, and once we've finished our briefing, we go for a coffee in the bar carriage, for a friendly moment!".

That's another advantage of choosing the train for a business trip: you can work on board, of course, but it's also a trip that allows you to bond with your colleagues.

"Obviously, since I have the card, I take advantage of it to spend weekends with my family in Paris, every two months or so. With the children's fare, the value for money is unbeatable!". That's right, if you buy a carte Liberté, your children (up to 3) pay half price*.

*Fare calculated based on the fare paid by the cardholder.

Aurore is an avid traveler. Before having children, she used to fly a lot: "As a student, I'd head off to a European capital whenever I could, but always by plane.

Now that I'm a mother, I see travel differently. I want to show them that you can travel without harming the planet, by taking the train. And everything's so much easier: it's easy to get to the station and arrive directly in the city center, you can move around on board and walk to the bar or to the end of the train if you like... My 4-year-old Clara can't stand still, so the train is perfect for her! As for Paul, my eldest son, he's always been a train fan.

So, what kind of trips does she take and where? "We go away at least 2 weekends a month, without any planning. That's the great advantage of the card: I know the prices are always the same, even if I decide 2 days in advance, and then the kids pay half price. Marseille for a boat trip on sunny days, Nantes to climb the Elephant at the Machines de l'île, Strasbourg for the Christmas markets... Our next adventure: take the night train to Nice! And who knows, maybe a train trip across Europe soon!

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^{*calculated on Optimum fares}