score:5
UK transport smart cards (the ones which are not Oyster cards) are also known as ITSO cards. When you load a ticket onto a smart card, whether at a ticket counter or using an automatic machine at a station, you can select an appropriate railcard discount from the machine display, or tell the ticket clerk. For a discounted ticket to be valid for travel, you must carry the appropriate railcard with you, along with the smart card, when you make the journey. If a revenue inspector checks your smart card, (they carry card readers), and a railcard discount has been obtained, he or she will ask to see the railcard. Failure to produce it will mean you are travelling without a valid ticket, and financial and possibly legal penalties will apply. Likewise when you leave a station through a ticket gate ('touch out').
National Rail say that "Smartcards are durable and reliable for regular use over many years." ITSO format cards are used on UK buses too, and I have been using one for 4 years and never had any problems.