Eurostar has launched a new way to get a great deal on a better seat – you can now bid for a seat upgrade! But how does it work and how much money could you save?
How To Get a Seat Upgrade with Eurostar
What is a Eurostar seat upgrade?
It’s exactly what it says on the tin. You pay extra to get a better seat than the one you originally booked! So if you booked a standard seat, you could pay a bit more to upgrade to a Eurostar Plus seat, which gets you a more spacious seat and some complimentary food and drinks served at your seat.
Have Eurostar always offered seat upgrades?
Technically yes, but in the past, you’d have to simply pay the difference to get a better seat on the Eurostar. However in August 2024, they introduced a new bidding system meaning there’s potential that you could get a better seat than the one you originally booked for less than the price of simply paying the difference!
What is the new Eurostar seat bidding system?
The new system lets passengers travelling Eurostar Standard to bid on an upgrade to Eurostar Plus. They can do this by naming the price they’d be prepared to pay, in the form of a bid.
Why would I bid for a seat upgrade?
You might want to bid for a seat upgrade if you like a bit of extra comfort when you travel, but you don’t like paying the premium prices that often come with it.
By upgrading from Eurostar Standard to Eurostar Plus, you’ll enjoy the added benefits of:
- An extra spacious seat
- A choice of two dishes and drinks
How do I bid for a seat upgrade with Eurostar?
1. Check your booking is eligible
First your booking needs to be eligible to be upgraded. To find out if it is, visit the dedicated webpage on the Eurostar site and enter your booking reference and last name.
2. Place your bid
If eligible, you’ll be taken to a page that will allow you to place your offer. You’ll see a slider that allows you to name your price.
3. Enter your payment details
Whilst your upgrade will not be confirmed at this stage, you will need to enter your payment details, which will be used to pay for the upgrade if your bid is successful.
4. Sit back and wait
You’ll find out if your bid was successful no less than 24 hour before your trip.
5. Enjoy your upgrade!
If your bid was accepted, you can enjoy your upgraded trip in style. If it wasn’t – well there’s always next time!
How much should I bid?
Only you can decide that!
However, when you go to bid, you will see that there’s a minimum bid amount and a maximum bid amount shown, with details on how successful it thinks you’ll be for the amount you go for.
Now, seeing ‘weak’ may seem a little disheartening if you were hoping to bag a cheap upgrade but I’d take this with a slight pinch of salt – they want to make more money after all! And what’s more important is to only put in an amount that you’d actually be happy to part with for the upgrade.
Also note that these upgrades will not stay the same, they do vary depending on your departure date and time.
How much money could I save?
Now that’s a good question and it’s all to do with how much it would cost to pay the difference between the two fares!
Therefore, before you place any bid, make sure you check the price of Eurostar Plus for your journey and that will give you a good steer on whether your bid would save you money – or not!
Also, remember that if you’re after a little booze on your trip, they don’t start serve this on the breakfast service and so you’ll get better value from your upgrade after 10:15AM.
How will I know if my bid is successful?
If successful, you will get an email from Eurostar which will confirm your upgrade and that payment has been taken.
My booking is for two people, can I bid to upgrade both?
When you bid on an upgrade, you bid for all passengers on the reservation. So if your bid is successful, your whole party will be upgraded. Sadly, you can’t only upgrade specific passengers in the group.
Just bear in mind when you are bidding that it is a per person price, so if you have 2 people in your group, you’ll pay double that if your bid is successful.
What if I change my mind?
The bid you make is tied to the specific service that you’re booked to travel on. So if you decide you don’t want to travel on the train you booked, then Eurostar’s usual rules for rebooking or cancelling apply, but these will just apply to your original ticket.
Our Experience of Bidding For a Eurostar Upgrade
Get A Seat Upgrade With Eurostar For Less
If you like the idea of a more comfortable journey for a lower price, then making a bid for a seat upgrade with Eurostar could be just the thing for you. It’s a great option if you’re happy to pay extra for a better seat, but you don’t want to break the bank.
Have you bid on a Eurostar seat upgrade? How was the experience for you? Let us know!
