Last September, Club Eurostar anounced a new benefit for all elite members – a free annual upgrade voucher.
It then went very quiet. I spoke to the team before Christmas and I was told that IT issues had delayed the roll out, but that it was still going to happen.
And then, yesterday, I saw that a voucher had appeared in my Club Eurostar account:
This is what you need to know:
- the voucher will be given to Avantage, Carte Blanche and Etoile members – so all elite tiers are included, not just the top tier
- you will get one voucher per membership year – either on 1st October when your membership is renewed, or immediately if you gain status during the year
- if you are already an elite member but reach a higher tier during your membership year, you will receive an additional upgrade voucher as soon as you are promoted
- you must make a booking using your voucher by 30th September, but you can travel later
- you can only upgrade a cash ticket, not a reward ticket – the team told me last year that they do want to extend it to reward tickets in time but there are additional IT hurdles to jump
- the voucher will let you upgrade a one way trip from Eurostar Standard to Eurostar Plus – you can’t upgrade from Eurostar Plus to Eurostar Premier
- the voucher can be used on ex-Thalys trains in Europe as well as the Channel Tunnel trains to/from London
The application of the voucher looks a little clunky. Your booking must be for one person only – you can’t book for two people and then upgrade one of them.
It appears that you need to book a ticket in Eurostar Standard first and then use the ‘Manage My Booking’ feature on the website to apply your voucher.
As long as a cash seat is available in Eurostar Plus, the upgrade will clear. There is no restriction on availability of seats for upgrades.
If you are travelling with someone, you will need to book one person into Eurostar Plus and then – on a separate ticket – book the other person into Eurostar Standard and upgrade them.
What do we think?
Upgrade vouchers are a positive move for Club Eurostar, especially given the goodwill lost during the scheme restructuring 18 months ago.
It will be a good incentive to push for Avantage status which only requires you to spend £417 on Eurostar tickets during a membership year. Getting a one-way upgrade after spending £417 isn’t bad at all.
It may also encourage anyone close to Carte Blanche or Etoile to push themselves over the line in order to pick up a second voucher in a single membership year.
(PS. If you are a regular Eurostar traveller, remember that American Express Platinum cardholders get free access to the Eurostar lounges in London, Paris and Brussels. You can’t bring a guest but obviously your supplementary Amex Platinum cardholder would get in by showing their own card. Our full review of American Express Platinum is here.)
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How to get Club Eurostar points and lounge access from UK credit cards (January 2025)
Club Eurostar does not have a UK credit card. However, you can earn Club Eurostar points by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.
Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:
- American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 1,333 Club Eurostar points. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.
- The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 3,333 Club Eurostar points. Card benefits include Eurostar lounge access.
- American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 666 Club Eurostar points. This card is FREE for life.
Membership Rewards points convert at 15:1 into Club Eurostar points. The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, so you will get the equivalent of 1 Club Eurostar point for every £15 you spend.
American Express Platinum comes with a great Eurostar benefit – Eurostar lounge access!
You can enter any Eurostar lounge, irrespective of your ticket type, simply by showing The Platinum Card at the desk. No guests are allowed but you can get entry for your partner by issuing them with a free supplementary Amex Platinum card on your account.