Club Eurostar makes it harder to qualify for top tier Carte Blanche status

Club Eurostar is announcing a change to its top-tier Carte Blanche status today.

From 23rd October, you will need to earn 2,400 points or make 32 return journeys in a membership year to qualify or requalify for Carte Blanche.

For comparison, the current figure is 1,800 points or 24 return journeys.  This represents a 33% increase in the travel or spend required to reach Carte Blanche status.

This change is seen as a way of reducing waiting time at the fast-track ticket gates and reducing overcrowding in the Business Premier lounges.  There will be no changes to tier benefits and no change to the qualification requirements for mid-tier Avantage status.

Whilst frustrating for members, you need to remember that as a revenue based programme (1 point per £1 spent) Club Eurostar needs to reset its qualification tiers on a regular basis to keep up with ticket price inflation.  I admit that this increase is substantially steeper than RPI, however.

I am guessing that this kicks in from your next full membership year although it is not clear at the moment.  You can find out more about how Club Eurostar works in this lengthy article we ran last week.

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How to get Club Eurostar points and lounge access from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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 40,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 2,666 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.