Eurostar delays the introduction of the £32 redemption fee
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Today was meant to be the day that Club Eurostar introduced a £32 ‘network charge’ per return reward ticket.
The ‘network charge’ is a flat-rate and not tied to your class of travel, status or destination. The fee is the same whether you are in Standard or Business Premier, and whether you are travelling to Paris or Amsterdam. There is no discount for children.
This is a genuine expense to Eurostar – it represents the track access charges per passenger that Eurostar has to pay. With its services currently down to a fraction of the usual number this is one way of reducing their cash bleed.
Eurostar told me yesterday that the new fee will not be introduced today. It is still coming, however, so this is only a temporary hiatus. You still have some time to make reward bookings for the future without being charged £32.
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.
