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Club Eurostar to introduce upgrades for elite members

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In a newsletter to members yesterday, Eurostar trailed a forthcoming improvement in benefits for elite members – a free annual upgrade voucher.

All we know at the moment is:

  • the voucher will be given to Avantage, Carte Blanche and Etoile members – so all elite tiers are included, not just the top tier
Club Eurostar to introduce upgrades for elite members
  • you will get one voucher per membership year
  • the voucher will let you upgrade from Standard to Standard Premier (or, using the new names from 4th November, Eurostar Standard to Eurostar Plus) – you can’t upgrade from Standard Premier to Business Premier
  • the voucher can be used on ex-Thalys trains in Europe as well as the Channel Tunnel trains to/from London

I spoke to Club Eurostar about this yesterday and got a bit of extra information:

  • the plan is to allow vouchers to be used on both cash and reward bookings, although IT restrictions may mean that both options are not available from day 1
  • the voucher only covers a one way booking, not a return
  • all elite members will get a voucher dropped into their accounts on the launch day – I wasn’t told the date but logically it should on or soon after the start of your new membership year on 1st October 2024

I don’t have any information on how long the vouchers will be valid.

This is a positive move for Club Eurostar. 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.

(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

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

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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, 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.

Category

Club Eurostar

Comments (20)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Andrew J says:
    7 Sep7 September 06:47

    “the voucher only covers a one way booking, not a return” – does that mean one leg of a return is ok to upgrade or only if it’s a one way booking? Two one way cash bookings do price higher than a return booking, so you would be paying for the upgrade if so. Wouldn’t affect reward bookings though.

  • Rich says:
    7 Sep7 September 06:56

    I was just thinking yesterday how weak the benefits of Advantage are, especially for UK users. And was thinking a yearly free upgrade voucher would be a nice, low cost way to reward us. (As would waiving the change fee once or twice.)

    They must have read my mind. Now if only LNER would read it too.

  • Susan says:
    7 Sep7 September 07:49

    Upgrading can now be done on the website which is a great improvement from having to call up – the staff were always very helpful but the hours quite restrictive.

  • BJ says:
    7 Sep7 September 08:33

    What’s the point of booking Accor via a special link when booking BFR via ALL will attract points plus a potential c@shback rebate that could easily top 10%. Am U missing something other than x@shback is never guaranteed until it’s in our bank accounts?

  • kevinchoi says:
    7 Sep7 September 08:34

    Is there any way of getting a small number of status points without actually travelling? Im only 7 points anyway from Advantage, but won’t be needing to travel before the renewal date

    • Alex says:
      7 Sep7 September 08:50

      Best I can think of is booking a cheap cross border ticket from say Liege to Aachen. Should be cheap enough to leave you better off with the voucher

    • Rob says:
      7 Sep7 September 09:04

      Don’t think so.

      • meta says:
        7 Sep7 September 10:56

        From T&C so suggestion from @Alex probably won’t work.

        If you choose not to travel or miss your train, you will not earn any Reward Points or Status Points. If you miss your check-in time limit and you are not able to board your train, you will only earn Reward Points and Status Points if you are reallocated on to another train subject to the payment of reallocation fees (where applicable). More information on check-in time limits and reallocation fees can be found in the applicable Conditions of Carriage. You will not earn Reward Points and Status Points in the event your train is cancelled but you will earn Reward Points and Status Points for any replacement journey you take.

        • Nick says:
          7 Sep7 September 11:26

          You don’t need to check in for Thalys services, and there are no gates in operation at most stations, so it’s entirely feasible you could make that journey without your ticket being scanned. I guess it depends whether those journeys count, or whether the points have to come from actual Eurostar routes.

          • meta says:
            7 Sep7 September 12:36

            There is also a clause that where if the tickets are not checked the points will be awarded within 48 hours. Thalys tickets are checked on board, albeit sometimes not if you’re on a very short journey and they don’t have time. I suspect there is some manual inspection involved hence the delay.

          • Alex says:
            7 Sep7 September 14:05

            Yeah, I had two previous ex Thalys journeys where I didn’t have my Tickets checked and got the points without issue

  • Caligula says:
    7 Sep7 September 10:06

    Is it already known whether the voucher must be used for the account holder? Or will it be like the points, which can be used to book in anyone’s name?

  • @alastairtravel says:
    7 Sep7 September 17:34

    Generous deal this if you only spend around £500 a year on Eurostar tickets that’s enough points (600) for a one-way upgrade on points plus the voucher = return upgrade.

  • tony says:
    7 Sep7 September 18:14

    Just a note on the AMEX lounge access at St Pancras. We (wife & I, both Plat card holders) were through there Friday of the late May bank holiday weekend.

    They said they were happy to let kids under 16 in as well. This sounded like it was a policy, not a one time waiver, especially as the lounge was quite busy anyway. And on saying “one of the kids is 17” they were fine with that, too.

    • Rob says:
      7 Sep7 September 18:31

      They wouldn’t let me in with a kid last year though, although others (possibly you!) have mentioned that policy may have changed. I’m at StP on Monday so will ask if I remember.

      • Matt says:
        10 Sep10 September 17:45

        They let me bring my dad (late 70s) in May this year, but we were using travel assistance and it wasn’t very busy.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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