Don’t Forget Eurostar – It Could Save You Money & Time

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I tend to focus primarily on airlines and hotels here on Traveling For Miles but I thought it was worth flagging up the potential that Eurostar has for saving you both time and/or money on your next trip.

One of the big issues with airline travel from the UK is the high amount of  tax levied on departures from most UK airports. It’s that tax and other ancillary fees that form the main reason why most of the great Business Class fares I highlight originate somewhere in continental Europe and not in the UK. Put simply if you’re looking for bargain flights to/from Europe then you’re probably best avoiding the UK if you can….and that’s where Eurostar can help.

Image courtesy of Tadie88 via Flickr

Using Eurostar To Save Money – UK and US Travelers

The main Eurostar routes that interest me are the ones between Paris/Brussels and London as these are the routes that are most likely to be of use to travelers looking to save a bit of money on their flights.

Firstly it’s worth noting the journey time on these routes:

• London – Paris: approx 2 hours 35 minutes
• London – Brussels: approx 2 hours 10 minutes

Secondly it’s worth noting the fares:

• London – Paris or Brussels one-way: From around $55/£45/€50 (standard fare)
• London – Paris or Brussels round-trip: From around $90/£74/€82 (standard fare)

Those are just indicative prices for the purposes of discussion..they can vary depending on how far out you book and where you’re originating.

Thirdly it’s worth noting the travel times from between the city centre railways stations and the airports:

• Brussels-South station to Brussels airport is 20 minutes by train
• Paris Gare du Nord to Paris CDG is 34 minutes by train

UK Travelers

If you’re not London-based then Eurostar may not be the best option for you but, if you can get to London’s St Pancras station without too much difficulty, you can use Eurostar to position to Pairs or Brussels to catch your flights from there.

With Business Class flights from Paris to the US as low as $1.223 earlier this year and with Business Class flights from Brussels to various cities in Asia from as low as $1,360 a quick trip on Eurostar would be well worth the effort.

• Eurostar would probably be cheaper than a positioning flight
• The total travel time using Eurostar could be lower as there is a lot less wasted time at train stations compared to airports.

It’s also worth noting that finding award flights out of London can be a lot harder than finding award flights out of other European cities. With American Airlines offering flights to the US and with other oneworld airlines offering flights to the Middle East and Asia out of both Paris and Brussels a Eurostar trip could help you use the miles/Avios you’ve been stacking up.

Eurostar trains at London St Pancras – image courtesy of Dun.can via Flickr

US Travelers

Eurostar can act a cost saver in a couple of pretty important ways…as long as you have an interest in visiting the UK 🙂

Business Class flights from the US to London are rarely as good as they are to other European cities and, with flights from around $1,650 between New York and Brussels as an example, you’re much more likely to be able to fly upfront to Brussels or Paris on a great fare than you are to London.

It’s therefore useful to keep in mind that you don’t have to fly to London just because you want to visit London – Eurostar can work for you too.

Clearly it will always be worth checking out how much a short connecting flight to/from London would cost on BA/KLM/AF as you’ll be arriving in to an airport in the first place…but don’t forget that Eurostar will deposit you in central London while a flight to Heathrow still leaves you the journey into the city. One way or another you’ll be traveling to a city centre so don’t forget to price up Eurostar before you book a flight.

Just as UK travelers will often have more luck finding award flights out of European cities other than London, US travelers will often find better award availability to cities like Paris and Brussels.

Earlier this year I posted details of some great American Airlines First Class award space to Paris and we’ve seen some fantastic Business Class award and upgrade availability to Paris too so combining those with a Eurostar trip to London could work very nicely indeed.

Image courtesy of Michael Day via Flickr

Eurostar Will Also Serve Amsterdam

From late 2017 (or early 2018 if we’re being realistic) Eurostar will also connect London with Amsterdam and there’s even talk of making Schiphol airport a Eurostar stop.

Business Traveller got an emailed statement from Eurostar that read:

The Amsterdam service is expected to start at the end of 2017 and that has been the case for some time. Work is progressing well, with on track testing of the e320s having started in April of this year. We continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to advance discussions on border checks, with the aim of finding a solution which will allow us to provide a fast and efficient service for our customers

As a major SkyTeam hub Amsterdam sometimes sees some pretty aggressive oneworld and Star Alliance fares (when they feel like ruffling some feathers) so a Eurostar stop at Schiphol could be a very useful addition for travelers.

Bottom Line

Because we focus so much on finding the best airfares to the destinations we want to visit it can be easy to overlook other modes of transport that, combined with flights, could really make travel cheaper and quicker…and Eurostar definitely falls into that category.

Featured image courtesy of Daniel Wright via Flickr