People could take a metropolis break to Paris, Amsterdam or Brussels for less when reserving their journey in a particular method. Using a lesser-known model of the Eurostar web site could save people up to half price on tickets – but there’s one main catch to this.
Explaining how this discounted ticket system works, a member of Martin Lewis‘ MoneySavingExpert workforce said: “These four letters could get you 50% off Eurostar tickets. If you just book on the regular Eurostar website, it can cost you hundreds for a return trip.
“But if you know the date you need to journey on, and you have a bit of flexibility, typing SNAP into the URL can save you a respectable buck.” By replacing the usual ‘www’ at the start of the address with ‘snap’, customers are taken to a similar-looking website that offers discounted tickets on last-minute trips.
The MSE team member said these tickets can be bought “up to two weeks in advance” and can be “much cheaper” than picking a specific time to leave the station. They showed tickets going from London to Paris for £50.
The only catch is that you’ll have little control over when you actually leave the platform, with there only being two options. Passengers can choose a slot for a train leaving between 6am and 1pm or 1pm and 8pm.
The team member added: “You select a day and choose [the] earlier or later slot. At least 48 hours before your prepare, Eurostar will confirm your actual time.”
These bargain tickets are “non-refundable and non-exchangeable”, so it is important to know and accept that tickets could be assigned for the crack of dawn or one of the last to leave the platform. The MSE member said their option saved around £80 compared to the standard booking process.
They added: “The financial savings can be fairly large, but it’s a bit of a ‘no risk, no reward’ journey hack, as you won’t be ready to get your money back once you’ve booked!” The Eurostar Snap offers on trips leaving from London to Paris and Lille in France, Amsterdam or Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Brussels in Belgium.
The service only offers up to four adult tickets per purchase. Children cannot be booked onto these ‘Snap’ deals because Eurostar cannot guarantee that everyone in your party will be seated together, “last-minute tickets are for passengers aged 16+ only”, according to Eurostar.
Eurostar says: “Infants under 4 years previous can journey for free on an grownup’s lap. A most of one toddler per grownup can journey.”
On the Eurostar Snap web site, it says: “Get prepared to embrace that ‘pack your baggage, we’re off’ feeling. With Snap, you can e book a spur-of-the-moment journey to one of Europe’s most thrilling cities and still take pleasure in the same great expertise on board.
“You pick your travel dates and time slot, we pick your train times, and you get up to 50% off the price of your tickets. Sometimes it pays to be spontaneous.
“If you can be versatile with your journey instances, this is the deal for you. Invite up to three associates or journey buddies and take pleasure in the same consolation and type you’ve come to expect from a Eurostar journey with the added bonus of a decrease fare. Just so you know, we can’t guarantee that you’ll all be seated collectively.”
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