So, my question today is…

Which class is the cheapest way to travel by train?

I bet the majority of you thinking standard is always cheaper… But you will be surprised!

The cheapest time to book your train travel is 12 weeks in advance. The ticket prices are much cheaper at this point but they will slowly creep up.

However, there are bargains to be found and sneaky tricks to be used 😉

If you can be flexible with the time of day you can travel, you can save yourself a fortune!

Sometimes, it is cheaper to travel first class than it is to travel standard…

To find the cheapest travel I use this website here…
I searched for a journey from Newcastle – Manchester and found that it was £20 cheaper to go first class.

Or if you can be flexible on your dates and times…

There are often big differences in prices. £3 to go from Manchester – Leeds. If you can’t travel at that time then you could get the next available train and it costs an extra £4.60 to upgrade to first class. For that price you may as well upgrade and have lunch on the train. Go all out and have a meal, grab some snacks for later and have yourself a few drinks too 🙂

But if you put all tips together, you get the best bargain. Book 12 weeks in advance PLUS be flexible with your time of travel and you could see yourself saving just under £100 on this journey!

Now for the sneaky trick 😉

So, say you wanted to book a train ticket on a Saturday or Sunday and you can get to your destination with a Virgin train…

There is quite a big price difference in traveling from my example journey, Newcastle to Kings Cross. 

However, on a weekend with Virgin trains, you can upgrade your journey when you get on the train. If you bought a standard ticket for £64 and went and sat in a first class seat – you simply pay the ticket inspector to upgrade. Weekend upgrades cost up to £25 depending on your journey, this could save you £19.

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