Virgin Trains East Coast First Class Advance over £10

[ys123]

Hi, I'm trying to book a ticket from York to Newcastle on Virgin east coast First Class. The price is £9.20 but I prefer to pay over £10 as I would get lounge access at Newcastle. Is there any way of booking the next cheapest ticket (£12) now or do I have to wait till they run out of the £9.20 tickets?
Thanks in advance.

 

[LexyBoy]

Have you tried writing to VTEC to complain that their fares are too cheap? Bet they've not heard that before!

In answer to your question, if you search for the train you require on National Rail Enquiries, then choose "First Class", you should see the £9.20 fare selected by default. Click "more fares", then "First Class Advance" and you can select the £12 ticket. If you then click through on "Buy Now" it should allow you to buy that fare - it might not work for all ticket sites though (I was redirected to TPE which seemed to work).

Alternatively most staffed ticket offices will be able to sell it.

 

[Starmill]

Huh. Clearly the addition of any price and time restrictions to First Class lounges on East Coast is something that had passed me by.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Isn't Lounge access free with any Virgin First class ticket?

 

[Starmill]

The website has this against Advance First Class tickets:

*Your ticket has to be worth more than £10 to qualify for Lounge access (Rewards tickets count, though).

You may use the lounge for up to two hours before your outward journey, and up to one hour after you arrive (peak times exceptions being 1500-1900 Friday and Sunday where a 1 hour restriction for outward leg will apply).

It certainly wasn't there the last time I checked. I wonder how long it's been there.

 

[yorkie]

Hi, I'm trying to book a ticket from York to Newcastle on Virgin east coast First Class. The price is £9.20 but I prefer to pay over £10 as I would get lounge access at Newcastle. Is there any way of booking the next cheapest ticket (£12) now or do I have to wait till they run out of the £9.20 tickets?
Thanks in advance.

What train is this? If it was me, I'd just go to wherever I was going after Newcastle.. unless it was some appointment for which it wouldn't be worth doing anything beforehand and you wouldn't want to arrive early.

Have you looked at varying the origin/destination? Adding a connection may push up the price a bit.

 

[telstarbox]

Try Hammerton to Newcastle (connecting into the same train at York)

 

[ainsworth74]

It certainly wasn't there the last time I checked. I wonder how long it's been there.

Yes that's totally passed me by as well!

 

[Tetchytyke]

The minimum spend is not new, it was DOR who brought it in back in East Coast days.

http://web.archive.org/web/20150109...st-experience/first-class/first-class-lounges

As for the OP's question, I'd eat my hat if it was actually enforced at Newcastle, I can't remember the last time I saw someone checking tickets there. But if it is you're really not missing anything. The lounge at Newcastle is a nice waiting room but that's about it, unless you have a yearning to drink mediocre coffee from an automatic machine. I'd put the value of the lounge at less than £2.30, which is what a coffee in the lovely Pink Lane Coffee (who don't rush you out and have free WiFi) over the road next to Subway would set you back.

 

[Starmill]

I've been in there loads of times with an £8.90 Advance. Never seen any evidence of this rule before and nobody has ever asked to see my ticket. I have examined the lounge access policy before more than once and I'm pretty sure this would have stuck out to me.

 

[ys123]

Try Hammerton to Newcastle (connecting into the same train at York)

Same price.

 

[yorkie]

What journey is it? I'll look into it.

(PM me if you prefer not to disclose on the forum)

 

[causton]

As said before, at a ticket office we would be able to sell you a more expensive tier, any East Coast station should be able to do it using Tribute, as it is so simple it shows you every single Advance fare and then you have to manually find the cheapest one in the list yourself

 

[Wallsendmag]

As said before, at a ticket office we would be able to sell you a more expensive tier, any East Coast station should be able to do it using Tribute, as it is so simple it shows you every single Advance fare and then you have to manually find the cheapest one in the list yourself

Does it not have an advanced search that just shows the cheapest fare?

 

[causton]

Does it not have an advanced search that just shows the cheapest fare?

LOL no. It is not that clever!

If you have ever seen Avantix Traveller the default view is basically that, a list of all fares by route.

If we click on the Advance Quotas it shows us a list of all tickets for each journey and tells us whether it is Avail(able) - Full (no seats/quota available), or Rest(ricted due to route, TOC, railcard restriction etc)...

I'll try and get a pic...

 

[Wallsendmag]

Are you sure I'm pretty sure VTEC Tributes are set up that way

 

[causton]

Are you sure I'm pretty sure VTEC Tributes are set up that way

Maybe VTEC have a different version to us. I know theirs are different as they print the barcodes on the ticket, so perhaps they paid more and got a better version

Annoyingly I have found photos of every other part of Tribute apart from the screen, but the tickets go along the top and the journey opportunities down the side along with the change points, and the prices at the bottom.

 

[47271]

They used to check your ticket on the buzzer at Newcastle in EC days but since VTEC took over it seems to be come in come in whoever you are.

Like others have said, equally I wouldn't put myself out for access, especially on arrival (go wherever you're going?), unless you like strange wobbly furniture and annoying loud telly.

 

[ainsworth74]

They used to check your ticket on the buzzer at Newcastle in EC days but since VTEC took over it seems to be come in come in whoever you are.

Meanwhile at Darlington it's gone the other way! They used to not bother checking anyone and just left the door open. Now it's locked and you have to ask to be let in.

 

[MrCub]

Certainly when I used Newcastle three weeks ago, there was absolutely no one to check tickets, the door was open, and the tea, coffee, and snackettes were left on the side. Leeds station, as an aside, is like a game from the Crystal Maze; in this door, to the desk, out you go, through another door; where's the crystal?

 

[Olympian]

Hi, I'm trying to book a ticket from York to Newcastle on Virgin east coast First Class. The price is £9.20 but I prefer to pay over £10 as I would get lounge access at Newcastle. Is there any way of booking the next cheapest ticket (£12) now or do I have to wait till they run out of the £9.20 tickets?
Thanks in advance.

How many £9.20 tickets are shown as being left as can't you keep adding them to your basket until they run out and you're forced to buy a £12 one? Then remove all the £9.20 ones to just leave the £12 one. I know you'll have to go through a search and seat reservation etc. for each one but it should give you the correct result I would think.

 

[Haywain]

Maybe VTEC have a different version to us. I know theirs are different as they print the barcodes on the ticket, so perhaps they paid more and got a better version

Maybe VTEC just have a better set-up of the same version? There are things that a good administrator can do to make Tribute more user-friendly. After all, if the supplier is Worldline you probably find that paying more gets you the same as everyone else!


This thread is rather amusing in a way. The usual complaint against VTEC is that cheap Advance fares are almost impossible to find and yet here we have a complaint that more expensive tickets are hard to find!

 

[ainsworth74]

This thread is rather amusing in a way. The usual complaint against VTEC is that cheap Advance fares are almost impossible to find and yet here we have a complaint that more expensive tickets are hard to find!

Glad I'm not the only one that thought of that

 

[Tetchytyke]

I have examined the lounge access policy before more than once and I'm pretty sure this would have stuck out to me.

It isn't a new policy, looking at archive.org it was listed in the policy as long ago as September 2014.

http://web.archive.org/web/20140908...t-experience/first-class/first-class-lounges/

A few exceptions:
It’s worth noting that you need to have spent at least £10 on your fare and unfortunately Weekend First tickets are not eligible.

Also, First Advance holders are only eligible with a £5 supplement ticket. But you can buy this on the day of travel at any East Coast Travel Centre, or when you book your ticket online.

 

[ScotTrains]

Is the £10 minimum fare before or after a railcard discount is applied?

 

[Haywain]

Is the £10 minimum fare before or after a railcard discount is applied?

The minimum fare is £10. No ifs or buts.

 

[Starmill]

The minimum fare is £10. No ifs or buts.

The more I think about it, the more times I can recall using 1st Advances that cost less than £10 in the Lounges at Leeds or Doncaster as well as Newcastle. How odd.

I was once denied entry to the Leeds First Class Lounge with a Manchester to Moorthorpe First Class Season, which was rather more than £10 at £113. Of course I used East Coast for Leeds to Wakefield Westgate. The twitter team told me the ticket was only valid for lounge access if it was routed 'Via Leeds'. The staff said you needed to be travelling to Doncaster or beyond, and I couldn't work out why they thought that. They didn't have any documentation of the rule to produce to me, so perhaps it was a misunderstanding of this policy. But again, had I been aware this was a policy I would have made that link at the time. I distinctly remember the supplement being removed from all of the lounges except Kings Cross too. Oh and I never did get an answer or apology as to why I was turned away that time.