Changing LNER advance single (1st class) for cheaper ticket

[NorEast]

I'm thinking of booking an LNER advance single that doesn't allow refunds for a day I'm probably travelling - first class isn't too much more than standard. If family plans intervene, though, I'll need to change it to a standard class single that's more than £10 cheaper.

I know there's a £10 charge for changing the ticket, but could I take this out of the price of the more expensive first class ticket - so, for example, change a £100 single to a £80 single on a different day without paying an extra £10 on top?

 

[Adam Williams]

If you change to a cheaper Advance tier you won't get the difference back in line with the Ts and Cs subsection 7.4. For example, for TrainSplit the flow would look like:

• Customer buys £100 Advance Single in 1st class with booking ref A
• Customer buys £80, cheaper Advance Single with booking ref B
• Customer requests refund on £100 ticket, providing booking B as the replacement
• The refund is capped to the price of booking B, £80 and then the CoJ fee is subtracted, leaving the customer with a £70 refund. Total spend is now £110.

 

[Watershed]

I'm thinking of booking an LNER advance single that doesn't allow refunds for a day I'm probably travelling - first class isn't too much more than standard. If family plans intervene, though, I'll need to change it to a standard class single that's more than £10 cheaper.

I know there's a £10 charge for changing the ticket, but could I take this out of the price of the more expensive first class ticket - so, for example, change a £100 single to a £80 single on a different day without paying an extra £10 on top?

The admin fee is charged separately from the fare difference - however, not all retailers charge the full £10 admin fee, or indeed a fee at all. If you think it's likely you might have to change your ticket, it would seem prudent to use a site that doesn't charge fees. To my knowledge, the three retailers which fall into this category are CrossCountry, TPE and Railsmartr. They each have their own processes and restrictions/caveats, so you might want to do a bit of research before deciding which one you want to use.

 

[NorEast]

Thanks for the clear replies! Will either use one of those retailers, or try Seatfrog - even their fixed fee upgrade price is similar to the fare difference, and it may be worth trying their auction. Let me know if there are any hints for using Seatfrog auctions

LNER's Super Off Peak Single (which isn't tied to a set train) isn't a ticket type that could sell out? If so, I may as well just buy that when my travel plans are firm

 

[Watershed]

LNER's Super Off Peak Single (which isn't tied to a set train) isn't a ticket type that could sell out? If so, I may as well just buy that when my travel plans are firm

That's correct. It's a walk-up ticket so is valid on any service (subject to the applicable time restrictions) and, in principle, cannot sell out.

However, since Covid, LNER have marked their trains as being "reservations compulsory" in the timetable data. This forces booking sites to issue a reservation when someone selects a particular service. A train may therefore show as "sold out" if all seats have been reserved - however, this is misleading, as there is no requirement to hold a reservation to travel. If you don't have a reservation, it simply means that you're not guaranteed to get a seat.

If you want to travel on a train (misleadingly) shown as "sold out", you can simply select any other train that day and make sure you choose a Super Off-Peak Single routed "Any Permitted" or "via" somewhere (not "Grand Central/Hull Trains/Lumo only"). This way you will be buying a ticket that is still valid on the "sold out" train.

 

[NorEast]

Thanks!