Eurostar cancels services to the south of France – Lyon, Avignon, Marseille – until 2022

Eurostar has announced that it is dropping its direct Summer service to Lyon, Avignon and Marseille.

What was more surprising is that, as well as cancelling all trips for 2020, it has also wiped the schedule for Summer 2021.

It’s obviously not the end of the world if you had planned to visit any of these cities by train.  TGV connections are available in both Lille and Paris, albeit with additional travel time required, and your connection is protected if you book a through-ticket from the Eurostar website.

Existing ticket holders can be rebooked, for free, onto a TGV connection for no additional fare.  You will need to pay any fare difference if you want to change your travel date during rebooking, however.  Refunds and Eurostar vouchers are also available.

You can find out more on the Eurostar travel agents website here.

How to get Club Eurostar points and lounge access from UK credit cards (December 2021)

Club Eurostar does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Club Eurostar points by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.  These are:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 1,333 Club Eurostar points. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with two free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 2,000 Club Eurostar points. Card benefits include Eurostar lounge access.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 5,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 333 Club Eurostar points. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 15:1 into Club Eurostar points which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, so you will get the equivalent of 1 Club Eurostar point for every £15 you spend.

American Express Platinum comes with a great Eurostar benefit – Eurostar lounge access!  

You can enter any Eurostar lounge, irrespective of your ticket type, simply by showing The Platinum Card at the desk.  No guests are allowed but you can get entry for your partner by issuing them with a free supplementary Amex Platinum card on your account.