Here’s an oddity that we came across today while booking train tickets on the TGV for our upcoming two-week trip to France: First class train tickets for our journey were actually cheaper than the second class tickets.
But here’s the catch: By default, the SNCF website (the official French railway website, which is the only place you should be booking your train tickets) shows you second-class ticket prices. They’re making the “cheapo deal” a bit difficult to spot, unless you know where to look.
Second-class search
Here was our first search, which brought up second-class seats:
A few things to notice here:
- Second-class was selected by default.
- All of the cheapest “non modifiable” (refundable) tickets had already been purchased, leaving only the more expensive refundable seats.
- Little green tabs on the right do show you first-class seats available for the same journey, but they’re sort of hidden in the background and easy to miss.
First-class search
Now, here were the results when we did the same search for first-class tickets:
You’ll notice that cheaper non-refundable seats are now available for these same trains, but in First Class.
Our Cheapo advice
When searching on the SNCF site, first search for second class tickets — it’s the default search setting. However, don’t just assume these are the cheapest rates. Do a follow-up search for first-class tickets. You might be surprised to find cheaper prices!
Have advice to add? Please add it in the comments section below!
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