Euro High Saver CIV - Restrictions/Discounts/Availability?

[KingJ]

I'm looking to do a trip on Eurostar to Lyon within the next few months. Given i'm in Tonbridge, it makes sense to travel from Ashford International rather than St. Pancras - both from a time and cost perspective. I do have an annual season to London+Zones, but checking the prices on Eurostar's site it works out ~£20 more to depart from St. Pancras International instead of Ashford International even if my travel to St. Pancras International would be 'free'.

However, whilst checking what it would cost for me to get from Tonbridge to Ashford International, I saw on BR Fares that there is a "Euro High Saver CIV" ticket available. From what i've understood reading around, these are discounted fares that are only available if you have connecting Eurostar travel and have the bonus of protection if your UK train is late. This is quoted as £18.70, which certainly works out as cheaper than two singles (given I wouldn't be returning on the same day, and only day returns are offered).

However, one thing i'm uncertain on is what restrictions and discounts can apply to this ticket. The Fares Guide specifies that it has off-peak restrictions (and unfortunately I need to depart during the morning peak), however other places imply that it has no restrictions and is instead priced as an off-peak fare. BR Fares also doesn't seem to list any restrictions for it, and no other return Euro CIV fares are listed other than the High Saver - possibly implying a Peak equivalent doesn't exist? As an alternative, would it be better to get a Single Eurostar CIV ticket? This is quoted at £10.70, so £21.40 return, but may not have restrictions given there's no 'saver' in the name?

Additionally, I hold an Annual Gold Card, but i'm not sure if I can apply this to a Euro CIV ticket. Again the fares guide implies it's not possible, but elsewhere suggests that it is.

Finally, it's a little unclear how I can purchase this type of ticket. Online, it seems only available as a through ticket via Loco2, but I may also be able to purchase it from a ticket office if I can display my separately booked Eurostar ticket? Eurostar's own booking engine does not offer Tonbridge as a departure station.

If there's any advice or clarity anyone can offer here, i'd greatly appreciate it!

 

[30907]

No longer bookable online. Am about to test the competence of a local station, but will take with me all the codes just to be sure.
BRFares will give restrictions if there are any.
Railcard discounts apply including Gold Card (NGC on BRFares, I now know)
(corrected)

 

[KingJ]

No longer bookable online. Am about to test the competence of a local station, but will take with me all the codes just to be sure.
BRFares will give restrictions if there are any.
Railcard discounts apply but not Gold Card (NGC on BRFares, I now know)

Will be interested to hear how you get on at your local station!

And aha, so NGC is the code for a Gold Card! I've never been able to figure out how to apply a Gold Card on BR Fares ("Gold Card" returns nothing) so i've always used the Network Railcard option as a 99.9% equivalent option - but you've just taught me what the code is (NGC) so that's a huge help, thanks! Interestingly if I put it in on BR Fares, the Euro High Saver CIV is indeed discounted by the AGC, down to £12.35 - I appreciate that could be an error though if Gold Cards truly don't apply.

 

[30907]

Apologies, discount does apply, I misread....

 

[Romilly]

I don't think there are time restrictions on the Euro High Saver, and I am sure I have bought the Tonbridge-Ashford tickets from Tonbridge station ticket office in the distant past. But I think that you may find that you need to have your Eurostar tickets with you when buying the Tonbridge-Ashford tickets.

If you buy your Eurostar tickets from Loco2.com you should be able to buy the Tonbridge-Ashford CIV tickets from them if you buy them at the same time.

 

[jimm]

You are indeed required to present proof that you have got a Eurostar booking when purchasing a CIV ticket at a booking office.

 

[KingJ]

I went to try and purchase these from the ticket office at London Bridge this morning as I passed through (Tonbridge's queues this morning were rather long!), and have come away successfully with the tickets!

The person who sold them to me had vaguely heard of the ticket before, but had never actually sold one - so it did take a little bit of time whilst they investigated and double checked things. Ultimately, i've come away with;

• 2x Eurostar CIV Standard Single, one with an Annual Gold Card discount (I need to depart during the peak so alas my Gold Card doesn't apply). Costing £10.80 and £7.25 respectively for a total of £18.05 (saving me a whole 65p over getting a Euro High Saver CIV return without a gold card/railcard discount!).
• 1x Euro High Saver CIV Standard Return, with a 16-25 Railcard discount (i'm travelling with my partner who luckily still has a valid 16-25 Railcard). Costing £12.35.

We checked at the ticket office, and the High Saver is indeed valid at peak times as Romilly mentioned, initally the person in the ticket office thought it might not have been but was able to check and confirm. I did have my Eurostar tickets on me, but I wasn't required to show them - I think the person in the ticket office was trusting enough given I was asking for a very specific ticket and also for specific future dates.

Thanks for all the help everyone - certainly makes the connecting travel a bit cheaper!
(and an additional thanks to the person in the Southeastern London Bridge ticket office for being friendly, paitent and willing to search for and investigate the ticket. I made sure to send Southeastern a tweet with similar sentiments and their name in the hope that the positive feedbak is passed on to them and their manager!)

 

[jimm]

The fact that CIV tickets are valid during peak hours - at a substantial discount to anytime fares - is why staff are supposed to confirm purchasers have a Eurostar booking before they sell CIVs.

I believe there were cases of people misusing them to get cheap peak journeys to London and back which was a key factor in the removal of the ability to book CIVs online from TOC websites.

There are also a number of operators offering all-in fares from some of their stations to Europe using Eurostar. Two I know of are Chiltern and GWR.

GWR's selection looks a bit on the random side - with the through fares being available from several stations in Cornwall, but at hardly any stations much closer to London which might be considered to be within a long day trip's range of Paris or Brussels and perhaps a better bet to actually generate some ticket sales.

https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/before-you-travel/eurostar-through-fare
https://www.gwr.com/plan-journey/journey-information/travel-connections/eurostar

 

[30907]

Will be interested to hear how you get on at your local station!

They were excellent at Shipley, where I was staying, though I'd guess they don't sell many, and it was from LNE to Accrington. I wrote down the details including 3-letter codes to assist.
We now have two railcard-discounted tickets, plus reservations for the earliest train we are likely to catch from Euston, at £30-odd each. Bargain!
The only problem is it's a SNCF strike day....

 

[KingJ]

They were excellent at Shipley, where I was staying, though I'd guess they don't sell many, and it was from LNE to Accrington. I wrote down the details including 3-letter codes to assist.
We now have two railcard-discounted tickets, plus reservations for the earliest train we are likely to catch from Euston, at £30-odd each. Bargain!
The only problem is it's a SNCF strike day....

Glad to hear you had no problems getting it at Shipley! I'm potentially affected by the SNCF strike too, especially as Eurostar will only take me part way and I need to connect on to a SNCF service - eep! Hoping that by the time I travel next month though things might be smoothed out a bit...