Ist Class upgrade on First Great Western

[energyman]

Can one of you informed veterans out there help me?
My wife and I are travelling to Truro, standard class, next Thursday and wondered if we can get a 1st class upgrade on the train. I have the feeling these are only available at weekends. Am I right?
If they are available; what's the best way to go about it? Do we just occupy a couple of 1st class seats and wait for a ticket master to pay the extra and has anyone any idea how much?
Thanks for any help you can give us .
Energyman.

 

[LexyBoy]

Upgrades are only available at the weekend (and are called "Weekend First" IIRC).

You could only travel in First by excessing your tickets to the equivalent peak/off-peak 1st fares, but this would of course be a lot more expensive than Weekend First (and can't be done with Advance tickets).

 

[moonrakerz]

You don't say where you are travelling from and if you already have standard class tickets.
If you don't have tickets yet, it may be worth looking on the FGW website to see if there are any first class Advance tickets left.

 

[wintonian]

I assume from the OP that they already do have tickets, but It might be helpful to know where the OP is traveling from so we can give an Idea of how much the excess would be.

 

[energyman]

Thanks for your help. I'm afraid the tickets are bought and paid for. We are travelling from Paddington.
If on the day there are 1st class tickets available, do I assume we would just have to pay the difference between 1st and standard class with no real discount?

 

[wintonian]

If they are advance purchase tickets that state "booked train only" then I'm afraid you would have to by new tickets at £249 / £157.75 with railcard discount for an off-peak first class return (£189 / £125.05 single).

If however they are tickets which can be bought on the day of travel then you can excess them by paying the difference to the cheapest first class ticket for the times you wish to travel, unless you hold anytime returns in which case it would be the first class anytime return you would excess to at the diffrence between the anytime tickets you hold and £379 or £250.15 with a railcard.

Advance fares for first class travel do start at £25.75 each if you book ahead and can be flexible about when you go – in case you do this trip again.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

If they are advance purchase tickets that state "booked train only" then I'm afraid you would have to by new tickets at £249 / £157.75 with railcard discount for an off-peak first class return (£189 / £125.05 single).

If however they are tickets which can be bought on the day of travel then you can excess them by paying the difference to the cheapest first class ticket for the times you wish to travel, unless you hold anytime returns in which case it would be the first class anytime return you would excess to at the diffrence between the anytime tickets you hold and £379 or £250.15 with a railcard.

Advance fares for first class travel do start at £25.75 each if you book ahead and can be flexible about when you go – in case you do this trip again.

But it surely MIGHT be cheaper to look for 1st class Advance tickets now and simply discard the Std class tix which the OP has already bought?
There's still some First Class singles available for PAD - TRU next Thurs at at £50.50 (that's without any discounts).

 

[wintonian]

But it surely MIGHT be cheaper to look for 1st class Advance tickets now and simply discard the Std class tix which the OP has already bought?
There's still some First Class singles available for PAD - TRU next Thurs at at £50.50 (that's without any discounts).

If there are and they are the right price then yes it's a good point.

 

[energyman]

Thanks everybody for your very informed help.

 

[moonrakerz]

But it surely MIGHT be cheaper to look for 1st class Advance tickets now and simply discard the Std class tix which the OP has already bought?

Might get a (partial) refund on those too !

 

[Flamingo]

Advanced tickets can be changed up to the time of departure at a ticket office. The price paid for the ticket will be knocked off the new ticket, plus a £10 charge for each ticket. I am not aware of anything stopping a STD class ticket being upgraded to First Class.

If you do the upgrade on-train you may only be charged the difference between what you paid and the First Class ticket price. However, it will be upgraded to a First Class Open Single, even if it is an off-peak train (as there is no First Class off-peak single, only off-peak return). As said, your best bet would be to go to a booking office ASAP, and see what Advanced tickets are available. Bring your original tickets with you, to trade them in.

You can make changes to your travel plans up until the departure time shown on your ticket. Changes may only be made if the origin and destination stations stay the same.

For each change, you may have to pay an excess charge, plus a fee of £10 per single ticket. You will need to present your original ticket when you request your change and you must travel on First Great Western trains only, if stated on your ticket.

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=289
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Might get a (partial) refund on those too !

Refunds are not given on Advanced tickets, the only value is to trade them in for a new ticket before the time on the reservation. After that, they are simply expensive bookmarks.

 

[wintonian]

The trouble is the excess rules say:

First Class travel with a Standard Class ticket - Opportunity to buy before boarding
Single Tickets
Anytime / Anytime Day Single Off-Peak / Off-Peak Day Single Super Charge the difference between the fare already paid and the appropriate First Single fare for the journey
Off-Peak / Super Off-Peak Day Single
Advance Charge the full First Class Single fare for the journey being made as if no ticket held.

However strangly if the ticket office is closed for example then you can excess them it seems:

First Class travel with a Standard Class ticket– No Opportunity to buy before boarding
Single Tickets
Anytime / Anytime Day Single, Off-Peak / Off-Peak Day Single or Super Charge the difference between the fare already paid and the appropriate First Single fare for the journey
Off-Peak / Super Off-Peak Day Single
Advance Charge £10 admin fee PLUS the difference between the fare paid and the appropriate First Class Single fare
available for immediate travel on the journey being made.

Unless of course that is a mistake and the manual says different to the ones I have.

 

[Flamingo]

A contradiction between the manuals and website advice? Say it isn't so!
Of course, if you excess it up to a STD class off-peak, THEN excess it to a First Class ticket... You will have to pay £10 for the first excess, but can do the second one on-board for no extra charge.

(I'm not aware of anything stoping this being done, anyone else?)