France rail pass What does easy access reservations mean exactly

I don't use rail passes, because I find them not to be cost effective for my needs, but I have been told that the easy access reservation is a way to purchase seat reservations on French trains. It relates to the fact that on many French trains one must purchase a reservation to obtain a seat even if one has a pass. When the regular access pass holder rate for reservations is sold out, you may still be able to purchase a reservation if you are what is called and Easy Access Pass Holder and that is pretty much anyone with a France Rail Pass. The easy access rates for the reservation are slightly higher than the regular rates and are only available to people who have a France Rail Pass as opposed to people who might have a 3-Country Pass or any other pass that covers France but is not a France Rail Pass

If you haven't purchase the rail pass, you may want to read this informative website: http://www.seat61.com

Most here do not recommend buying a rail pass, because you can save money, by buying point-to point train tickets
in advance, at a considerable savings.

If you have already purchased the rail pass, you will need to make reservations, & may have to pay an extra fee for such.

I will let others advice you, as I have not purchased a rail pass this century.

"Most here do not recommend buying a rail pass, because you can save money, by buying point-to point train tickets in advance, at a considerable savings."

That's true. But for French rail passes, there's another issue. Many trains in France require reservations. The number of reservations available to rail pass holders is limited, so even if there are available seats on a train, you may not be able to use your pass on it. In that case, you either have to take a different train that does have a passholder reservation available, or you have to buy a full priced ticket to take the train you want.

For this reason, even Rick Steves says you should buy all reservations for French trains at the time you buy your pass. This eliminates one of the major potential advantages of a rail pass - spontaneity.

On the flip side, if you book French trains in advance, not only can they be cheap, but you can sometimes get first class for just a few euros more than second class. Of course, these cheapest tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.

Here's a direct link to The Man In Seat 61's page discussing these issues: http://tinyurl.com/bkw4u6c

There are two types of passholder fares -- the traditional passholder fares which have limited availability and the passholder fare called "easy access" which is specifically designed for the France Pass and has a higher seat reservation. Around 18 euros back in 2013. At that time (in 2013), I was told that these are available until the last seat on the train is sold but they are only available to holders of a France Rail Pass.