I looked over our tickets on the SNCF app and if we take a train an hour early in First Class is 77 Euros s vs 130 Euros per person. Totally worth it to go an hour early and save money.Instead of 7:40 we leave at 6:40AM arriving Paris from Avignon at 9;22 AM.
Posted by
Lake District, England
5747 posts
Not sure if this is a question or not. But if you have already bought your train tickets, are they amendable and refundable at short notice. It would depend on the fare type purchased.
Posted by
OP
SF Bay Area, CA, USA
226 posts
No we actually got the lower cost so it's a tip
Posted by
Paris
6897 posts
All non-Ouigo tickets can be changed, usually for a 19-euro fee except for the most expensive business fares!
However, train ticket prices only go up, so typically there is no need to check after booking - cheaper tickets will not appear. The only case where you would benefit is if you initially booked at the very start of the booking window, at a time when not all trains were open for booking.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10190 posts
And an FYI, if one does need to change a ticket before the departure time, it can be done on the app for the fee balso mentioned.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7283 posts
Just a good reminder to scroll through the options +/- an hour and also look for the amount of time to take each train. Usually I always take the fastest train, but sometimes the difference in just 20 minutes for a large savings which will pay for my lunch.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
6315 posts
I agree with Jean (and I think that's what Daniel was pointing out). It does pay to scroll through the ticket options and look for the best price, along with the time factor. This is true in most countries, I believe. I know that it makes sense in Germany to look at all ticket options on the DB site.
Posted by
11156 posts
We always look at different times and prices for all available choices.
Posted by
Queens, NYC
548 posts
All non-Ouigo tickets can be changed, usually for a 19-euro fee except for the most expensive business fares!
As far as I can tell (at least with any of the non-Ouigo French train tickets that I've purchased), this €19 fee only applies starting within 6 days of travel. I've definitely canceled trains several weeks out and gotten a full refund (and even made a dollar or two in the process, because the US dollar had strengthened between when I bought the ticket and when I refunded it).
Posted by
Paris
6897 posts
Yes, the fee only applies if you're less than a week out!
Posted by
New York, NY
3999 posts
At the time of booking, I look for the least expensive price at the wide time frame I want to travel.