Hi Midgi, thank you so much for the kind words, it really does mean a lot and keeps me pushing on 🙌😁 I hope you’re having a great evening 🍷🤩 Thank you for watching and take care 😁
Excellent job on the vlog. Great tip on the 1st to Birmingham then standard beyond. I still have fond memories of the Virgin Train fare structure. I know it’s some time ago now but Avanti have advanced fares out of all recognition. Good luck mate
Hi Pnw, and thank you for the positive feedback 😁🙌 I totally agree with you… some of the prices they come up with are obscene 🤦 Have a great weekend and take care 😁
Mark, another great video. I must admit this service looks pretty impressive. I wish they would do something similar from London to Manchester and to Leeds too. However, UK train prices are prohibitively expensive and we could learn a lot from other countries such as Spain. I love your meticulous filming and use of music coupled with your great reporting. Thanks.
Hi Richard, thank for your positive feedback 🙌😁 This one surprised me tbh, it was a trip report that I really enjoyed from my side of the camera, it was a very nice way to travel and I’d highly recommend it 😁 I totally agree with you that prices are far too high. Once you go anywhere past the midlands it often works out cheaper to fly which surely can’t be right? Have a great week and thank for watching 😊
I don't often travel by train, but enjoyed this video. The extras in first class are definitely worth the money in my opinion and it's a no brainer to pay for first class over standard premium. So close to 1000 subscribers now, and rightfully so as your videos are always great!
Hi Mr, I thought it was a total bargain for £60. I’m not sure it will get the views that some of my flight reviews have got so far but needs must as I’m without a passport and stuck in Blighty 😂 I hope you’re all good and getting ready to enjoy the weekend 🙌😁
I prefer train travel and agree, Mark, that travelling first class, especially on longer journeys is worth it. The Avanti First class lounge looked great and better than what I remember of the Caledonian Sleeper lounge. Am travelling to Devon via London tomorrow, and will be good to compare LNER & GWR! 😊 👍
Hi Alan, I hope you’re well 😁 You won my Qatar airways first class Diptyque set last week 🙌 I think you must have missed my last video where you won the spin the wheel 😂 Check my last video out and send me a message with your address via my email tradingplaces787@gmail.com And I’ll get it sent out to you 👍🤩
Another fabulous video. The First Class experience is definitely worth spending a bit more. I travelled over Sunday/Bank Holiday Monday from Crewe to London Euston with my grandson, and upgraded on the train to London to premium. It cost £45 which was definitely worth the money, so we had a 2 x seater with table. Unfortunately. the 1st class tickets were way too expensive, so you really got a super deal with your ticket.
Hi Jane, do you live near Crewe? I bet I’m not too far away as I’m from Congleton 😁 First Class train tickets from the northwest can be so pricey. From Manchester sometimes it's actually cheaper to fly business class with BA than to take the train with Avanti. It really highlights how overpriced train travel can be. The £65 quid fare to Birmingham is a bargain and I’d recommend giving it a try if you head down to London again 🙌 Thank you so much for watching and have a great weekend 😁
@@tradingplaces787 I live not too far from Chester, but had to get a connecting train from Crewe. If I'm travelling on my own in the future, I will see if it is cheaper to go via Manchester or Birmingham to London. You never know.
😁👍 I disembarked in Birmingham, grabbed a coffee from Pret, and then got on a new train, sitting in economy for my final leg to Stoke-on-Trent. The first-class ticket direct to Stoke-on-Trent was about £150, but by booking the second leg in economy, my whole trip only cost me £80 and only took about 20 minutes longer 👍
Really nice video.on this Luxury train review. What would be interesting is a video with each train companies the pro's and con's from basic economy up to 1st class. I know for instance pricing you can go online in advance of your trip or trip if you know your destinations and get a half decent price. That's what I did the last time I was in the UK. However I did not go online as I have relations and friends who'd watch out for pricing changes and reserve when a great deal. There you can save a lot of money up to 70%. However it was a price for a certain train and a specific time and it usually wasn't direct you usually had to take 2 to 3 train to get to your destination. So what I am saying and most likely should have said there are options lol. Again great video thanks
I regularly do the London to Manchester trip for football. Huge price difference between premium and 1st with identical seating. Food portions are tiny and fairly meh. Save your money. Travel premium and buy your food at the many eateries near the station. £135 v £300 on match days!
Hi Sandip, thats a huge difference. The cheese and mushroom croque was good, but it certainly wasn’t that good 😂 Which football team do you support? 👀😂
The bizarre thing I find with avanti, and well virgin trains back when it was virgin trains, is I find the advance fare price structure for their journeys doesnt always reflect the journey time/length. And sometimes longer journeys are cheaper than the short journey despite stopping at that station (I'll explain this in a bit) Like for example Birmingham to Euston is a 1 hour 30 min journey and the cheapest 1st fare you can get is £60 (no railcard discount). With the most expensive being on the day fare of £100.50 (offpeak) £138.90 (anytime). Glasgow to Euston is 4 hours 30 mins (or 6 hrs if you go via New street) and the cheapest 1st fare is £95.50 (no railcard discount) With the most expensive being £270.10 (anytime), no offpeak option. So how can a GLC-EUS journey cost an extra 50% of an advance fare when the journey is 3/4 times longer than a BHM-EUS journey. Then the best bit is all EUS-GLC journeys stop at Crewe, but the cheapest advance fare from Euston to Crewe is £100 yet going to glasgow would be £4.50 cheaper. So it would work out better to buy a advance fare to glasgow than to crewe, if you were going to crewe. And I think theres more examples where it cost more to get off early than to pay for the entire journey.
Hi buddy, great comment with lots of info thank you so much for watching and I’m sure you will be greatly appreciated by everybody who watches my video 🙌🤩
I really like what you are doing and I am subscribed but I would offer one word of caution, you want to be impartial but you often refer to only xxx amount or just - for a lot of people this can be huge sums. I would suggest you say what the price is a let them judge for themselves but it's only one small point - carry on with the great work!
For a bit of context, I went from Madrid to Sevilla (over 300 miles) last year which is further than London to Newcastle, and the first class return journey was less than £100 (Economy was under £50). UK railway prices by comparison don't seem very good value. And the Spanish rail system is superior, with much faster trains. The trip down to Sevilla didn't take much more than 3 hours. Our railway system is the consequence of allowing the private sector in, and paying train drivers extortionate salaries for which they still go on strike for.
Hi, I totally agree! 👍 I’ve tried the Spanish rail, I went from Madrid to Barcelona and it was hands down the best I’ve ever experienced. It really makes u realise that over here in the Uk we are years behind in all aspects🤦😂
Did you have to ask to move? I've won a seat frog auction and been allocated a K10 & K11 which are the airline layout seats. Can you just sit in any unreserved seat?
That looks like it'll ruffle the feathers of some other train operators. The trains from Devon are all total shit and if you pay for First , you can see the staff all laughing their heads off at you for getting robbed blind to their advantage. We thought we would have a long weekend in York..................the fare return in First for 2 was .........EIGHT HUNDRED QUID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Needless to say we stayed at home. Your journey looked excellent and so reasonable. The only thing is, why would anyone want to go to Birmingham??
@@tradingplaces787 They used to call the South Devon coast where I live The English Riviera - or as I call it 'La Cote D'Anglais'........makes it sound so expensive! and sunny. Such a bitch getting to LHR though. Have a great weekend Mark........................
Not sure what station you joined at to get to york, but likely you would be travelling with Crosscountry for most of the journey. And their 1st class prices are quite high, in fact usually its recommended to ticket split with any Crosscountry journeys as you can usually save quite a bit. And if you are travelling with 2 people, and your tickets cost above £100, a two together railcard would save you money even after paying for the £30 for the railcard. Lastly if you know what journeys you are making advance fares are definitely the way to save even some money. Add all of these and you defintiely save some money. Example Plymouth to York first class anytime returns (return within 1 month) £1,569 (no railcard discount), £1038.29 with discount. Ticket split with advance fare (2 weeks in advance) and 2 Together railcard discount £560.30. Or £849.80 with no railcard. This meant having to buy tickets for the following stations: Totnes, Taunton ,Bristol Temple Meads ,Cheltenham Spa ,Derby and Sheffield. Even if you aren't sure what train you are catching back, the ticket split option still come out better than non-ticket splitting for example £927.40 (no railcard) vs £611.80 (railcard discount). With tickets spltting at Exeter St Davids , Taunton , Bristol Parkway , Cheltenham Spa , Derby and Sheffield. That said Plymouth to York return in 1st. You are saving £50-80 going from ticketsplit flexible vs ticketsplit advance. Which personally for me unless you are know you are going to be there early and defintiely be on that train, paying that little bit extra for that flexibility is probably better. That fully said, personally I wouldnt go first class with XC, their first class service isnt the best givien the prices you are paying. Only time I would pay for first class for XC is if I know the trains will be busy in standard, which given the loss of the HSTs, is usually most of the time.
@@SFSEfartman Thanks for the info but to be honest I can get to Budapest or Istanbul in Club with BA for those prices and those places are ALOT more exciting than anywhere north of Watford.
I don’t know why but I wanna go on it now 😂 looks really good
Hi Mark, Great video just subscribed to your channel !
Hi Matthew, thank you so much for the sub 😁👍
I look forward to Fridays to see your videos! Keep up the great work. Love the cheers to the camera each time. So fun!
Hi Midgi, thank you so much for the kind words, it really does mean a lot and keeps me pushing on 🙌😁
I hope you’re having a great evening 🍷🤩
Thank you for watching and take care 😁
Excellent job on the vlog. Great tip on the 1st to Birmingham then standard beyond. I still have fond memories of the Virgin Train fare structure. I know it’s some time ago now but Avanti have advanced fares out of all recognition. Good luck mate
Hi Pnw, and thank you for the positive feedback 😁🙌
I totally agree with you… some of the prices they come up with are obscene 🤦
Have a great weekend and take care 😁
@@tradingplaces787 cheers mate and yourself
Mark, another great video. I must admit this service looks pretty impressive. I wish they would do something similar from London to Manchester and to Leeds too. However, UK train prices are prohibitively expensive and we could learn a lot from other countries such as Spain. I love your meticulous filming and use of music coupled with your great reporting. Thanks.
Hi Richard, thank for your positive feedback 🙌😁
This one surprised me tbh, it was a trip report that I really enjoyed from my side of the camera, it was a very nice way to travel and I’d highly recommend it 😁
I totally agree with you that prices are far too high.
Once you go anywhere past the midlands it often works out cheaper to fly which surely can’t be right?
Have a great week and thank for watching 😊
I don't often travel by train, but enjoyed this video. The extras in first class are definitely worth the money in my opinion and it's a no brainer to pay for first class over standard premium. So close to 1000 subscribers now, and rightfully so as your videos are always great!
Hi Mr, I thought it was a total bargain for £60.
I’m not sure it will get the views that some of my flight reviews have got so far but needs must as I’m without a passport and stuck in Blighty 😂
I hope you’re all good and getting ready to enjoy the weekend 🙌😁
Congratulations for reaching the 1,000 subscribers milestone!
Thank you Chris 🙌🤩🙌
Great video I actually got a deal from Milton to Birmingham foj first class for a amaizing 15 pounds. Great video
Thanks Elijah 👍😁
I prefer train travel and agree, Mark, that travelling first class, especially on longer journeys is worth it. The Avanti First class lounge looked great and better than what I remember of the Caledonian Sleeper lounge. Am travelling to Devon via London tomorrow, and will be good to compare LNER & GWR! 😊 👍
Hi Alan, I hope you’re well 😁
You won my Qatar airways first class Diptyque set last week 🙌
I think you must have missed my last video where you won the spin the wheel 😂
Check my last video out and send me a message with your address via my email tradingplaces787@gmail.com
And I’ll get it sent out to you 👍🤩
Another fabulous video. The First Class experience is definitely worth spending a bit more. I travelled over Sunday/Bank Holiday Monday from Crewe to London Euston with my grandson, and upgraded on the train to London to premium. It cost £45 which was definitely worth the money, so we had a 2 x seater with table. Unfortunately. the 1st class tickets were way too expensive, so you really got a super deal with your ticket.
Hi Jane, do you live near Crewe? I bet I’m not too far away as I’m from Congleton 😁
First Class train tickets from the northwest can be so pricey.
From Manchester sometimes it's actually cheaper to fly business class with BA than to take the train with Avanti. It really highlights how overpriced train travel can be.
The £65 quid fare to Birmingham is a bargain and I’d recommend giving it a try if you head down to London again 🙌
Thank you so much for watching and have a great weekend 😁
@@tradingplaces787 I live not too far from Chester, but had to get a connecting train from Crewe. If I'm travelling on my own in the future, I will see if it is cheaper to go via Manchester or Birmingham to London. You never know.
😁👍
I disembarked in Birmingham, grabbed a coffee from Pret, and then got on a new train, sitting in economy for my final leg to Stoke-on-Trent. The first-class ticket direct to Stoke-on-Trent was about £150, but by booking the second leg in economy, my whole trip only cost me £80 and only took about 20 minutes longer 👍
Your videos are always great 👍🏽
Hi M, thank you.. I enjoyed this one and would recommend it 🙌😁
Great review, BTW!
Really nice video.on this Luxury train review. What would be interesting is a video with each train companies the pro's and con's from basic economy up to 1st class. I know for instance pricing you can go online in advance of your trip or trip if you know your destinations and get a half decent price. That's what I did the last time I was in the UK. However I did not go online as I have relations and friends who'd watch out for pricing changes and reserve when a great deal. There you can save a lot of money up to 70%. However it was a price for a certain train and a specific time and it usually wasn't direct you usually had to take 2 to 3 train to get to your destination. So what I am saying and most likely should have said there are options lol. Again great video thanks
I regularly do the London to Manchester trip for football. Huge price difference between premium and 1st with identical seating. Food portions are tiny and fairly meh. Save your money. Travel premium and buy your food at the many eateries near the station. £135 v £300 on match days!
Hi Sandip, thats a huge difference. The cheese and mushroom croque was good, but it certainly wasn’t that good 😂
Which football team do you support? 👀😂
@tradingplaces787 Utd. Go up regularly and always went in 1st before I gave premium a try. Lounge is all very well but the £180 saving trumps all
The bizarre thing I find with avanti, and well virgin trains back when it was virgin trains, is I find the advance fare price structure for their journeys doesnt always reflect the journey time/length. And sometimes longer journeys are cheaper than the short journey despite stopping at that station (I'll explain this in a bit)
Like for example Birmingham to Euston is a 1 hour 30 min journey and the cheapest 1st fare you can get is £60 (no railcard discount). With the most expensive being on the day fare of £100.50 (offpeak) £138.90 (anytime).
Glasgow to Euston is 4 hours 30 mins (or 6 hrs if you go via New street) and the cheapest 1st fare is £95.50 (no railcard discount)
With the most expensive being £270.10 (anytime), no offpeak option.
So how can a GLC-EUS journey cost an extra 50% of an advance fare when the journey is 3/4 times longer than a BHM-EUS journey.
Then the best bit is all EUS-GLC journeys stop at Crewe, but the cheapest advance fare from Euston to Crewe is £100 yet going to glasgow would be £4.50 cheaper. So it would work out better to buy a advance fare to glasgow than to crewe, if you were going to crewe. And I think theres more examples where it cost more to get off early than to pay for the entire journey.
Hi buddy, great comment with lots of info thank you so much for watching and I’m sure you will be greatly appreciated by everybody who watches my video 🙌🤩
I really like what you are doing and I am subscribed but I would offer one word of caution, you want to be impartial but you often refer to only xxx amount or just - for a lot of people this can be huge sums. I would suggest you say what the price is a let them judge for themselves but it's only one small point - carry on with the great work!
Hi, I understand your point and always welcome healthy feedback 😊👍
Thank you for reaching out and also thank you very much for the sub 🙌🤩
For a bit of context, I went from Madrid to Sevilla (over 300 miles) last year which is further than London to Newcastle, and the first class return journey was less than £100 (Economy was under £50). UK railway prices by comparison don't seem very good value. And the Spanish rail system is superior, with much faster trains. The trip down to Sevilla didn't take much more than 3 hours. Our railway system is the consequence of allowing the private sector in, and paying train drivers extortionate salaries for which they still go on strike for.
Hi, I totally agree! 👍
I’ve tried the Spanish rail, I went from Madrid to Barcelona and it was hands down the best I’ve ever experienced.
It really makes u realise that over here in the Uk we are years behind in all aspects🤦😂
Virgin was true 1st class and price was reasonable
Hi Ian, never got to try Virgin sadly but I’ve heard they might be coming back 👀😂
Hope you’re well and thank you for watching 😊
Did you have to ask to move? I've won a seat frog auction and been allocated a K10 & K11 which are the airline layout seats. Can you just sit in any unreserved seat?
@@stevej8037 Hi, you can sit anywhere that’s not reserved if it’s not busy 😁👍
@@tradingplaces787 great. Thanks for the quick reply.
Not a bad service for the money
Hi Dave, thank you for watching and have a great weekend 😊
That looks like it'll ruffle the feathers of some other train operators. The trains from Devon are all total shit and if you pay for First , you can see the staff all laughing their heads off at you for getting robbed blind to their advantage. We thought we would have a long weekend in York..................the fare return in First for 2 was .........EIGHT HUNDRED QUID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Needless to say we stayed at home. Your journey looked excellent and so reasonable. The only thing is, why would anyone want to go to Birmingham??
£800? 🤦
Birmingham seemed like the promised land compared to where I was heading...
The English Riviera, aka Stoke-on-Trent 😂
@@tradingplaces787 They used to call the South Devon coast where I live The English Riviera - or as I call it 'La Cote D'Anglais'........makes it sound so expensive! and sunny. Such a bitch getting to LHR though. Have a great weekend Mark........................
Not sure what station you joined at to get to york, but likely you would be travelling with Crosscountry for most of the journey. And their 1st class prices are quite high, in fact usually its recommended to ticket split with any Crosscountry journeys as you can usually save quite a bit. And if you are travelling with 2 people, and your tickets cost above £100, a two together railcard would save you money even after paying for the £30 for the railcard. Lastly if you know what journeys you are making advance fares are definitely the way to save even some money. Add all of these and you defintiely save some money.
Example Plymouth to York first class anytime returns (return within 1 month) £1,569 (no railcard discount), £1038.29 with discount.
Ticket split with advance fare (2 weeks in advance) and 2 Together railcard discount £560.30. Or £849.80 with no railcard. This meant having to buy tickets for the following stations: Totnes, Taunton ,Bristol Temple Meads ,Cheltenham Spa ,Derby and Sheffield.
Even if you aren't sure what train you are catching back, the ticket split option still come out better than non-ticket splitting for example
£927.40 (no railcard) vs £611.80 (railcard discount). With tickets spltting at Exeter St Davids , Taunton , Bristol Parkway , Cheltenham Spa , Derby and Sheffield.
That said Plymouth to York return in 1st. You are saving £50-80 going from ticketsplit flexible vs ticketsplit advance. Which personally for me unless you are know you are going to be there early and defintiely be on that train, paying that little bit extra for that flexibility is probably better.
That fully said, personally I wouldnt go first class with XC, their first class service isnt the best givien the prices you are paying. Only time I would pay for first class for XC is if I know the trains will be busy in standard, which given the loss of the HSTs, is usually most of the time.
@@SFSEfartman Thanks for the info but to be honest I can get to Budapest or Istanbul in Club with BA for those prices and those places are ALOT more exciting than anywhere north of Watford.
Let’s see what mr entitled is moaning about
😂😂😂!
Hi John, I hope you’re well 😊👍
Hearing you refer to CRISPS as POTATO CHIPS, not once but twice......you aren't American, so stop acting like it.
It said Potato chips on the bag so? 🤷🏻😂
@@tradingplaces787 You should be ashamed of yourself! Selling out your country like that.....who cares what the bag says!
Lol typical racist reform bot
I fucking hate euston station
It’s very grim 🤦😂