TrainPal

Eurostar has launched a flash sale with fares at £35 one-way, meaning you can get £70 return tickets to Paris, Lille or Brussels from London St Pancras International – the cheapest price for Eurostar fares. The sale ends at 10.59pm on Thursday 12 September, but it's best to do it ASAP as the cheapest fares often sell out fast.

The £35 fares are for travel from Tuesday 24 September to Wednesday 27 November, depending on availability (though some dates are excluded, see 'More info' below). Plus, we've a code to get an extra 5% off – so you could bag a return journey from £66.50 – or book via Uber and you'll get 10% credit back. Here are your booking options:

Option 1: Book via third-party booking site TrainPal to get a 2% or 5% discount

Sign up or log in to TrainPal*, and enter the code MSE35 at the checkout. If you're new to TrainPal you'll get 5% off with this code, making the cheapest return journey £66.50. If you've already got an account with it, you'll get 2% off via the same code, making the cheapest return £68.60.

To find the £35 Eurostar fares, you'll need to enter your destination (Paris, Lille, Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Brussels) and search for a return journey – you won't see the extra cheap fares if you search for one-way only. 

TrainPal told us you can use the discount code once per account and it's valid for 90 days once redeemed. The code is active until Tuesday 31 December, so even if you decide not to use the code for Eurostar tickets, you can still use it on a different journey booked via TrainPal. There are no fees when booking via TrainPal and you'll receive digital tickets (same as booking direct).

When registering with TrainPal, you might receive an email from sister brand Trip.com too. Don't worry, this won't sign you up to Trip.com – TrainPal also uses the Trip.com email domain when sending emails to its users.

Option 2: Book tickets via Uber to get 10% credit back

You can also book train tickets, including Eurostar, via Uber and get 10% back in Uber credit. There's no booking fee here either. The Uber credit will appear within 60 days of completing your journey, and it'll be valid for a further 180 days – it can be used on a future train or taxi booking, or Uber Eats order. This could be a good option if you regularly use the Uber app for travelling as you're essentially getting cashback to use towards your next journey.

Option 3: Book tickets directly with Eurostar, without the extra discount or credit

Head to the Eurostar website. You'll need to book a return journey to get the cheapest £35 tickets, as they're not available on single journeys.

How good is the deal and which services are cheap tickets available on?

Eurostar wouldn't tell us how many fares are at £35, but when we checked on Tuesday 10 September there were a good amount of £35 seats across both weekdays and weekends too, so it's possible to secure cheap seats for a long weekend. Return ticket prices usually range from £39 to £339, and the cheapest of these tend to be very limited, mostly off-peak and need to be booked well in advance, so we reckon this is a good deal given we could find plenty of £35 fares. 

The £35 seats are randomly spread across all included dates on both peak and off-peak trains, so it could be trial and error finding the cheap seats. Keep in mind you'll have a better chance of snagging a cheap fare if you're flexible on your travel times and dates. 

See our Cheap train tickets guide for more ways to save.

Getting a railcard could put you on the right track for some decent savings, especially if you take the train often, as these cards get you one-third off most rail fares. If you want to get on board for some more discounts, you can get 34% off the cost of a digital one year railcard (which means the railcard is stored on your phone) when you purchase via third-party booking site TrainPal.

Note: With this deal, the railcard can only be accessed via TrainPal. You can't transfer it to the railcard app after purchasing.

To get this offer, you'll need to be new to TrainPal and also buy a train ticket via its app or website. Buying the train ticket will activate your digital railcard, and you'll need to do it within 30 days of your railcard being issued. So only use this offer if you're happy to buy a train ticket from TrainPal (there's no minimum spend so you could just search for the cheapest possible fare) or if you already had a train trip planned in the next month.

How the offer works 

Railcards normally cost £30 for one year (or £70 for three years on some cards), but enter the code MSEONLY when selecting your digital railcard at TrainPal to get it for £19.80 for one year.

Warning: While this discount code will work for a three year Railcard, the discount is capped at £11 (which is 34% off a one year Railcard). So, you're better off using the code for a one year Railcard as you won't get the full 34% off a three year one. If you want to get 34% off a three year Railcard, try this deal at Trip.com

The offer ends at 11.59pm on Tuesday 31 December 2024. The code is limited to one digital railcard, and remember you need to be new to TrainPal.

Here's how to use the code:

• Sign up for a free account at TrainPal. If you're given the option to enter the code while signing up, you can – enter MSEONLY in the 'Promo code (optional)' box.
• Once you're signed in to TrainPal, select the account/member icon and then 'Promo Codes'. Or in the app, go to the 'Account' tab and tap 'Vouchers & Promo Code'.
• If you entered the code while signing up, your 34% off voucher will appear here. If you didn't, enter MSEONLY in the 'Enter promo code' box ('Enter code' in the app). The voucher will then be added to this section.
• Go to the 'Railcards' section (the 'Buy Tickets' tab, then the 'Get Railcards' button in the app) and choose the railcard you want. The discount should be automatically applied.
• To activate your digital railcard, you'll need to buy any train ticket through TrainPal within 30 days of the railcard being issued. TrainPal says it doesn't charge a booking fee. If you don't activate your railcard, you'll be issued an automatic refund.

The code can only be used to buy one of the following digital railcards: 16-17 Saver, 16-25 Railcard, 26-30 Railcard, Family & Friends' Railcard, Network Railcard, Senior Railcard and Two Together Railcard. The offer excludes the Disabled Person's Railcard and Veterans' Railcard.

How to maximise the discount

Newbies to TrainPal can also get 5% off their first UK train ticket purchase with the same code MSEONLY – so you could use this code when buying the train ticket needed to activate your railcard.

You don't have to purchase a railcard if you want to use this 5% off code. It is open to all newbies to TrainPal making their first UK train ticket purchase until 11.59pm on Tuesday 31 December.

See our cheap train tickets guide for more ways to save on rail fares.