Got Eurostar loyalty points? Use them before 29 October to maximise your miles

How Club Eurostar works

Before going into what's changing in more detail, it's first worth a brief explainer of how Club Eurostar works – as this will impact the effective monetary value of any points you've accrued.

Club Eurostar is completely free to join. When you purchase Eurostar tickets in your name while logged in, you earn points to redeem on future purchases. Depending on how many points you've accrued in a membership year, you'll be in one of four loyalty tiers – each giving the option to earn more and more points, as well as offering access to various other perks, such as companion vouchers and lounge access:

• Classique: Up to 499 points (a spend of up to £416). You automatically earn 1.2 reward points for every £1 spent. This is the standard rate to earn points and this isn't changing as part of the shake-up.

• Avantage: 500 to 2,899 points. Every time you earn points at the standard rate, you'll earn a 25% points bonus.

• Carte Blanche: 2,900 to 4,999 points. Every time you earn points at the standard rate, you'll earn a 50% bonus.

• Étoile: 5,000 or more points. Every time you earn points at the standard rate, you'll earn a 75% bonus.

When you move up a tier, you stay at this new level for the rest of the current membership year, and all of the next one. If you don't earn ANY points over a two-year period, any points you've previously accrued will expire automatically.

You'll soon need more points to nab Eurostar 'freebies'

Once you've earned enough loyalty points, you can use these to redeem 'free' fares and upgrades – and it's this element that's changing for purchases made on or from 29 October (you can still purchase at the current levels for travel AFTER the changes take force).

Tickets for travel between France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, plus upgrades to these tickets, are NOT impacted by the changes.

Eurostar says it's making the changes to make sure it can "continue offering valuable rewards and benefits to members in the future".

Is now a good time to redeem my Eurostar points?

Eurostar typically runs between four and five sales each year – and they tend to crop up in January, April, June, September, and November. Sales have previously started from £35 for a one-way ticket and £70 for a return.

Point redemption limits are set regardless of the fare price. However, it could be handy to make your purchase during a sale if you don't have enough in points to cover all of the fares you need – as then you'd save on any monetary value you'd need to spend on top.

Of course there's no guarantee Eurostar will launch a sale this September though.

How to redeem your Eurostar rewards points

1. Log in to your Eurostar account online or via the app.

2. After you've decided on your journey and proceeded to checkout, select 'Pay with Club Eurostar points'.

3. There, depending on how many points you've accrued, you'll be able to pay for some or all of your journey with points and the rest with cash.
   
   At this stage, you can also choose to convert 200 points into £5 off your booking, up to £30 per journey. This value will remain the same after the changes come into force.

You can't earn reward points for tickets or upgrades purchased with loyalty points.