Book Early And Save: Yes
**Tickets Available from: 12 weeks ahead typically, construction works can delay the release of tickets.
The types of ticket
Up to three types of tickets will be available from 12 weeks ahead
They each have different terms around exchanges and refunds, so this enables a choice of flexibility.
(1) Advance tickets
- Can only be used on the train selected when booking.
- Will be cheaper the further ahead it is booked.
- Seat reservation included at no additional cost.
- Cannot be refunded.
- Can be exchanged pre-departure to an alternative Avanti West Coast train on the same route.
- Exchange requires a payment of an admin fee of £10, plus any difference in price with the replacement ticket (it will be more expensive because prices rise as the travel date approaches).
(2) Anytime tickets
- Can be used on any departure on a selected travel date.
- Sold at a flat rate price, so these tickets are not cheaper if booked ahead.
- Seat reservation included at no additional cost, but it can be transferred to an alternative departure, or you can opt to board a different train on the travel date without a reservation.
- Can be refunded before the booked travel date, or up to 28 days after.
- Exchange does not apply - if you subsequently want to travel on a different day or departure, you can refund and re-book.
(3) Off Peak tickets
- On Monday to Thursday cannot be used on departures which leave London Euston between 04:29 to 09:26 and between 15:00 and 18:45.
- Sold at a flat rate price, so these tickets are not cheaper if booked ahead.
- Seat reservation included at no additional cost, but it can be transferred to an alternative departure, or you can opt to board a different train on the travel date without a reservation; if it is departing at the valid times.
- Can be refunded before the booked travel date, or up to 28 days after.
- Exchange requires payment of any difference in price with the replacement ticket
More info about how to change your journey / make an exchange is available on this guide
Saving Money
The further ahead you book Advance tickets the cheaper the ticket should be.
Avanti West Coast is claiming that if you book 12 weeks ahead, travellers typically save up to 70% and booking 8 weeks ahead typically saves up to 42% - compared to the on the day price of Off-Peak tickets.
Though there are likely to be significant differences in prices between departures on your travel date.
In particular you can save typically save more than £50 on Monday to Thursday if you opt for departures which leave London between 09:10 and 15:00 and after 19:00
Though generally the trains which which depart London in the middle of the day and late evenings tend to be cheaper.
If you know that you will be taking this journey on a specific date more than 12 weeks ahead of your travel, you can use this guide to check when the tickets will become available.
You can also set up personalized ticket alerts for the journey you want to take.
If you will be traveling on Friday to Sunday and don't want want to book Advance tickets - because you want the peace of mind of being able to refund at ticket and /or the freedom to make a last minute choice of departure, you may as well ignore the Anytime ticket and book an Off-Peak ticket - it will be cheaper.
Booking on the day of travel
Advance tickets are now not taken off sale until 10 mins prior to departure, but if you will be booking on the day of travel, the Off-Peak tickets typically become the cheaper option - and you will be charged the Off-Peak rate if you book at the station.
Though if you will be departing London Euston between 04:29 to 09:26 and between 15:00 and 18:45 on Mondays to Thursdays you will have to book Anytime tickets at the (much) higher price.
Travelling on Saturday-Sunday
Maintenance work on the railway is periodically undertaken at weekends and if it is scheduled on your travel date, it can affect when tickets will be released for sale.
If you're looking up a journey less than around 10 - 12 weeks ahead and the cheaper 'Advance' tickets aren't available, it can be a good indication that works will be impacting on your travel date.
It can be worth checking this on the Avanti West Coast website.
Making an end-to-end journey will still be possible, though you MAY ultimately have to take a substitution bus service for part of the trip.
It's the confirmation of these alternative travel arrangements which can hold up the release of the tickets for sale.
Though the Advance type of ticket won't be made available, if a part of a journey then requires a bus substitution, or a train provided by a different company.
Reservations
When you book an Advance ticket for a London to Birmingham journey with Avanti online, you will be automatically assigned a seat(s) - because you will have to travel by that specific departure
Because Off-Peak and Anytime tickets (usually) allow the freedom to choose between departures, you can request complimentary reservations when booking these tickets - find out more about this.
However, if you buy Off Peak or Anytime tickets just prior to boarding at the station, seat reservations won't be available
That's because reservations at stations need to be booked at least an hour before departure; so also keep that in mind if you will be using a rail pass, including a Britrail or Eurail pass.
Receiving Your Ticket(s)
If you book with Avanti West Coast, you will have up to four options for receiving and using your ticket(s) are:
(1) Using e-tickets:
Book a ticket online and you will receive an e-ticket attached to your confirmation email.
Avanti West Coast allows multiple options for using these e-tickets, you can download them to your mobile device, or store them in the Avanti West Coast app.
When boarding you can access your ticket(s) on your phone and use it to open the ticket gates.
(2) Collecting from the 'Fast-Track' ticket machines at the station.
You will receive a booking reference number on your order confirmation email and you can use this reference number to collect ticket(s) from a 'Fast-Track' ticket machine.
You will need to enter your reference number into the machine, so make sure you'll have easy access to it when you are using the machine.
You will also need to insert the specific credit or debit card you used when making the booking, so have that with you too.
Showing the email you have received to staff at the ticket gates won't get you on to the train, nor will this be valid if you can only show the email to the conductor when you are on the train.
If you forget to bring your ticket(s) with you to the station, but do have the card with you that you used when booking, you can use the machines to collect your ticket(s).
Take your time and take care that you have picked up all your ticket(s) and seat reservations.
You will then need to out the ticket(s) through the ticket gates when boarding.
(3) Opt to pay an additional charge to have your tickets posted to you.
The potential to save by splitting tickets on Trainline
It can be worth looking up this journey on Trainline.
It can be possible to save money by using split ticketing, with the booking process being no more complicated than booking conventional tickets - find out more
