Eurostar Standard Premier vs Business Premier - Explained

Business travel is often required to meet clients and customers, sign contracts, attend trade fairs and conferences, and to help grow your company into new regions.

For business trips to Europe, Eurostar train travel can be a great option. If you’re planning to book a train to your next European meeting, you might be wondering about the difference between Eurostar Standard Premier vs Business Premier. This guide has you covered.

We’ll also touch on easier ways to manage international travel expenses, with Wise Business.

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Eurostar travel classes

Travelling for business means making the most of every minute, and achieving a balance between efficiency and productivity while you’re on the road. Eurostar can be a great way to travel to Europe for work, with fast arrival times, frequent departures from London, and multiple destination options.

Travelling by train can be more convenient than heading to the airport, with a shorter wait time, and more luggage allowance. Plus, if you choose a premium ticket class you could have easy ongoing access to facilities to keep on working, such as a business lounge, wifi, and a train seat which makes it easy to charge your devices and get on with the day job.

Eurostar travel times are pretty impressive - just about 2 hours and 15 minutes from London to Paris for example - and you’ll arrive right in the centre of the city for easy access to your destination. When you’re trying to make the most of every moment, that can be a great bonus.

Eurostar travellers can choose between three travel classes¹:

• Eurostar Standard
• Eurostar Standard Premier
• Eurostar Business Premier

This guide will focus on the differences between Standard Premier and Business Premier, so we can walk through which may best suit business travellers. We’ll take a look at the Eurostar business lounge London, and how it works, and also dive into the Eurostar Business Premier price vs the costs you’ll pay for a Eurostar Standard Premier ticket.

What is Eurostar Standard Premier?

If you’re travelling for work it might make sense to upgrade your ticket class to get extra benefits which can make it easier to be productive as you travel, and ensure you arrive fresh and ready for your meetings. You’ll be able to use the journey time as part of your normal working day, to network with colleagues, or even just relax and get into the right frame of mind for your day’s meetings.

Eurostar Standard Premier class travel can offer some great perks for business travellers compared to Standard travel class²:

• Spacious seats with power sockets so you can keep on working
• Get a light meal served at your seat, or order from the on board cafe
• Get extra luggage allowance - 2 cases plus one small hand luggage item
• Exchange your tickets with no extra fee up to 7 days before travel

Naturally, to get these benefits you’ll need to pay an extra fee compared to standard class travel. However, the exact cost will depend on where you’re headed and what time trains you need to take.

Depending on the specific trains you select, a return trip from London to Paris in Standard Premier will cost between 160 EUR and 587 EUR. To put that into context, the same journey with a Standard ticket is likely to cost between 88 EUR and 458 EUR³.

What is Eurostar Business Premier?

Another option is to upgrade to Eurostar Business Premier instead. This is the top tier of tickets and offers all the perks you’d expect from a travel class which has been optimised to be comfortable, flexible and good for work trips.

Here are some of the benefits you’ll get with a Eurostar Business Premier ticket⁴:

• Access to the Eurostar Business Lounge
• Dedicated entry gates which are open right up to departure
• Extra spacious seats with power sockets so you can keep on working
• Get a 3 course meal served at your seat with champagne, plus drinks as you travel
• Get extra luggage allowance - 3 cases plus one small hand luggage item
• Exchange your tickets with no extra fee or get a refund after you travel if your plans change
• Guarantee of a seat if you change your plans on the day of travel, on many routes

Eurostar Business Premier tickets have flat fees regardless of the train time you select. To give an example, a return journey from London to Paris with a Business Premier ticket usually costs 650 EUR.

Eurostar Business Lounge London

Eurostar Business Premier and Carte Blanche customers can access business lounges in London, Paris and Brussels, with alternative lounge access in other departure stations.

If you’re using the London Eurostar Business Lounge you’ll benefit from⁵:

• Comfortable seating areas to network, chat or get on with work
• Free wifi to keep up with emails
• Newspapers and magazines if you’d rather relax
• Free drinks and light food, all through the day
• Smoothies in the morning - and cocktails from 3pm until close (This service is offered in London - but elsewhere availability varies depending on the lounge you choose, check the details before travel)

Eurostar Standard Premier vs Business Premier - comparison

Not sure which is best for you from Eurostar Standard Premier vs Business Premier - here’s a quick head to head comparison:

Eurostar destinations from London

Direct from London, you can take the Eurostar to:

• Paris and Paris Disneyland
• Amsterdam
• Calais
• Brussels
• Lille
• Rotterdam

With just one change, you can also get to destinations including Nantes, Strasbourg and Toulouse. It’s also worth remembering when you’re comparing Eurostar travel options against flights, that train travel typically means arriving in the centre of the city you’re headed to - as opposed to flights which may arrive at out of town airports, necessitating further travel.

This extra travel from the airport to the meetings you’re attending costs - both in terms of time and money. Both are precious resources when planning business travel, so comparing all your options is essential.

Still not sure if Eurostar is right for your business trip to Europe? Here’s a look at the average travel times you might expect for some key business travel destinations served by Eurostar:

Manage travel expenses with Wise Business

Wise business accounts can be just what you need to manage international travel expenses. Order expense cards for your team, and set spending limits for security and convenience.

Whenever you or a team member spends with their Wise Business card, smart autoconvert technology will automatically switch your balance to the currency you need with the Google exchange rate and low fees from 0.41%. That can mean your money goes further when you travel for work.

Open a Wise business account online or in the Wise app, for a one time low fee. You’ll get a feature packed account which lets you hold and exchange 40+ currencies, receive payments in 8+ currencies like a local, and spend all over the world with Wise debit and expense cards.

Once your account is up and running, there’s no maintenance cost and no minimum balance, so you just pay low, transparent fees for the services you need. See how Wise can help you connect with customers and clients all over the world, today.

Get started with Wise Business

Ultimately, whatever you decide on the Eurostar Standard Premier vs Business Premier debate, train travel to Europe can be a good option for your business trip. Trains depart London frequently, and offer a comfortable and convenient route to many major European business destinations. And with access to comfortable seats, power sockets and in-train dining, you can continue working easily as you travel.

Use this guide to decide if Eurostar is right for you, and don’t forget to check out Wise business as a smart way to cut the costs of business travel even further, with low cost currency conversion and smart multi-currency account options.

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Sources last checked March 22, 2023