I thought I would include a post on intercity train travel in the UK as it’s fairly idiosyncratic compared to the rest of Europe. I had two round trips from London to Liverpool and back during my trip.

Before I get to the intercity portion, I will note that traveling on the tube in London has become super easy now that you can use Apple Pay or Google Pay to tap in and out of each station. While I was there I used the tube, Docklands Light Rail and the Thameslink, which are all separate transit systems in London, but I could seamlessly interchange between them and the ticket system would automatically work out my fare subject to a daily maximum amount. You can use your Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Ink Preferred or US Bank Altitude Reserve to max out the 3x earnings on these tickets.

As for the intercity trains, there are three basic types of tickets, advance, off-peak and anytime. Advance requires you to take a specific train. Off-peak allows you to be flexible on the train you take as long as you take it after 9:30am Monday through Friday or on weekends/holidays. Anytime, as you would expect, is the most expensive ticket which includes the peak time trains.

There are several different companies offering inter-city trains in the UK, but each has a franchise over certain routes. For the Northwest routes like Liverpool and Manchester, the current franchise holder is Avanti West Coast. It used to be Virgin Trains until a few years ago.

There are also regional routes offered by yet different companies with different fare structures. For example, you can take Transpennine Express or Northern trains between Manchester Airport and Liverpool. One company might be quicker, but the other might be cheaper.

Avanti West Coast has three classes of service, standard, premium and first class. The cost of buying tickets for premium and first class in advance were ridiculous and it’s only a 2 hour 20 minute journey so I looked for standard tickets. You can generally buy tickets about 90 days out, but keep an eye on the train schedules as they can change subject to engineering works, strikes and other issues.

For my journeys to Liverpool, I found off-peak tickets for £109 round trip. Those allowed me to select a seat on a specific off-peak train but keep the possibility of taking a different train if I had any issues (or decided to sleep in, etc.) The price was a bit higher than an advance ticket for a specific train, but I wanted the flexibility just in case of any unforeseen events.

I found an app called SeatFrog which works in conjunction with the train companies to auction off unused first class seats. You can put in a bid for each specific train (minimum £35 plus a £3 fee). If you win, you get to sit in first class. If not, you don’t lose anything.

On Saturday morning I actually walked to Euston Station, where the Liverpool (and Manchester) trains always depart. My train ticket did not include the tube, but as mentioned above, I could have just tapped in and out of the tube. As I had the time, I just decided to walk the 45 minutes or so to get some steps in.

I had selected a seat on the 9:43am train so I found my window seat in the 2×2 standard class cabin. I had also put in a bid using SeatFrog, but I lost the auction. A man approached and said that he and his son had the two seats together including the one I was sitting in. I knew I was in the right seat, but I wasn’t in the mood for an argument, so I told him he and his son could sit there.

I had read that Avanti sometimes offers £25 upgrades on weekend trains, so I went out to the platform and asked one of the attendants. She said yes, go ahead and find an open seat in First Class and let the conductor know you want to upgrade when he comes round to check tickets.

I found an open seat in First Class which is arranged 2×1 with fewer rows so there’s much more shoulder and leg room. You have to check the electronic seat sign by the window which shows if the seat is reserved and from which station. I grabbed one of the last available ones. In fact, the carriage filled up so much, people were sitting on the floor at one end of the cabin, even in First Class. Keep in mind these are almost all people headed up to Liverpool for the match, both Brighton fans and Liverpool fans.

In the end, no conductor came by to check tickets so I got a free upgrade. Weekend trains don’t include free food or drinks, but I had brought a bottle of water with me and I did not want to get up during the trip as my seat wasn’t reserved so any of the floor sitters could technically grab it if was empty.

For my return from Liverpool that night, I actually won my SeatFrog bid so I sat in First Class again. Unfortunately for me, it was possibly a waste of money as again, nobody came by to check tickets. Of course, the standard carriage could have still had conductors checking tickets. I was still glad of the extra leg room after a long day at the match and the pub.

On Tuesday morning, I had booked the 10:43am train up to Liverpool which was busy given all of us headed up for the Champions League match plus people traveling for work. I again won my SeatFrog bid and sat in a mostly empty First Class carriage. This time my seat came with some food and drink. A conductor came by to check tickets so I showed him my original ticket in my Apple wallet and the Seatfrog app showing the upgrade.

As you can see, I was at a table seat. There are power outlets (plug and USB) and what looks like wireless chargers, but they never seemed to work. There was also a good spot for my suitcase right near my seat. Nobody else sat at my table during the journey.

After we set off, I was presented with a menu. I was hoping for lunch as I had already had breakfast at the hotel, but alas, second breakfast it was.

I decided on the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. It came with toast. I also ordered a cup of tea.

The food was pretty good. The eggs actually were real eggs and not powdered. It was definitely a relaxing journey not being cramped in a standard seat and carriage.

For my journey back to London the next day, my upgrade through SeatFrog did not clear. I did not want to bid more than about £40 and it went way higher than that. Here’s what the standard class carriage looked like before it totally filled up.

As you can see it’s much tighter. There is still power below the tray table and an arm rest, but it was way too small and my seatmate monopolized it. There are also table seats in standard class if you’re traveling with a group.

After I got back to Euston, I went back onto the Northern Line tube (which included lugging my bag up and down some steps) to Tottenham Court Road and then switched to the new Elizabeth Line which got me all the way to Heathrow. From arrival at Euston to walking into the Heathrow T3 departures area was under an hour.

Up Next: Cathay Pacific First & Business Lounge T3 LHR Review

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