Does Seatfrog really get you cheap train upgrades?

Simon Calder answers your questions on train seat upgrades, passport validity and the EU maximum-stay rule for UK citizens

Using apps to bid for middle-of-the-day trips may be worthwhile (Simon Calder)

Q While travelling first class on Avanti from London Euston to Wilmslow, a wonderful member of the crew checking tickets told us all to download the Seatfrog app and bid for an upgrade! He said: “If you pick the right timings you will more than likely succeed! You’ll save hundreds.”

I think he may have been close to retirement to share this information with passengers. We have all now got the app. Have you tried it, and does it work?

Barbara K

A Long-distance train operators such as Avanti West Coast and its east coast main line rival, LNER, are extremely keen to fill seats and maximise revenue – especially so with rail usage still 20 per cent down on the pre-pandemic era. Now Avanti has followed LNER in adopting Seatfrog, an independently created app that offers “targeted upsell opportunities” – in other words, on-the-day train upgrades.

You are probably familiar with Weekend First, which entices standard passengers into seats on Saturdays and Sundays that would otherwise go empty. Avanti West Coast also has “standard premium”, which offers first-class seats without the complimentary refreshments. But Seatfrog works seven days a week and takes you from standard to first – if you have a winning bid.

If your train has a Seatfrog allocation, auctions generally start 24 hours before departure and end 30 minutes before your train leaves the first station on its route. You make bid of upwards of £5. Half an hour before departure you are told whether or not you have “won”. Of course the trick is to pay just enough for an upgrade, but not too much. Personally, on a sub-two-hour journey from Euston to Wilmslow, the most I would ever pay for an upgrade is £20.

Don’t expect Seatfrog availability on a Monday morning or Friday evening train from Manchester to London, but for middle-of-the-day trips it may be worthwhile.

When Seatfrog first appeared on LNER in 2018, I initially had some success, but after a few bid failures I don’t usually try. Having been reminded by you, though, I will have another go.

For frequent fliers renewing their passport is problematic to say the least (Getty)

Q My passport runs out in September, and I clearly need to apply for a new one. But while I am waiting for the new one, can I travel on my existing passport?

Kim F, via the latest Ask Me Anything at independent.co.uk

A The short answer is no: assuming you will apply online (which, these difficult days, is the only way I recommend to renew a UK passport), then you will be asked to post in your existing passport. At which point you are grounded and can do little more than hope for the best.

The perils of passport renewal are haunting many people at the moment: HM Passport Office says you need to allow 10 weeks even for a simple replacement. For those who travel abroad frequently – whether on holiday, for family visits, on business or a combination – that immediately presents a problem. Straightforward renewals are generally taking three weeks or less, but that cannot be relied upon. People who travel frequently are in a very difficult position (one in 70 passport applications fails to make the 10-week limit). Fast-track and same-day appointments are extremely scarce.

If you really need to have a passport available at all times, then it is legally possible – with supporting evidence – to obtain a second one. Right now, with so much uncertainty about the time it will take, that looks a sensible way to proceed. The easiest way to prove your need for a second passport is an explanation from your employer as to why you need it.

One question I should ask: does your passport really run out in September? Some people have been fooled by false assertions that UK passports expire exactly 10 years after their issue date. While some of them do, many do not. What is correct is that since Brexit, British travellers are treated by the EU as “third country nationals” – meaning that you cannot enter with a passport that has had its 10th birthday.

The ‘90/180-day’ rule for UK citizens staying in the EU applies to Switzerland too (Getty)

Q May I ask two questions about the “90/180” rule for UK citizens staying in the European Union? First, is the 90-day limit every 180 days based on looking back 180 days from today, and looking forward 180 days? Second, do visits to, say, the Schengen area countries of Norway and Switzerland count within the 90 days, even though they are not in the EU?

‘Pie Thagoram’

A The maximum-stay rule that the UK asked to apply to British travellers visiting the EU after Brexit is easy to state: as “third-country nationals” we can stay no more than 90 days in any 180. But applying that rule is trickier. It is easiest just to look back 90 days. If you have not been in Europe at all during that time, then you can stay for a full 90 days. You will then have reached the limit of 90 days in any 180, and must immediately leave and stay away for a further 90 days.

If you have been in Europe at any time in the previous 90, though, you must subtract those days – until they are more than 90 days in the past, at which point their effect is extinguished. Sorry – I realise it still sounds complicated, and welcome any suggestions about how to explain it more clearly.

For your second question: when I talk about the “European Union”, I am being loose in my terminology. Ireland is not part of the equation: there are no limits on the time a British citizen can spend there. The abovementioned rules apply as a whole to the Schengen area – comprising most other EU nations plus, yes, Switzerland and Norway, as well as Iceland and some smaller countries. A day spent in Finland counts the same as one spent in Portugal, and these days are aggregated regardless of where they were incurred.

The “non-Schengen” nations, though, are different. Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania each have their own 90/180-day total. Time spent in any of these nations does not affect the score in any other nation, including the entire Schengen area. Therefore you could easily spend an entire year in the EU, so long as at least half of it was in some of those non-Schengen nations.

Row of disused windmills overlooking Bodrum in Turkey (Getty)

Q I just wanted to confirm that as long as I’ve got over six months on my passport but less than 10 years and you’re not going to a European country (in my case I am going to Turkey) then I will be OK to travel?

Jen P

A Going anywhere other than the EU and the Schengen area? Ignore the issue date of your passport. Focus only on the expiry date. And while it’s good to have six months for Turkey, forget any tosh you may have been told about a mandatory six-month validity requirement worldwide.

Every country makes its own rules on how much time they demand before your passport expires. Many of them – including Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Japan, Mexico, Tunisia and the US – allow you to be there up to and including the expiry date of the passport. Shrewdly, Costa Rica says your passport should have at least one day’s validity from the date you are leaving – that means you should be able to get home without problem.

Across the world there’s little agreement: Cuba wants two months remaining when you leave the island. The European Union wants three months remaining on the day you leave the EU, and it is also the only part of the world that cares when your passport was issued (it must be less than 10 years ago on the day of entry to the European Union).

A lot of popular countries, including the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Israel, Kenya, Peru, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the UAE (including Dubai) want six months remaining on the day you intend to leave their nation.

In the case of Turkey, the rules are more complex, but it’s best to comply with the Foreign Office’s advice, which says: “Your passport should be valid for at least six months from the date you arrive and there should be a full blank page for the entry and exit stamps.”

And for the absolute avoidance of doubt: there is no illusory “new” expiry date 10 years after issue. Many people’s passports will be valid for exactly a decade, but if you are lucky enough to have longer than that, it is only the printed expiry date that matters.

Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder