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Published: 20 June 2026
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Seatfrog Review: How I Upgraded to LNER First Class for £35
I upgraded a standard class LNER ticket from Darlington to London King’s Cross to First Class using Seatfrog for £35, including fees. Buying an equivalent First Class ticket would have cost around £70 more, making this one of the cheapest upgrades I’ve ever bought.
How Seatfrog works
- Download the Seatfrog app to your phone
- Search for the train which you have a standard class booking on
- 24 hours before departure, the auction begins
- The auction closes 1 hour before departure
- Get bidding. If your bid is unsuccessful, you have nothing to pay
- If you win, you get issued an additional ticket showing your upgrade to first class
- On the train, you need to show both your original ticket and the upgrade to the ticket inspector
- Enjoy your First Class experience!
Seatfrog charges a £3 platform fee on top of the auction price. This fee is only paid if your bid is successful.
Alternatively, you have the option to just pay for an upgrade, although this price does change as the auction progresses.
Which train companies support Seatfrog?
- Avanti West Coast
- Cross Country
- East Midlands Railway
- Grand Central
- Greater Anglia
- GWR
- LNER
- TransPennine Express
- Transport for Wales
How much better is First Class?
This varies between train operating company (and to a degree, the carriages that they are running). Expect to get:
- First Class Lounge Access at your departing station (if available)
- Wider Seats with more legroom
- Guaranteed Table
- Complementary Hot Food
- Regular service of both Hot & Cold Drinks (including alcohol on some operators).
My experience
Booking
I already had a standard class ticket from Darlington to Kings Cross and was interested in an upgrade. The auction started at £16 and the price crept up gradually in the hours before departure. With under a minute to go, the best price was £31 so I bid £32 and won the seat.
The bid took a few seconds to process on the app so my recommendation would be not to leave it to the last second to put your bid in. Having said that, paying by ApplePay was slick and far better than other apps that ask you to type in your payment details.
Seatfrog supports Apple Wallet and when I downloaded the upgrade ticket to my phone, it showed my seat reservation in First Class.
The fixed price upgrade started at £42 but had increased to £54 by the time the auction ended.
Train service
As for the train, it was on time and I was able to work comfortably. I didn’t use the First Class lounge at Darlington as it is not great and due to the refurbishment of the station, the new platform used for southbound trains is is now much further away from the lounge than the previous platform.
Food wise, LNER’s lunch options were Falafel and Sweetcorn Hummus Wrap; Smoky Bean Pasta; Tuna, Butter Bean and Egg Salad; Mumbai Chicken Toastie; or Buttered Crumpets. I was also given a tasty Strawberry and Lime Dessert Pot and a packet of crisps.
Drinks and biscuits were regularly offered – I had a Gin & Tonic but could have had at least another couple more if I had wanted them.
Was this good value?
My standard class Darlington to London Kings Cross on LNER was £31.70. Adding on the £32 bid and £3 platform fee took the total cost to £66.70
The cheapest first class single on the same route that I can find during the next 3 months is £79.80 – that is 9 weeks out. Outside of peak morning departures, most first class singles are around £100.
So a definite saving here, although perhaps I should point out that paying £31.70 for a standard class ticket was a pretty decent price. Of course, if I had paid £70 for the same ticket, there would probably be little saving when adding on the £35 cost of upgrading.
Is Seatfrog Worth It?
Worth it if:
- You already have a cheap Standard ticket
- You want lounge access
- You’re travelling long distance
- Food and drinks are included
Less worthwhile if:
- You paid a high Standard fare
- The First Class offering is weak
- The journey is short
Anything else
- Ticket release windows vary by operator but when I checked, all operators had tickets available for at least the next 4 weeks
- Not all routes will have upgrades available on every train, although when I checked some random long distance routes, I could see plenty of options
- If you have booked an upgrade and the train is cancelled, you can request a refund
- Auctions can end early if there is increased demand for that specific service. If this happens, all bids are cancelled and the upgrade tickets are returned to the train operator
- Seatfrong can be used in conjunction with discounted standard class tickets purchased with a railcard.
Should You Use Seatfrog?
The Seat Frog app worked well, I got the upgrade at a price I was happy with and the service was great. I will definitely use Seat Frog again but as with any auction, the best thing is to set your maximum price in advance and do not exceed this amount.
My experience on a 2½ hour train with LNER was excellent but my suggestion would be to check the First Class offering for your preferred train operator to avoid disappointment.
Finally, whilst first class railway station lounges in the UK are a good place to get some peace & quiet before the train leaves, they are all pretty basic and should not be compared to first class airport lounges!
Further reading
If you ever use LNER, check out our article on LNER Perks.
