Published: 29 July 2026
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Seatfrog Secret Fares: Save Up to 50% on Train Tickets
If you’re flexible about what time you travel, there’s another little-known way to save money on train tickets.
Many readers will already be familiar with Avanti SuperFare, where travellers on the West Coast Main Line choose whether they would like to travel in the morning, afternoon or evening and only find out their exact departure time the day before travel – in return for a heavily discounted ticket.
Seatfrog, (also the company behind First Class train upgrades), has a similar scheme to Superfares called Secret Fares, covering five other train operators. We analysed the routes, availability and prices to find out whether these hidden fares really offer good value and how they compare with ordinary Advance tickets.
Our research found average savings of 38%, with discounts exceeding 50% on some journeys.
Which Train Operating Companies Offer Secret Fares?
- East Midlands Railway
- Greater Anglia
- Great Western Railway
- South Western Railway
- TransPennine Express
Which Routes Can I Book a Secret Fare On?
We spent a considerable amount of time researching the various route options and it is clear that there is no pattern of what stations are covered and what routes are offered so unfortunately it is a matter of checking the website and seeing what is on offer.
However, these major stations have a decent number of destinations offering Secret Fares:
- Cardiff Central – secret fares from 9 stations
- Liverpool Lime Street – secret fares from 16 stations
- London Liverpool Street – secret fares from 9 stations
- London Paddington – secret fares from 11 stations
- London St Pancras – secret fares from 12 stations
- London Waterloo – secret fares from 71 stations
- Manchester Piccadilly – secret fares from 25 stations
- Nottingham – secret fares from 10 stations
Note that there are a huge amount of Secret Fare prices on South Western Railway, in & out of London Waterloo so that could be an opportunity if you are travelling in that part of the country.
What are the prices like?
Here are the advertised starting prices from Seatfrog:
- Derby to London St Pancras from £12.00 (cheapest we could find was £19.00)
- Liverpool to Sheffield from £4.00 (cheapest we could find was £6.00)
- London Waterloo to Portsmouth from £7.00
- London Waterloo to Southampton from £8.00
- London Waterloo to Weymouth from £14.00
- Newcastle to Leeds from £13.00 (cheapest we could find was £11.00)
- Norwich to Nottingham from £16.00
- Preston to Edinburgh from £13.00 (cheapest we could find was £11.00)
- York to Liverpool from £13.00 (cheapest we could find was £11.00)
Interesting to note that on two of the 9 routes, we couldn’t find a single slot available at the advertised price but on 3 others we found a cheaper secret fare!
Who Should Use Secret Fares?
Perfect for:
Students
Retired travellers
Leisure travellers
Families
Weekend breaks
Flexible workers
Those living in Central London or in the South Western Railway area
Less suitable for:
Business travellers
People with onward connections
Fixed appointments- 🎫 Railcard users
How it works
- Secret Fares are only available directly at secretfare.seatfrog.com or on the Seatfrog app (although we found the searching for routes easier on the website).
- You pick your route, choose your departure date and then, subject to availability, are offered a choice of Morning (07:00-11:59), Afternoon (12:00-16:59) or Evening (17:00-21:00) departures.
- Choose the slot you want, pay for your ticket and then at least 24 hours before leaving, you will be told your exact departure time.
Other important points
- Secret Fares need to be booked at least 2 days in advance, and are apparently available up to 5 months in the future (although we found that this varies massively by operator)
- They are one-way only, so you will need to book a separate return ticket
- No discounts for railcards or children are available
- Maximum of 9 tickets per booking
- Unlike Avanti SuperFares, Secret Fares cannot be upgraded to First Class via the Seatfrog app
- If your train is cancelled after your ticket has been issued, you can travel on the service immediately before or after the one you were originally booked on.
What is the availability like?
Overall it is excellent, we picked a Saturday 4 weeks ahead and checked morning, afternoon and evening availability for the 9 example routes that Seatfrog list on their website.
For the 27 potential slots, there were Secret Fare tickets available on 26 (96%).
However, we checked some other routes too and while availability generally was strong, you will not find any weekend tickets between South Wales and London on GWR.
How Much Cheaper Are Secret Fares?
We looked at 2 routes on each operator (10 in total) on a day 4 weeks ahead, and compared the lowest Secret Fare available with the cheapest available advance fare on the same day in each timeslot.
Overall the saving was 38%, with strong discounts on all routes and train companies.
On Swansea to London Paddington, the saving was over 50% compared to the cheapest currently available fare.
However we also noticed that that for Ipswich to London Liverpool Street, the cheapest available advance ticket was £11, just £1 more than the Secret Fare, but could come with security of knowing of the departure time at the booking stage.
| Cheapest currently available Advance Ticket (4 weeks ahead) | ||||||
| Morning Departure (07:00-11:59) | Afternoon Departure (12:00-16:59) | Evening Departure (17:00-23:00) | Secret Fare | Typical Saving | ||
| East Midlands Railway | Derby to London St Pancras | £26.00 | £30.50 | £30.50 | £19.00 | -34% |
| Norwich to Nottingham | £21.90 | £21.90 | £21.90 | £18.00 | -18% | |
| Great Western Railway | Swansea to London Paddington | £35.00 | £47.50 | £39.50 | £23.00 | -43% |
| Reading to Cardiff | £30.50 | £30.50 | £30.50 | £15.00 | -51% | |
| Greater Anglia | Ipswich to London Liverpool Street | £11.00 | £20.50 | £20.50 | £10.00 | -42% |
| London Liverpool Street to Cambridge | £12.60 | £14.30 | £14.30 | £7.00 | -49% | |
| South Western Railway | London Waterloo to Portsmouth | £12.00 | £12.00 | £12.00 | £7.00 | -42% |
| London Waterloo to Weymouth | £19.70 | £16.30 | £16.30 | £14.00 | -20% | |
| Trans Pennine Express | Liverpool to Sheffield | £10.30 | £12.00 | £10.30 | £6.00 | -45% |
| Newcastle to Leeds | £21.40 | £15.10 | £15.10 | £11.00 | -36% | |
| All Operators | Average Price | £20.04 | £22.06 | £21.09 | £13.00 | -38% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Are Secret Fares Worth It?
If you’re prepared to sacrifice a little flexibility over your departure time, Seatfrog Secret Fares can offer excellent value.
Our research found average savings of 38%, with discounts of more than 50% on some routes. Availability was also surprisingly strong, and there are especially extensive Secret Fare options on South Western Railway services into and out of London Waterloo.
However, Secret Fares won’t always be the cheapest option. We found some occasions where ordinary Advance tickets were available for a similar price – and unlike Secret Fares, they allow you to choose your exact train at the time of booking. It’s therefore worth spending a couple of minutes comparing both options before committing.
Furthermore, Railcard users get 1/3 of most train tickets so it might be worth looking into that as an alternative. Checkout which is the best Railcard for you.
Overall, if your travel plans are flexible and you don’t mind waiting until the day before departure to discover your exact train, Seatfrog Secret Fares are another excellent money-saving tool and are well worth checking alongside Avanti SuperFare when planning your journey.
