Hello all,

So I'm trying to book Thalys for approximately 90 days out.

There appears to be a (somewhat) significant difference between the "Belgium/English" and "France/English" versions of the site. France redirects to a page on http://agence.ravel.tm.fr/ and Belgium to something on b-europe.com.

The two interfaces are pretty different, though my main concern lies in pricing. As a youth (12-25), I am essentially offered a 29€ "Economy" ticket on both sites. On the France version, however, I am offered a 45€ "Flexible" ticket while the B-Europe only offers a 45€ "Semi-Flexible" ticket. The France site doesn't offer a semi-flexible, and B-Europe doesn't offer a flexible.

What's interesting is that the terms are pretty much identical, and pretty much align with the Flexible terms: 100% refundable up to T+60, and "exchangeable" (B-Europe includes "exchangeable once" whereas the French site only says "exchangeable").

My questions then, are:
1. Are these the same ticket?
2. If so/if not, which site should I buy from, given that I'm en/US and would use Citi Premier or something to avoid FTF?
3. What are the terms of "exchangeable"? Could I only exchange for a 45€ ticket when I want to do it, or any semi-flexible, or what (seems like there would be a loophole if I could immediately exchange it for a more expensive ticket)?


Thanks in advance. Though Thalys ticketing is certainly not run like that of Russian trains (and I'm grateful for that), I'm still perplexed.

Ask the Moderators for thread to be moved to European Rail Travel forum
Some very knowledgeable rail people in that forum