AAA discount not working?

[RailBirder]

I'm planning an out and back from Omaha to Granby CO, 30-31 Jan on the CZ. Its a nice little trip..arrive in Granby on the 5 at 10:37am and come back on the 6 leaving Granby at 4:17pm. I was originally going to go from Omaha to Denver and back, but the fare to Granby is only $6 more, and the you gets lots of good scenery. The coach fare each way is $58, but if I apply my AAA discount the fare is $63??? That's not right??

 

[AlanB]

Actually it is correct at the moment. Amtrak is running a sale on many routes right now whereby one can get a cheaper seat than normal, cheaper than the regular price with a discount like AAA. The drawback to this sale though is that any tickets brought via the sale are non-refundable. I believe that you can apply the fare towards another ticket, but you cannot get your money back once you buy one of these sale tickets.

And this is a big problem, as one is not informed at the time you are booking said ticket that you have qualified for this special sale. Just by going through the normal paces of the reservation process you are shown these special seat prices if they are available. So potentially people could be buying tickets, which they believe are refundable and are not. And they won't know until and unless they try to cancel.

 

[PRR 60]

I'm planning an out and back from Omaha to Granby CO, 30-31 Jan on the CZ. Its a nice little trip..arrive in Granby on the 5 at 10:37am and come back on the 6 leaving Granby at 4:17pm. I was originally going to go from Omaha to Denver and back, but the fare to Granby is only $6 more, and the you gets lots of good scenery. The coach fare each way is $58, but if I apply my AAA discount the fare is $63??? That's not right??

Alan is right about the special discount fare. If you are OK with booking a non-refundable ticket, then you can save a few dollars (very few). If you want to retain flexibility, then go with the AAA fare.

I would suggest going to Fraser - Winter Park instead of Granby. If everything is running on-time, you will have nearly six hours to kill. Depending on how #6 is running, it could be a whole lot more. There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing to do in Granby in the winter. I rode through Granby last Friday on #5 and there was no one off and no one on. We stopped, sat for ten seconds, and off we went. In the summer Granby is the jumping off point for Rocky Mountain National Park and some local tourist ranches, but in the winter there is nothing. I'm not sure how you would spend six hours (or more) there without going crazy.

The Fraser stop, 13 miles before Granby, allows you to get to Winter Park ski area where there is lots to do to occupy your time. You would lose the portion of the trip through the Fraser River Canyon, but otherwise you would still see all of the route up to and through the Moffat Tunnel.

 

[RailBirder]

I would suggest going to Fraser - Winter Park instead of Granby. If everything is running on-time, you will have nearly six hours to kill. Depending on how #6 is running, it could be a whole lot more. There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing to do in Granby in the winter. I rode through Granby last Friday on #5 and there was no one off and no one on. We stopped, sat for ten seconds, and off we went. In the summer Granby is the jumping off point for Rocky Mountain National Park and some local tourist ranches, but in the winter there is nothing. I'm not sure how you would spend six hours (or more) there without going crazy.
The Fraser stop, 13 miles before Granby, allows you to get to Winter Park ski area where there is lots to do to occupy your time. You would lose the portion of the trip through the Fraser River Canyon, but otherwise you would still see all of the route up to and through the Moffat Tunnel.

Thanks for the AAA discount explanation. We've done the Granby round trip in the spring. We spent the night at Granby, rented a car and went to Rocky National Park. Freight trains waiting at Granby for a route through the Moffat Tunnel (each train takes about 30 minutes to get through the tunnel and then vent the tunnel) often get permission to go get a cup coffee/bite to eat while waiting. But there is not a lot to do there. I was going for the most bang/sights for the buck. But have never been to Winter Park...nice idea, Thanks.