Amtrak Fare Difference Policy

[theghan]

Operating on the principle that there are no stupid questions........here's mine: I recently paid for travel in a roomette from DEN-NYP. When doing so, I confirmed with the agent assisting me that Amtrak would refund any difference in fare if I subsequently found a lower fare for the same route and date of travel. I didn't expect this to actually happen, but whaddya know? Five days later I noticed a lower fare, called Amtrak, and in 15 seconds the $65 refund was processed....less 10%. Now I don't want to seem unappreciative, but can anyone point out where Amtrak addresses this in their refund policy.....or any other policy. Perhaps I didn't drill deeply enough or got hung up on some of the legalese and have overlooked or misinterpreted what I read.

 

[HoosierStater]

I know the 10% is their standard refund policy if you get the refund as cash or back on your card. You only get the whole amount as a eVoucher (Amtrak's version of store credit). See this:

Refund FeeWhere applicable, refund fee is 10% of the total amount refunded, with a minimum amount of $5.00 and a maximum amount of $100.00 per refund transaction. Unless stated otherwise, if a ticket is refundable, the passenger may avoid any refund fee by accepting the full refund value of the ticket as an eVoucher or other exchange credit, good toward future travel within one year.

from http://www.amtrak.com/refund-and-exchange-policy

HoosierStater

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I think you had to cancel the original ticket, losing 10%, then rebooked it.

 

[PRR 60]

Operating on the principle that there are no stupid questions........here's mine: I recently paid for travel in a roomette from DEN-NYP. When doing so, I confirmed with the agent assisting me that Amtrak would refund any difference in fare if I subsequently found a lower fare for the same route and date of travel. I didn't expect this to actually happen, but whaddya know? Five days later I noticed a lower fare, called Amtrak, and in 15 seconds the $65 refund was processed....less 10%. Now I don't want to seem unappreciative, but can anyone point out where Amtrak adluiedresses this in their refund policy.....or any other policy. Perhaps I didn't drill deeply enough or got hung up on some of the legalese and have overlooked or misinterpreted what I read.

Amtrak treats refunds of sleeper reservations more severely than any other fare class. All refunds are subject to a 10% fee, and no refunds will be made within 15 days of travel. You can get a voucher for 100% of the value good toward future travel instead of a refund.

The Amtrak refund policy is HERE.

 

[PRR 60]

I think you had to cancel the original ticket, losing 10%, then rebooked it.

You do not lose 10% of the original ticket. You lose 10% of the fare difference, assuming you want a refund of the difference and not a voucher toward future travel.

 

[AudenHoggart]

It wasn't in a sleeper, but last month the fare dropped for a round trip my wife was making from St. Louis to Kansas City. I'd originally booked online. I phoned Amtrak and they credited the entire difference in fare back to my credit card.

 

[amamba]

Since you were in a sleeper and wanted a refund, you were assessed the 10% fee which is part of their standard terms for sleeper travel. If you had asked for an e-voucher for future travel you would not have been assessed the 10% penalty.

 

[theghan]

Alright, let me play devil's advocate for a moment. Suppose in my second call to Amtrak I had requested an e-voucher and then said, oh, btw you can apply that to the same itinerary at the lower advertised fare and bank the remaining $65 to be applied to future Amtrak travel? Am I getting too hypothetical here?

 

[HoosierStater]

Then you would have gotten an eVoucher for $65. Since the money wouldn't be paid out to you (cash or refund to a card) then you wouldn't have a refund fee of 10% applied.

 

[BCL]

Alright, let me play devil's advocate for a moment. Suppose in my second call to Amtrak I had requested an e-voucher and then said, oh, btw you can apply that to the same itinerary at the lower advertised fare and bank the remaining $65 to be applied to future Amtrak travel? Am I getting too hypothetical here?

No. The thing about eVouchers now is that they're only accepted in person. I believe that currently they require photo ID to use them. You can cancel and have an eVoucher issued over the phone or online (with time limits), but you currently have to redeem them in person. If you do it over the phone they're supposed to email it to you. If you can't find the email you can also request a reprinted eVoucher at a ticket window.

http://www.amtrak.com/evouchers-your-travel-credits-stored-electronically

Where and How to Redeem an eVoucher
For now, eVouchers may only be redeemed at an Amtrak ticket office, not at Quik-Trak, online at Amtrak.com or by phone. Make sure to bring the eVoucher receipt (or the information necessary for the agent to locate the eVoucher) and proper identification to the ticket office for redemption.

I think you could have done that at any Amtrak ticket window. If there's any leftover funds in your eVoucher, then they'll issue a new eVoucher with the remaining balance. You can't do it over the phone though. I bought a ticket on my iPhone App and wasn't able to use it. The option to cancel disappeared in a few days, so I headed for a ticket window to cancel, get the eVoucher issued, and immediately use the eVoucher for other tickets.

 

[Shanghai]

I think you had to cancel the original ticket, losing 10%, then rebooked it.

You do not lose 10% of the original ticket. You lose 10% of the fare difference, assuming you want a refund of the difference and not a voucher toward future travel.

According to Bill's comment above, the OP's 10% penalty would be $6.50, that being 10% of $65.00, the amount of the refund.

I had a situation last November where we had to cancel a trip (due to a death in family) and I was refunded the total amount of

the trip (rail fare & sleeper fare) immediately to my credit card. The cancellation occurred approximately 10 days prior to our

departure date.