Booking a trip--HELP!!!

[C U LATER]

Good morning!

New to this forum. Thanks in advance for the info. I want to go ahead and apologize for the long post!!

We are planning our first amtrak cross country trip--July 2015. Several legs. We booked the first leg 7/10.

Guess we don't know how to play the "game"----the booking game. Heard from many that to reserve a bedroom we need to book early as possible--for the best rates--plus hear bedrooms sell out early. So at 11:55 PM we call Amtrak to book our room. By the time we get through it's 12:03---get an operator--they only have one room left at a certain price. We are like--- how can you have only one room left--we keep being told you can't book until 11 months ahead. We were also told if we had called just a few minutes "earlier" the same room would have been $300.00 cheaper!!! How can that be? We tried to book online but we kept getting an error message, that's another story.

So we called a few minutes before midnight last night to book the second leg---a crazy price!! Asked the operator how could that be so high--we were told the prices may change daily???? We were also told we can call everyday and if the price has dropped they will give us the lower price.

Is this normal or are we doing something wrong?

Thanks--looking forward to your help.

CU LATER!!

 

[amamba]

Yes the prices do change like the airlines now with active fare management.

Keep checking the price and if it gies down call and they will refund the difference.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

You can use Amsnag.net to watch the prices.

 

[PRR 60]

Yes the prices do change like the airlines now with active fare management.

Keep checking the price and if it gies down call and they will refund the difference.

I've heard reports that a refund due to moving to a lower fare is subject to the 10% refund fee (applicable to sleeper fares from the time of booking). I've not had to do this, so I'm sure if that is true or not.

 

[Ryan]

You are correct, sir. From Amtrak's description of remium Fare":

Refundable Rooms - Premium Service

If canceled 15 or more days before the scheduled departure from the origin, sleeping accommodation charges are refundable less a 10% refund fee. If canceled 14 days or fewer before the scheduled departure from the origin, sleeping accommodation charges are not refundable but the ticket value can be saved as a credit in an eVoucher that can be used for future Amtrak travel. If not canceled before the scheduled departure from the origin ("no show"), the entire amount is forfeited and cannot be applied toward future travel.

I would presume that you can avoid the refund fee by taking the difference in the form of a voucher, but the policy doesn't make that clear.

 

[neroden]

I'm going to guess that the original poster reserved a *bedroom* on one of the "Eastern" trains (Lake Shore Limited, Cardinal, Crescent, Silver Star, Silver Meteor). While there are lots of roomettes on these trains, there are very few bedrooms to start with, so they are very expensive from day one. (The Cardinal usually only has 2 bedrooms; the LSL has 6.)

Amsnag is good for looking at prices. Bedrooms are *expensive* no matter when you buy them. Often a bedroom costs more than *two* roomettes. Since I'm fine with a roomette (both I and my fiancee are really small), I never get a bedroom.

 

[the_traveler]

Also many tour groups book/hold a block of rooms at an early date (say on day 1), but when they don't sell them (by say month 8) they release it back into inventory. Thus the rooms may be at a higher fare on day 1 but at a lower fare 3 months later.

I believe you can get the fare difference in a voucher without paying the 10% penalty, but you MUST tell the agent SPECIFICALLY BEFOREHAND that you want a voucher and not a refund. I believe most agents process a refund by default, which is the 10% charge.

 

[caravanman]

My impression is that "nowadays" there is not much advantage to booking early to get a low price. The advantage is that you do get your room booked for sure. Please be aware that there can be huge differences from one day to the next, midweek tends to be cheapest in my experience. As others have mentioned, by checking either the "Amsnag" website or Amtrack's website, you can look out for cheaper fares, and then call back. Amtrak agents are not always the most accurate source of information on how Amtrak prices change. While coach seats always seem pretty reasonable, the bedroom prices often seem sky high... but if folk need a bedroom, and they are a scarce resource, the market will dictate that they are sold at the highest price that people are willing to pay.... It's not like Amtrak is a social public service providing essential rail connections across the United States to the less well off in society...

Ed

 

[Rail Freak]

My impression is that "nowadays" there is not much advantage to booking early to get a low price. The advantage is that you do get your room booked for sure. Please be aware that there can be huge differences from one day to the next, midweek tends to be cheapest in my experience. As others have mentioned, by checking either the "Amsnag" website or Amtrack's website, you can look out for cheaper fares, and then call back. Amtrak agents are not always the most accurate source of information on how Amtrak prices change. While coach seats always seem pretty reasonable, the bedroom prices often seem sky high... but if folk need a bedroom, and they are a scarce resource, the market will dictate that they are sold at the highest price that people are willing to pay.... It's not like Amtrak is a social public service providing essential rail connections across the United States to the less well off in society...

Ed

SUPPLY & DEMAND 101!

 

[zephyr17]

Assuming I know about what dates I want to travel, these days I start actively monitoring fares on amsnag about 9 or 10 months out or so. If I know something is a low(er) bucket (I travel enough to have a fairly good feel for it, I also randomly check amsnag on routes I use a lot, so I know about what the buckets are), I'll grab it. Otherwise I will just monitor. Depending on the time of year, I will make a go/no-go decision about 6 months out for summer travel, about 8 months out for Christmas/holiday season, about 4 months out other times. I also try to be flexible on dates, because a day or two can make a major difference. I don't usually lock down the rest of the trip until I have my rail ticket in hand so I can take advantage of those small adjustments.

I always book a sleeper for overnight travel, and I won't pay the higher buckets for them. I usually can get a fare I can live with, but if I can't I either won't take the trip, or use other means (fly, drive).

There really isn't a magic formula any more, just start checking fairly early and be patient. I've stopped paying attention to the fares when they initially are released, because these days they tend to come into inventory on the high side. You are essentially doing research and need to take the time for it.

I don't disagree with the book it anyway, and then get a refund/voucher when the price drops although I don't do it as a strategy myself. I will continue to check after booking though to see if I can get it cheaper when I know I didn't book into the lowest possible bucket, but I won't book at a price I can't live with assuming it will go down.

 

[pennyk]

The bedrooms on the Silvers often sell out fairly quickly (especially the Silver Star since there are only 2 sleeper cars). There may be only one, if any, bedroom and roomette per sleeper car at the lowest bucket.

I have only seen it happen once where the price of bedrooms on a Silver has gone down in price (when I was watching). It paid off for me to continuously watch the prices.

 

[VentureForth]

Also many tour groups book/hold a block of rooms at an early date (say on day 1), but when they don't sell them (by say month 8) they release it back into inventory. Thus the rooms may be at a higher fare on day 1 but at a lower fare 3 months later.

I believe you can get the fare difference in a voucher without paying the 10% penalty, but you MUST tell the agent SPECIFICALLY BEFOREHAND that you want a voucher and not a refund. I believe most agents process a refund by default, which is the 10% charge.

Anyone know which wholesale travel agencies actually hold Amtrak rooms? I've worked with Mark Travel, Carlson Wagonlit, and some others, but never knew who buys bulk Amtrak rooms and on which routes...

But to answer the OP, as others have done well at already, busy times of the year don't open up in inventory at the lowest rate. For instance, you will likely never see low bucket(s) during the week of Thanksgiving no matter how early you book or who you book through. Perhaps some less stellar routes may have inventory the week prior, and they may slash prices within a couple of days, but generally that doesn't happen often.

So, that being said, book it now for what you can. Watch the prices throughout the year, and if you can downgrade, either bite the 10% fee (spending a $ to save $10 still nets you $9 back) or put it on a voucher for future travel.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[JayMadison]

I used amsnag.net a lot when booking, it makes it easier to watch fares