Coach and Sleeper Accommodations

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I've read on some other threads that the prices for sleeper accommodations are in addition to the coach fares. Is that true, and if so, would I have to add the available sleeper accommodation fare to the standard coach fare to get my total cost for a trip?

For instance, if I wanted a roomette on the Silver Meteor, would I add the corresponding coach fare to the roomette fare for that same train? Or is the roomette fare inclusive? Also, does having a roomette negate the need for a coach seat?

Perhaps I'm misinterpreting the information, but I was curious........thanks!
 
Everyone pays the Rail Fare (Coach) at whatever Bucket is current when booking. (Revenue Management/Supply and Demand)When you Upgrade to a Sleeping Car ( or Biz Class) you will not have a Coach Seat any longer but be Seated in your Sleeper or the BC Car.)

When you Upgrade to a Sleeping Car Room (orBiz Class) you pay the current Bucket for the Room or BC Seat on tip of your Rail Fare, but if you had Paid a Higher Bucket for the Rail Fare when you booked in Coach, you will get the Low Coach Bucket so you will get a Refund for the difference.(If you booked a Value Rail Fare it will Cost you more for the Rail Fare!)

Confusing?
 
If you are traveling in a roomette, the equation is: Lowest non-saver bucket coach fare + roomette surcharge = total cost. For your example, let's say the roomette has only the highest bucket price and only flexible fares left on the Meteor between NYP and MIA, which means that the entire train is almost sold out. The equation will be: 147 + 590 = 730. It is not 320 + 590 = 910. Business class, on the other hand is the current coach bucket + business class surcharge. So for example, let's say that the Coast Starlight between KFS and PDX is nearly sold out but there are a few business class seats left. Since the business class surcharge between KFS and PDX is $25, and the non-discounted flexible fare is $90, you will pay 90 + 25 = $115 for that trip. If you booked a coach initially on a higher bucket, but later decide to get a roomette, you will be refunded the difference between the current bucket and the lowest non-saver bucket, so your upgrade will be a bit cheaper. For example, I booked a coachclass trip between KFS and LAX, and paid $126 for it. I later decided to upgrade to a roomette, and the upgrade surcharge was $273 when I decided to upgrade. Since the lowest bucket price for that segment was $100, I paid 273 - 26 = $247 for the upgrade, and also 100 + 247 + 26 = $373 (Since this pricing date back to 2014, actual prices are higher now). If you had a saver fare, you will pay more, as you also need to add the difference between the lowest non-saver and the saver fare, so for example, if you want to travel on the Zephyr in its entire route and you initially have the saver fare, but you decide to upgrade before the low bucket roomettes are gone, you would pay (167 - 134) + 311 = $344. Had you gotten the lowest non-saver instead and upgraded that way, you would only pay $311.
 
For your information, sleeper upgrade equation is like this: Lowest value coach + current room charge = total price

If you initially had a saver fare: (Lowest value coach - saver fare) + saver fare + current room charge = total price

As for business class: Current coach bucket + business class charge = total price

If you initially had a saver fare: (Current coach bucket - saver fare) + Current coach bucket + business class charge = total price

Don't know how Acela Express upgrades work, however.
 
Let's see if I'm getting this, to use an actual possibility:

I may be traveling to Orlando, FL this summer by myself. My first plan is to travel with two other people in their vehicle, but I go alone, then it would be by train. In that case, I would take the Meteor due to the shorter layover at RVR.

Therefore:

NPN to RVR to ORL - July 7 thru July 16, 2017 (Fares listed are one-way)

66 Northeast Regional

97 Silver Meteor

Value Coach = $128.70

Flexible Coach = $276.30

Business Class (NER) = $413.70

Roomette (SM) = $413.70

So in this instance, would I end up paying $413.70 one-way, $542.40 (roomette/BC+value coach) one-way or $690 (roomette/BC+flexible coach) one-way?
 
and don't forget, the rail fare is per person, the accommodation charge is per room-a roomette for 2 people is not 2 x one person, it is low value coach x 2 + current room.....on trips where meals factor in, this can become a big point
 
As mentioned by Bob Dylan above, and like the airlines, Amtrak uses a Revenue Management/Supply and Demand pricing scheme.

The less booked a train is the lower the price (low bucket).
As more seats/sleepers get booked the higher the price gets (medium bucket).
When the train is nearly full the prices are the highest (high bucket).

During the time medium bucket prices prevail the price can fluctuate up and down with canceled reservation and new reservations.
I think most of the long distance trains have 4 or 5 bucket levels.

Consequently, booking early often gets the buyer the lowest bucket price.
If you book close to your date of travel expect to pay a premium.

There is a web site (AmSnag) that helps us see the prices at the various bucket levels.
 
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To be more simple, the answer to your question is yes, you add the coach fare to the roomette cost to get your total cost. If there are two of you sharing the roomette, there is two coach fares but only one roomette add on to figure your total fare. Don't be concerned with "bucket's". Instead consider the upgrade cost similar to airline fares--you pay the applicable fare for the day and train you are traveling. Amtrak.com can tell you the fare applicable on your day of travel. NOTE: The fares shown on Amtrak.com for sleeper and business class already include the coach fare so, in that case, you do not add the two separate coach and roomette fares--Amtrak.com website has already done that plus awarded appropriate discounts such as AAA and Senior fares.
 
As mentioned by Bob Dylan above, and like the airlines, Amtrak uses a Revenue Management/Supply and Demand pricing scheme.

The less booked a train is the lower the price (low bucket).

As more seats/sleepers get booked the higher the price gets (medium bucket).

When the train is nearly full the prices are the highest (high bucket).

During the time medium bucket prices prevail the price can fluctuate up and down with canceled reservation and new reservations.

I think most of the long distance trains have 4 or 5 bucket levels.

Consequently, booking early often gets the buyer the lowest bucket price.

If you book close to your date of travel expect to pay a premium.

There is a web site (AmSnag) that helps us see the prices at the various bucket levels.
Well that helps to explain the "bucket" concept.

I do realize that the closer it gets to July, the higher the prices will go.
 
I believe the confusion may arise due to the difference between "amsnag" and "Amtrak" websites.

Taking your example above, post number 6, you will pay $413.70 for your trip. You do not need to calculate anything else on the Amtrak site to find your fare, which is displayed above each of the seat or berth options on each train route displayed.

Ed.
 
Thanks for the insight, Caravanman and Tennessee Traveler.

My initial thought when looking at the Amtrak site was that the fares for each type of accommodation are bundled, but then I saw a few instances here where some said that the coach and sleeper fares are separate per trip per train. That's where I got confused.

In my case then, I would spend $827.40 round trip (max?) if I wanted a sleeper. If I were to take the Star on the return, a roomette would be cheaper because that train doesn't have a dining car.
 
If you initially had a saver fare: (Lowest value coach - saver fare) + saver fare + current room charge = total price

As for business class: Current coach bucket + business class charge = total price

If you initially had a saver fare: (Current coach bucket - saver fare) + Current coach bucket + business class charge = total price

Don't know how Acela Express upgrades work, however.
I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say with this word salad answer but just to be clear Saver fares are not applicable for sleeper tickets. Instead you'll be charged the "Value" fare as the coach fee.
 
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If you initially had a saver fare: (Lowest value coach - saver fare) + saver fare + current room charge = total price

As for business class: Current coach bucket + business class charge = total price

If you initially had a saver fare: (Current coach bucket - saver fare) + Current coach bucket + business class charge = total price

Don't know how Acela Express upgrades work, however.
I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say with this word salad answer but just to be clear Saver fares are not applicable for sleeper tickets. Instead you'll be charged the "Value" fare as the coach fee.
Only that part about the Saver fare is always correct. That part about the Value fare is correct only part of the time.

All that can be truly said about a total sleeper fare is the total sleeper fare is the low bucket coach fare plus the sleeper fee. However, the low bucket coach fare is not always the Value fare! As an example, on tomorrows Silver Meteor, the Value fare is $194 but the low bucket coach fare is $149. However, on 17 Jan the Value fare is down to the low bucket coach fare of $149.
 
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If you initially had a saver fare: (Lowest value coach - saver fare) + saver fare + current room charge = total price

As for business class: Current coach bucket + business class charge = total price

If you initially had a saver fare: (Current coach bucket - saver fare) + Current coach bucket + business class charge = total price

Don't know how Acela Express upgrades work, however.
I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say with this word salad answer but just to be clear Saver fares are not applicable for sleeper tickets. Instead you'll be charged the "Value" fare as the coach fee.
Only that part about the Saver fare is always correct. That part about the Value fare is correct only part of the time.

All that can be truly said about a total sleeper fare is the total sleeper fare is the low bucket coach fare plus the sleeper fee. However, the low bucket coach fare is not always the Value fare! As an example, on tomorrows Silver Meteor, the Value fare is $194 but the low bucket coach fare is $149. However, on 17 Jan the Value fare is down to the low bucket coach fare of $149.
I should have said you will be charged the low bucket Value fare, which is not necessarily the current Value fare for a coach-only purchase. If you have evidence of a Saver fare being applicable to a sleeper ticket that would be news to me, but I've never seen any saver fares for the next day's train.
 
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Let's see if I'm getting this, to use an actual possibility:

I may be traveling to Orlando, FL this summer by myself. My first plan is to travel with two other people in their vehicle, but I go alone, then it would be by train. In that case, I would take the Meteor due to the shorter layover at RVR.

Therefore:

NPN to RVR to ORL - July 7 thru July 16, 2017 (Fares listed are one-way)

66 Northeast Regional

97 Silver Meteor

Value Coach = $128.70

Flexible Coach = $276.30

Business Class (NER) = $413.70

Roomette (SM) = $413.70

So in this instance, would I end up paying $413.70 one-way, $542.40 (roomette/BC+value coach) one-way or $690 (roomette/BC+flexible coach) one-way?
When booking on Amtrak dot com the charge for the Roomette already includes the coach part of the far. Also keep in mind that two people can share the roomette. So if two of you are traveling together you will pay one charge for the roomette and two coach fees.

The roomette and other accommodation charges vary based on demand and season. The airlines do this all the time.
 
I should have said you will be charged the low bucket Value fare, which is not necessarily the current Value fare for a coach-only purchase. If you have evidence of a Saver fare being applicable to a sleeper ticket that would be news to me, but I've never seen any saver fares for the next day's train.
"Low bucket Value fare" is also an incorrect term simply because its two parts are not positively linked. Sometimes the low bucket Coach fare IS the Value fare - at other times the low bucket Coach fare is NOT the Value fare, as previously mentioned. The dollar values of each of the 5 fare buckets (for coach, roomette, family bedroom and bedroom) and the Saver fare usually remain the same for months at a time, sometimes being revised for a new fiscal quarter and occasionally within the current quarter. The following shows the current dollar values of all of the various buckets including the Saver fare:

Jan2017FrareBucketsb.jpg

The Value fare can be either of the three lowest coach buckets - at least I've never seen a Value fare that was the next-to-highest bucket, like the Flexible fare can sometimes be. Note that the Saver fare (circled, above) is not considered one of the buckets: I'm told here it's just the low bucket coach fare discounted by 20%. Hence, as you stated, the Saver fare cannot be a Value fare for the simple (simple?) reason it's not a bucket. :blink:

F'rinstance, from tomorrow through Jan 25th the Value fare on the Silver Star fluctuates with prices of $149, $194 and $249 - the three lowest buckets - and the Saver fare of $119 was finally made available on the 24th. But to add to the confusion, if the posted Value fare is not the low bucket fare, but one of the higher buckets, the saver fare will still be 80% of that higher bucket fare. And 80% of that higher bucket fare will equal the next lower bucket. So in this case, the Saver fare can be the same as the low bucket coach fare. Nifty, eh?

Regards
 
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where are you looking at that listing? if it is the amtrak site the bundling was already done
When booking on Amtrak dot com the charge for the Roomette already includes the coach part of the far. Also keep in mind that two people can share the roomette. So if two of you are traveling together you will pay one charge for the roomette and two coach fees.
While I understand gritty details being said here, just to emphasize what I quoted above, one does not have to buy a sleeper ticket and then separately buy a coach ticket too.
 
I and many others I suspect are not concerned with understanding the "low bucket" pricing model. We simply want to know the best(least expensive) price available and I use Amsnag to figure that out and then use Amtrak.com to come up with the actual dollars and cents on the day I decide to book my reservation. And I always call Amtrak Guest Rewards to book my sleeper travel.
 
I got another question:

Given that the Silver Star doesn't have a dining car, does a roomette include the cost of food/drinks from the cafe car, or do those items still cost extra?
They cost extra. This is the Notice on on the Amtrack website: Dining Car Not Available on the Silver Star: All meal service for Sleeping Car and Coach passengers can be purchased in the Café/Lounge car, which offers a selection of hot and cold sandwiches, snacks, beverages and other items. The Dining Car will remain on Silver Meteor trains.
 
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F'rinstance, from tomorrow through Jan 25th the Value fare on the Silver Star fluctuates with prices of $149, $194 and $249 - the three lowest buckets - and the Saver fare of $119 was finally made available on the 24th. But to add to the confusion, if the posted Value fare is not the low bucket fare, but one of the higher buckets, the saver fare will still be 80% of that higher bucket fare. And 80% of that higher bucket fare will equal the next lower bucket. So in this case, the Saver fare can be the same as the low bucket coach fare. Nifty, eh?
That's a whole other level of complexity I didn't even realize was already in play. I kind of miss the days when Amtrak yield management was extremely simplistic and easy to digest. Airline yield management is well beyond my ability to comprehend and Amtrak seems to be heading in the same direction. Hard to hold it against them when their funding is always at risk and their continued existence is under perpetual attack.
 
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