Ferreting out promotions, savings.

[don warner saklad]

a.

Room accomodations. Sleeping accomodations.

What hints, tips, pointers are there for ferreting out any promotions, any possible savings related to train room accomodations?..., train sleeping accomodations?... when planning North American rail trips.

b.

Meals

What hints, tips, pointers are there for ferreting out any promotions, any possible savings related to meals?... when planning North American rail trips.

 

[Guest]

Accommodations are very, very, very rarely discounted. I have never heard of a meal discounts.

 

[don warner saklad]

Accommodations are very, very, very rarely discounted. I have never heard of a meal discounts.

What was the very rare case when accomodations were discounted?..., for example...

 

[had8ley]

Accommodations are very, very, very rarely discounted. I have never heard of a meal discounts.

What was the very rare case when accomodations were discounted?..., for example...

The only accommodation discount that I can remember was perhaps one of the biggest blunders Amtrak ever made in marketing. A new sales rep came to New Orleans in the mid 90's about the same time as the Viewliners came out. She took out an ad in the Times Picayune (New Orleans paper) when sales looked sluggish on the Crescent right after the first of the year. I don't know if she did it by mistake or ignorance of the Amtrak system but she advertised "50% off rooms on Amtrak" not specifying just the Crescent. I was told people were calling from all over the country to get their 50% off rooms on all Amtrak routes. Needless to say; the ad only ran one day. I never saw the poor woman again.

I, also, have never seen Amtrak discount meals. Meals have always been a major money loser according to Amtrak.The last discounted meal I ate was on the Florida trains when you could buy discounted meal tickets pre-Amtrak. Even then the railroads were losing money hand over fist in their diners.

 

[PRR 60]

Accommodations are very, very, very rarely discounted. I have never heard of a meal discounts.

What was the very rare case when accomodations were discounted?..., for example...

Last winter (1/3 to 5/15/07) a 25% discount was offered off the Sleeper and Business Class accommodation charge on selected trains for AAA members travelling in parties of two or more.

 

[rmgreenesq]

What was the very rare case when accomodations were discounted?..., for example...

Accomodations are discounted in the event "outbound marketing" calls you. In an effort to fill an otherwise empty sleeping car, these nice folks will call you and offer you an upgrade to a sleeper at a really low price. I don't know what you can do to get a call from outbound marketing except pick a train that happens to have a light sleeper load and then pray.

Accomodations are also discounted on the train. See the "onboard sleeper upgrade" thread that has been made "sticky".

Rick

 

[AlanB]

And while technically not a discount, it should be noted that anytime you do book a sleeper, all meals are then included when taken in the dining car.

 

[don warner saklad]

Amtrak Guest Rewards

http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/index.cf...p;loc=news.html

http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/

index.cfm?category=offersNews&loc=news.html

 

[had8ley]

What about Amtrak Guest Rewards?... athttp://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/index.cf...p;loc=news.html

http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/

index.cfm?category=offersNews&loc=news.html

What about it ????

 

[jamesontheroad]

The simplest suggestion I can make for saving money on accommodations is to book well in advance. Remember that accommodations are sold in 'buckets' just like most airlines: as the rooms in cheaper buckets sell out they get more expensive. The only exception to this rule is that if a coach passenger boards a train and asks the conductor to upgrade to a sleeper, and one is available, he/she must be able to buy it at the lowest bucket price. You can work out what this is by test searching amtrak.com for your route way in advance... you'll generally be able to work out the lowest accommodation fare that way.

*j* :blink:

 

[user 1359]

While this won't guarantee you a room it can provide you with savings of a sort. If you can tell after you have boarded in coach how full the sleepers are going to be to your destination (ask the conductor) book the sleeper with the conductor as late as possible. This moves you further down the line, hence into a cheaper fare based on distance remaining. Pitfalls are you have to chance that the sleeper won't be sold to another PAX and you have to pay for your meals until you upgrade. If you know where the fare breaks are before you travel that helps also.