Finding the best fare Help!

[LynneD0813]

I'm almost ready to book my first trip cross country. I noticed the fare for a roomette has increased in just 2 weeks. Do the fares fluctuate often? How do I get the best deal?

 

[me_little_me]

There used to be a site/program written by one of the AU members that would do multi-day multi-choice price searches but Amtrak closed down the ability of that to work. Apparently, things helpful to customer are anathema to executives and Amtrak has yet to write one of their own like hotel chains and airlines have.

You can search multiple days, one day at a time, by using the "Back" button after reviewing the prices for a day. It is tedious but I've done it.

This post on the site should help you see what to expect in prices.

Amtrak prices for rooms are at a premium because they are running fewer sleepers than usual and the demand is very high as people want to take a safe trip now that Covid is easing up and most are vaccinated. Moreover, the inability to attract laid-off workers, the vaccine mandate, the difficulty in finding new workers and getting them trained and Amtrak management's blunder at anticipating the easing of Covid and their intentional decision to put cars into long term storage which precluded getting them quickly back into service all hurt room availability.

Fares increase and decrease based on demand but lately it has been all increases. However, if you book a trip and the price then goes down, there is a way to "modify" (not cancel and rebook) a trip to get the lowered rate.

If possible, avoid times when the kids are out of school and families can travel, look for alternate routes, be flexible on travel and use the usual common sense guidelines for finding cheap fares (like going off-season).

It would help to post your starting point and desired destination, your travel flexibility and travel month as well as your planned length of stay and ability to travel partially in coach and partially in a room so members here can offer suggestions.

 

[pennyk]

I personally like to book a trip as far in advance as possible to get the best fare.

 

[LynneD0813]

There used to be a site/program written by one of the AU members that would do multi-day multi-choice price searches but Amtrak closed down the ability of that to work. Apparently, things helpful to customer are anathema to executives and Amtrak has yet to write one of their own like hotel chains and airlines have.

You can search multiple days, one day at a time, by using the "Back" button after reviewing the prices for a day. It is tedious but I've done it.

This post on the site should help you see what to expect in prices.

Amtrak prices for rooms are at a premium because they are running fewer sleepers than usual and the demand is very high as people want to take a safe trip now that Covid is easing up and most are vaccinated. Moreover, the inability to attract laid-off workers, the vaccine mandate, the difficulty in finding new workers and getting them trained and Amtrak management's blunder at anticipating the easing of Covid and their intentional decision to put cars into long term storage which precluded getting them quickly back into service all hurt room availability.

Fares increase and decrease based on demand but lately it has been all increases. However, if you book a trip and the price then goes down, there is a way to "modify" (not cancel and rebook) a trip to get the lowered rate.

If possible, avoid times when the kids are out of school and families can travel, look for alternate routes, be flexible on travel and use the usual common sense guidelines for finding cheap fares (like going off-season).

It would help to post your starting point and desired destination, your travel flexibility and travel month as well as your planned length of stay and ability to travel partially in coach and partially in a room so members here can offer suggestions.

Thank you for the tips. I am planning a trip from NYC to San Francisco in mid January. The best rate I've seen for a roomette is around $900. It is tedious using their website.

 

[caravanman]

The roomette price from Chicago to San Francisco is $564 on 18th Jan, it is the fare from NYC to Chicago that inflates the fares so much. If you can "rough it" for one night in coach from NYC to CHI, at $90, you can save a lot of cash!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

How do I get the best deal?

There are several methods to increase your odds of finding the best possible deal.

Be flexible with travel dates
Be flexible with destinations
Be flexible with carriers

I am planning a trip from NYC to San Francisco in mid January.

A trip limited to a single carrier and destination across a two week window is not very flexible.

The best rate I've seen for a roomette is around $900. It is tedious using their website.

If the best available price is too much you will need to keep checking and hope it drops. Unfortunately as you have found this is neither fast nor easy due to how the website has been increasingly restricted over the years. Supposedly Amtrak is working on a date range option but there is no ETA and no evidence of recent progress.