Inconvenience Voucher Policy

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Anderson

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This is somewhat backwards, but...I'm being given an inconvenience voucher for the delay on the SWC a few weeks ago. I didn't complain about it (you can refer to my comments...though I wouldn't choose a delay, if it includes part of a day in a small town, I'll try to make lemons out of lemonade and just make sure I've built the day in)...I got a phone call saying I'd be getting one for about $70 (or, the coach fare I paid from ABQ to FLG initially). When does Amtrak issue those without being asked to?

(Sorry...this is just a surreal experience, being given a voucher without having grumbled)
 
Amtrak probably figured you would grumble, so you got one! They know you!
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Was that the roomette on-board upgrade?
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(If you don't want it, send it to me and I force myself to use it!
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)
 
When does Amtrak issue those without being asked to?

(Sorry...this is just a surreal experience, being given a voucher without having grumbled)
This happen to me, but once. A very late train, and lots of passengers were extremely angry. I was planning on calling on Monday, but Amtrak managed to call me first, early Monday morning, and to my surprise, called me at work (I don't remember ever even giving them my work number).

They offered me a voucher for the full roomette fare I paid.
 
Traveler,

Yeah, it is. Again, I'm surprisingly un-sore about the whole thing...I think after I deduct the $70 voucher from my expenses, I turned a respectable profit on the delay: Cut $50 from my hotel room, $20 from a car rental, and deduct $25 for the cost of dinner. $95 right there; $70 in a voucher makes that $165 vs. the $122 I paid for the roomette. Even after you account for the fact that I initially paid the $70, I'm looking at having paid $43 for a night in a rolling hotel.

Edit: I'm now left wondering just how late that train got into LAX.
 
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Got a Hotel Voucher for a late Lake Shore 10 years ago in Chicago...Dont think they do those anymore
 
Got a Hotel Voucher for a late Lake Shore 10 years ago in Chicago...Dont think they do those anymore
I got one of those back in '08 for a late Lake Shore as well (I missed a connection in Chicago heading out to IA and was offered a bus ride, a refund, or a hotel voucher and allowances for food and cabs). I think Chicago may be about the only place they do those, though.
 
Recently I was issued a Passenger Inconvenience Voucher riding The DownEaster from Portland ME to Boston MA. Question: Can I use the vouchers to ride both ways??? Does anyone know where I can reference Amtrak's policy's on this matter.

Thank You...

iBob
 
A couple years ago I had to lay overnight in Chicago on a missed AGR connection at Galesburg and Amtrak provided the room and $30 meal money and got me on my way the next day. When I was getting everything squared away as far as getting the hotel and meal money, the Desk Agent told me to be sure and call Customer Service in about 5 days as they would give me a Voucher for the inconvenience.

Sure enough, $250 came my way when I almost felt I should have paid them for almost 10 bonus hours of train time :)
 
Are there "standard" vouchers for things like missed connections?

I'm taking the EB to the CL this summer. It seems like the EB has missed that connection 10-20% of the time lately. I have heard that Amtrak usually puts you up in a hotel w/ a meal voucher for the night, & then puts you on the next day's #30. That seems fair enough, but is it something you have to argue for? Alternately, is anything negotiable in that situation (for example, if you really don't like the hotel they put you in, can you get a credit toward a hotel of your choice)?
 
Are there "standard" vouchers for things like missed connections?
I'm taking the EB to the CL this summer. It seems like the EB has missed that connection 10-20% of the time lately. I have heard that Amtrak usually puts you up in a hotel w/ a meal voucher for the night, & then puts you on the next day's #30. That seems fair enough, but is it something you have to argue for? Alternately, is anything negotiable in that situation (for example, if you really don't like the hotel they put you in, can you get a credit toward a hotel of your choice)?
It's pretty straight forward and automatic. Amtrak has a contract with several area hotels in Chicago and the Agent will fill out a sheep of paper you present at check-in for your room. You'll be handed cab fare or in my case put on a shuttle bus as a major concert in the Loop had the nearby hotels booked and we had to go to a Holiday Inn near Midway. You will be given $30 cash meal money and your train tickets for next day will be set up either that night or in the morning.

Now if Sleeper is not available you will be downgraded to Coach but that will "earn" another compensation.

There's really little to argue or negotiate about and I found by being polite with the Agent made the procedure go that much faster and smoother.

HINT - When I realized I was going to miss connection and the Conductor said to ride on in to Chicago I got on the phone with an Agent and got my next day's train taken care of. That way I was able to punch in for the last Roomette available and had that much less to worry about when I got to Chicago other than finding a good pizza at midnight.
 
I dunno. Airlines seem to give away these voucher things for seemingly minor reasons. On my last trip to Israel the flight out was delayed at the gate due to mechanical. The delay was just over two hour and then due to immense tail wind we got into Ben Gurion maybe an hour or so behind schedule. They kindly handed us a 10% discount on any fare from anywhere to anywhere voucher, which I promptly cashed in to save $500 on a round trip BF ticket to India, which will eventually fectch me a handsome haul of 22,000 odd elite qualifying miles.

OTOH, on the way back we were delayed by a day due to WX - blizzard in New York, and I was offered nothing in the way of vouchers, but pretty mysteriously I somehow landed a BF seat on a fully sold out ferry flight to clear the backup from the earlier cancellation. Who knows what causes them to do what?
 
I dunno. Airlines seem to give away these voucher things for seemingly minor reasons. On my last trip to Israel the flight out was delayed at the gate due to mechanical. The delay was just over two hour and then due to immense tail wind we got into Ben Gurion maybe an hour or so behind schedule. They kindly handed us a 10% discount on any fare from anywhere to anywhere voucher, which I promptly cashed in to save $500 on a round trip BF ticket to India, which will eventually fectch me a handsome haul of 22,000 odd elite qualifying miles.
OTOH, on the way back we were delayed by a day due to WX - blizzard in New York, and I was offered nothing in the way of vouchers, but pretty mysteriously I somehow landed a BF seat on a fully sold out ferry flight to clear the backup from the earlier cancellation. Who knows what causes them to do what?
Among many travelers, the vouchers that airlines hand out are often called "funny money". Most leisure travelers don't fly often enough and probably most vouchers expire before the traveler has a chance to use them. In addition to that, leisure travelers tend to be cost conscious and might book flights on other airlines even if there is a voucher.

Now an Amtrak voucher is something that I'd be sure to use. Hand me a $100 voucher because my trip was delayed, and I'll be sure to use it to buy tickets for my usual commute.
 
Hi Bob - you can use the voucher to pay for any Amtrak ticket, anywhere, anytime.
I presume you still can apply it only at a staffed station.
My understanding is that a voucher received for poor service can only be redeemed via phone with a customer relations agent - that is if you take the electronic version.
I realize only a customer service agent can issue you a travel voucher. But I was referring to actually using it, i.e. redeeming it, to purchase a ticket. Has this changed?

Also, do you have a choice of e or paper? Previously you could only redeem a paper one at a staffed station. If you now have a choice and can redeem an e one over the phone, that's an improvement, at least for those of us in fly-over country where staffed stations are few and far between (for a definition see the great flyover thread) :giggle: .
 
I have a voucher - or so I've been told. It was an AGR trip and I'm wondering if I don't have a paper voucher it is because it was AGR? Nothing was emailed or snail mailed to me. I was given a voucher number and told to use it within a year.

Is this the usual way vouchers are given for an AGR trip?
 
It's the usual way ALL vouchers are now given. Any voucher is now an e-voucher. And they can be redeemed at the station.

First you have to call a regular agent, make a reservation and say you want to use your e-voucher to pay. You will be given a reservation number. Go to the station with that res # and your voucher amount will be applied to the fare.

i have first hand knowledge of this procedure. It was very easy and painless.
 
Another data point. A few weeks ago my wife called about a stink coming from the ventilation system in our sleeper and was issued a voucher. Because it hadn't arrived, I just now called customer relations and was told that they don't send paper vouchers any more, but that they give you a number that you can then apply when you make a reservation over the phone. My wife had forgotten to tell me about the number and had lost it. But the customer relations agent was able to look up the number and apply it to a reservation that I had already made via the internet.

So it looks like you get a number (the agent refused to call it an eVoucher; I wish I could remember the terminology she used) and then can apply it either when you make the reservation or later and either at a staffed station or over the phone.

Still not able to apply it via the internet. I suppose applying it at a station or over the phone didn't require any reprogramming. But still an improvement over the old system of only being able to apply a paper voucher at a staffed station.
 
But the customer relations agent was able to look up the number and apply it to a reservation that I had already made via the internet.
Since you made an online reservation and had already paid for it, when they applied the voucher, did it just put a credit back to your credit/debit card?
 
I had the same experience as Paul had in that I called about a month ago and asked for an email voucher. I also was told they don't send vouchers.

After reading Dave's reply, I called again. I was sent to 3 different departments and ended up in Customer Relations. They have sent me an email spelling out how much the voucher is for, how long it is good for, etc. It is not a voucher, it is more of a confirmation letter.
 
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