Out and back price difference

[glomor]

I checked pricing for a trip from Michigan to California on the Southwest Chief in June. I figured it is off in the distance somewhat and I might be able to get a good price. I am finding the same thing I encountered on my last round trip which I reserved much closer to the date. The price out is about twice as much as the return. I tried changing a couple of dates but I found the same thing. This is with a roomette and a senior discount. Out: $1028.40, Back: $524.40. Why such a difference?

 

[zephyr17]

Short answer, yield management, they think they can be sold at a higher price point for whatever reason. Try looking on Amsnag to get a sense of the price of the return direction over a 30 day period than just a couple of random days.

 

[Bob Dylan]

You also may want to price the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland and Coast Starlight to LAX.

Or the Texas Eagle #421 from Chicago to LAX( 3 Days and Nights/ but only runs 3 days a week) using amsnag.net as zephyr 17 mentioned, especially if your dates are flexible.

 

[glomor]

Actually my dates are not flexible. I may just take coach out and roomette back. I'll have to give it some thought. Would I do any better talking to an agent rather than buying on the website.?

 

[ehbowen]

You can always book coach out and roomette back, then sign up for an Amsnag fare alert to goose you if there is a price drop. It's easier to upgrade than to downgrade.

 

[glomor]

You can always book coach out and roomette back, then sign up for an Amsnag fare alert to goose you if there is a price drop. It's easier to upgrade than to downgrade.

I like that idea! Thanks! I have used Amsnag in the past but I'm not familiar with the fare alert.

 

[zephyr17]

Agent isn't going to get any better prices than you do on the website.

 

[ehbowen]

Agent won't get you any better prices than the web site, but you can do things through an agent that you can't do on line...such as book three adults in a bedroom for a day trip.

 

[niemi24s]

If your dates aren't flexible and you want the Zephyr about all you can do is book it to insure you get the sleeper you want - regardless of the price. Then, make periodic checks and if you see the price drop call an agent and have your reservation modified to the lower fare. And welcome to the wild and wacky world of Amtrak fares.

 

[crabby_appleton1950]

Agent isn't going to get any better prices than you do on the website.

On my last trip the agent quoted me a much higher price than the website. I booked online, and then phoned to do a little 'modifying'.

 

[glomor]

Here is an update regarding the question I posted in January. I put the whole thing on the back burner for awhile. Today I decided to check rates again, and I was able to get the $524 rate for both ways! The only thing I did differently was to book the out and back separately rather than as round trip. Go figure! So I am a happy camper...or rail traveler! Thank you all for your helpful comments!

 

[niemi24s]

This is not the reason for the difference: "The only thing I did differently was to book the out and back separately rather than as round trip."

The reason for the difference is that you checked those fares on different dates. See for yourself by selecting a trip and some future date for that trip. Check the fare tonight and then every day until a few hours before the train departs. With a Roomette (or any other sleeper) your total fare is the low bucket coach fare (discounted) plus the Roomette fare. And because there are 5 different Roomette fares (or buckets) you may thus see a total of 5 different total fares for that trip.

And when I say 5 different fares I don't mean just 5 changes. If you check frequently and long enough, you may see the fare change 10 or 20 times, bouncing back and forth between those 5 possible total fares. Shown below are the 5 Roomette fares for the Southwest Chief (SWC):



The one way $524.40 fare you got from some place in MI to CA (I'm guessing LA) tells me your got the $351 low bucket Roomette. The 15% senior discount on the $172 low bucket Coach fare makes Coach $146.20 from Chicago to Los Angeles for a total of $351 + $146.20 = $497.20 for that leg of the trip. That means your fare from ? MI to Chicago is $524.40 - $497.20 = $27.20. As you already booked at the low bucket Roomette fare, there's no need to check any longer for a lower fare - you got it!

But if you get bored, do the daily check I mentioned above. It can be a real education because the fluctuations in Amtrak fares can occur very frequently (as in daily) and are always totally unpredictable.

 

[glomor]

Very interesting! I've always wondered what people were talking about when they discuss "buckets." Not sure I understand the use of that word, but I am happy to know that I don't have to purchase at the first rate offered if it seems high! Where do your numbers come from--observation, research, or does Amtrak have this published somewhere? I am never sure if I am getting the best rate, and not sure how to determine what the range is. At any rate, I am happy to know that I got it this time! Thank you!

 

[niemi24s]

You're welcome. Doing this sort of malarkey is sort of a hobby of mine. There's some obscure Amtrak document that specifies each accommodation be assigned 5 different fares and "buckets" is just another word for fare. You'll notice there are 6 fares listed under Coach, but the lower one that's circled is the "saver" fare and is not considered to be a bucket - again, for some obscure reason. Saver fares are not always offered and are never offered within 2 weeks of the date of travel.

Anyway, the numbers in the chart come from Amtrak as they alone set the fares. But there's a website called AmSnag that is designed to harvest Amtrak data for a period of (at most) 30 days. If you go to the AmSnag website.. http://biketrain.net/amsnag/amSnag.php ...and enter your data, you can get info such as this:



After becoming familiar with AmSnag it's much easier to find travel dates with the lowest fares. And AmSnag makes it much, much, much easier to get all the fares to create the chart.

P.S.: Another reason doing it two one-way tickets vs. one round trip ticket with the same travel dates is not the reason for your cheaper ticket is that, unlike the airlines, there's no price break with Amtrak when buying a round trip ticket. At least on the routes I use.

 

[glomor]

Thank you! I have used AmSnag in the past when my dates were more flexible, but this time I had definite dates in mind. I'm glad it worked out.

 

[niemi24s]

You're welcome. When I said ...

. . . fluctuations in Amtrak fares can occur very frequently (as in daily) . . .,

...here's an example:



Then too, sometimes you'll see the same fare quoted for 30 days in a row! Or the same fare for the first half of a month and a different fare for the last half of that month - and then that same pattern repeated the next month! When it comes to Amtrak fares, you can't always sometimes tell what you least expect to happen the most. :blink:

 

[KmH]

Actually my dates are not flexible. I may just take coach out and roomette back. I'll have to give it some thought. . .

On the way to LA you could book a roomette for just 1 night, say the 24 hours from the La Junta, CO stop to LA, to mitigate the cost.