Refund policy

[socalsteve]

The "1 roomette" topic caused me to check the prices for our planned trip on the SWC this summer. It's gone up a couple hundred since I last priced it.

My problem is that my wife won't be sure about her vacation time for another month or so. If I buy the tickets now, my understanding is that they're fully refundable (including accommodation charges) until a week before the travel date. Is this correct? If that's the case, I'll go ahead and buy now and get a refund if needed.

And with this post, I'm now a Service Attendant. Woohoo!

 

[AlanB]

They are fully refundable as long as you don't pickup or have the tickets mailed to you. Once the tickets are physically printed, then you can only get a 90% refund, or take 100% in the form of a voucher good for future travel on Amtrak.

But it is critical that you don't pick up the tickets until you are certain that you are really going to travel. And of course don't forget the 7 day rule for the sleeper accomodations.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

The "1 roomette" topic caused me to check the prices for our planned trip on the SWC this summer. It's gone up a couple hundred since I last priced it.
My problem is that my wife won't be sure about her vacation time for another month or so. If I buy the tickets now, my understanding is that they're fully refundable (including accommodation charges) until a week before the travel date. Is this correct? If that's the case, I'll go ahead and buy now and get a refund if needed.

And with this post, I'm now a Service Attendant. Woohoo!

Correct. Sort of. I believe you will get a refund in cash/credit of 90% if you do so, or get it as credit on future Amtrak travel for 100%. For me this is the same thing. I'll use it, but if you aren't a frequent traveller I suspect its more of a distinction.

 

[socalsteve]

The "1 roomette" topic caused me to check the prices for our planned trip on the SWC this summer. It's gone up a couple hundred since I last priced it.
My problem is that my wife won't be sure about her vacation time for another month or so. If I buy the tickets now, my understanding is that they're fully refundable (including accommodation charges) until a week before the travel date. Is this correct? If that's the case, I'll go ahead and buy now and get a refund if needed.

And with this post, I'm now a Service Attendant. Woohoo!

Correct. Sort of. I believe you will get a refund in cash/credit of 90% if you do so, or get it as credit on future Amtrak travel for 100%. For me this is the same thing. I'll use it, but if you aren't a frequent traveller I suspect its more of a distinction.

I see that 10% rule on the website now, but it looks like it's a max $100, which is less that the fare will go up if I wait.

 

[AlanB]

The "1 roomette" topic caused me to check the prices for our planned trip on the SWC this summer. It's gone up a couple hundred since I last priced it.
My problem is that my wife won't be sure about her vacation time for another month or so. If I buy the tickets now, my understanding is that they're fully refundable (including accommodation charges) until a week before the travel date. Is this correct? If that's the case, I'll go ahead and buy now and get a refund if needed.

And with this post, I'm now a Service Attendant. Woohoo!

Correct. Sort of. I believe you will get a refund in cash/credit of 90% if you do so, or get it as credit on future Amtrak travel for 100%. For me this is the same thing. I'll use it, but if you aren't a frequent traveller I suspect its more of a distinction.

I see that 10% rule on the website now, but it looks like it's a max $100, which is less that the fare will go up if I wait.

But again, the 10% rule only applies if the tickets have been printed on ticket stock. If the reservation remains electronic only, then you can cancel without any penalty, assuming that you don't violate the 7 day rule for the sleeping accomodations.

 

[Everydaymatters]

Alan - what's the 7 day rule for roomettes?

Betty

 

[AlanB]

Alan - what's the 7 day rule for roomettes?

Actually the rule applies to all sleepers, not just roomettes. When one has booked a sleeper, in order to get a full refund one must cancel prior to 7 days before departure.

 

[rtabern]

Yes - good advice about NOT picking up the physical ticket until you are sure you are going to go.

About 2 weekends a month I'll go on daytrips from Chicago... usually either down to Galesburg, Springfield, or Carbondale... and back to Chicago.

To get the best fare "bucket", I will book these trips months in advance. And it's worth it... because SPI-CHI on the Texas Eagle can cost you as low as $16.20. But if you wait and book at the last minute, it goes all the way up to $50. (one-way)

So I just book these trips on-line... but don't pick up the tickets until I'm sure I am free that weekend and can go. If I have something else that comes up I'd rather do, I just cancel the tickets and it goes back on my credit card with no penalties.

I wish airlines were that nice!

 

[socalsteve]

I bought the tickets last night. I found that if we left a day later, we saved about $200, so we did that. I'll pick up the tickets a month or so before we go--we're not leaving until August! The reservation clerk said they'd been getting a lot of early business because people say they just don't want to drive this summer with gas prices what they are.

One odd thing--the clerk said I was entitled to use the first-class lounges in Los Angeles and Chicago. I told him that there is no first-class lounge in LA and hadn't been for some time. He seemed surprised by this.

Thanks for everyone's help. I'll be looking for some station info in Chicago and Pittsburgh as the date approaches.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

They are fully refundable as long as you don't pickup or have the tickets mailed to you. Once the tickets are physically printed, then you can only get a 90% refund, or take 100% in the form of a voucher good for future travel on Amtrak.
But it is critical that you don't pick up the tickets until you are certain that you are really going to travel. And of course don't forget the 7 day rule for the sleeper accomodations.

Why isn't this explained more clearly on pages 124 and 125 of the printed timetable?

 

[AlanB]

They are fully refundable as long as you don't pickup or have the tickets mailed to you. Once the tickets are physically printed, then you can only get a 90% refund, or take 100% in the form of a voucher good for future travel on Amtrak.
But it is critical that you don't pick up the tickets until you are certain that you are really going to travel. And of course don't forget the 7 day rule for the sleeper accomodations.

Why isn't this explained more clearly on pages 124 and 125 of the printed timetable?

No clue.

 

[meatpuff]

They are fully refundable as long as you don't pickup or have the tickets mailed to you. Once the tickets are physically printed, then you can only get a 90% refund, or take 100% in the form of a voucher good for future travel on Amtrak.
But it is critical that you don't pick up the tickets until you are certain that you are really going to travel. And of course don't forget the 7 day rule for the sleeper accomodations.

I have a situation where I know I want to leave NYC either such-and-such day, or the day after (both in the summer). I'll be staying at a friend's house and haven't yet decided whether I should stay there three days, or will have had enough after two and be ready to get out of town. It doesn't matter to him, and I already have the time off work.

So I am tempted to book an overnight return on the LSL on such-and-such day AND an identical itinerary the day after (both in COACH!). Then the day before such-and-such day decide which day to leave and cancel the appropriate itinerary. In other words book two trips months in advance, knowing that I have no intention of taking one of them. And indeed I almost physically couldn't take both of them (but might be possible in the Jet Age).

Is this a good idea? Has anyone done something like this? Is there any reason I wouldn't expect to get fully refunded for one of them if I cancel before the scheduled departure?

I suspect I might get accused of doing something unethical, and I might head that off right now and point out that this won't violate any Amtrak policies I know of or probably inconvenience any other travelers or Amtrak if I cancel 24 hours in advance. I'll add that Amtrak's bucket pricing combined with liberal refund policies is the only reason that I would even consider this. If I could walk up to the ticket counter the day I want to travel and not pay three times as much, I would do that!

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Usually, when ethics come into play its because something is wrong, yet does not violate the letter of any rules, policies, or standards. I'm going to imagine that since you are bringing this up, you don't feel too good about it. I was in a similar situation over something else recently.

That being said, unless it is a crowded train, I don't see much problem with it. You'll cost a few people more money than they would otherwise have spent (the ones that were tipped into an upper bucket one tic sooner than if you hadn't done this), so it really boils down to how you feel about it.

 

[Chris J.]

Usually, when ethics come into play its because something is wrong, yet does not violate the letter of any rules, policies, or standards. I'm going to imagine that since you are bringing this up, you don't feel too good about it. I was in a similar situation over something else recently.
That being said, unless it is a crowded train, I don't see much problem with it. You'll cost a few people more money than they would otherwise have spent (the ones that were tipped into an upper bucket one tic sooner than if you hadn't done this), so it really boils down to how you feel about it.

If you cancel a trip does the tickets go back in the original bucket you bought them from or do they go back into the current one? If it's the former, someone might end up with a last minute bargain from the cancelled trip

Cheers

Chris

 

[AlanB]

Usually, when ethics come into play its because something is wrong, yet does not violate the letter of any rules, policies, or standards. I'm going to imagine that since you are bringing this up, you don't feel too good about it. I was in a similar situation over something else recently.
That being said, unless it is a crowded train, I don't see much problem with it. You'll cost a few people more money than they would otherwise have spent (the ones that were tipped into an upper bucket one tic sooner than if you hadn't done this), so it really boils down to how you feel about it.

If you cancel a trip does the tickets go back in the original bucket you bought them from or do they go back into the current one? If it's the former, someone might end up with a last minute bargain from the cancelled trip

Cheers

Chris

Based upon observations and reports on the net, it appears that cancelled tickets for seats or sleepers go back into inventory at their original bucket level, and not the current level.

 

[meatpuff]

Usually, when ethics come into play its because something is wrong, yet does not violate the letter of any rules, policies, or standards. I'm going to imagine that since you are bringing this up, you don't feel too good about it. I was in a similar situation over something else recently.
That being said, unless it is a crowded train, I don't see much problem with it. You'll cost a few people more money than they would otherwise have spent (the ones that were tipped into an upper bucket one tic sooner than if you hadn't done this), so it really boils down to how you feel about it.

In all honesty, I was only worried about someone else finding this unacceptable and getting flamed, I'm fine with it! I'm just bouncing it off this board to see if there are any holes in the plan before I risk the ~$300 I would have to put in play.

If it's a not-crowded train, everyone will be able to buy tickets, someone might get kicked into a higher bucket early, but someone else will get a bargain late. If it's a sold-out train, surely my cancelled reservation can be sold to someone in the last 24 hours. It doesn't seem that Amtrak or the traveling public suffers.