The Discounted NE Regional Fares

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Acela150

Acela150

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Guys,

I WAS contemplating on going up to the Boston area on the 21st of August. I just changed those plans because the $60 NE Regional fare went up to $114. So don't let it get to you. Amtrak said it's because the fare "sold-out". When I called Amtrak and asked about it. The agent said it should be $60 for all trains. So don't be bought into the story.

Stephen
 
Acela150 said:
Guys,
I WAS contemplating on going up to the Boston area on the 21st of August. I just changed those plans because the $60 NE Regional fare went up to $114. So don't let it get to you. Amtrak said it's because the fare "sold-out". When I called Amtrak and asked about it. The agent said it should be $60 for all trains. So don't be bought into the story.

Stephen
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Stephen,

It seems the four (or 5 if you count 66) early trains are still at $60. The increase to $114 indicates only so many seats are available at the discounted price...much like the airlines with their $1 seats.

Could you leave earlier in the day?

Mike
 
I think the "special fare sale" is only IF seats are available ON THAT TRAIN AND AVAILABLE IN THE LOWEST BUCKET! (If the fare for that specific train is in the 2nd or higher bucket - then you won't find the "special sale fare" on that train!)
 
I certainly wouldn't call it a lie. I just booked a round trip to Philly for $60 in two weeks. It's just as others said, than when demand levels close out the lowest bucket, there goes the discounted fare!

But speaking of which, I thought you wouldn't be caught dead on a Regional in coach?
 
Acela150 said:
No I can't do a 6 hour trip in coach. So I was going to use AGR upgrade coupons.
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Might as well save yourself the aggrivation then, since the terms state:

Valid for discounted one-way Coach fares only; no Business class upgrades allowed.

I'm pretty sure that means paid or unpaid upgrades.
 
The Metropolitan said:
Acela150 said:
No I can't do a 6 hour trip in coach. So I was going to use AGR upgrade coupons.
Click to expand...
Might as well save yourself the aggrivation then, since the terms state:

Valid for discounted one-way Coach fares only; no Business class upgrades allowed.

I'm pretty sure that means paid or unpaid upgrades.
Click to expand...
Just this past week I was able to upgrade a "discounted fare" to First Class on Acela, no problem. The ClubAcela agent didn't even skip a beat. I used the Select 1-hour coupons. The only problem I had is that I had to wait exactly one hour before departure (sometimes I'm able to "slip in" a bit earlier).

I am thinking that "No upgrades allowed" language means, no pre-confirmed upgrades. Or at least, that seems to be what is happening in the system. For example, when I go book a train at the super discounted fare and try to upgrade it there, it automatically bumps up the base price to the next upgradeable bucket.

That being said, I would never *depend* on it. With any upgrade, I'm always prepared to sit in the class of purchase.

As they say, YMMV. :)
 
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I called Amtrak and the agent didn't know if you can use the upgrade coupon. So I said I'll find out when I pick them up at PHL after I book the trip. Plus it looks like now I'll go up on Saturday when the fare is at the lowest. But I agree with yj722 I think it means when you book it.
 
Amtrak would be stupid to not allow you to upgrade if you're willing to pay for it and the inventory is about to perish. Seats are a perishable product, use them or lose them. And it's better to get some money than no money at all.
 
Amtrak just gave you a heavily discounted fare, they don't have to give you a free upgrade. The coupon states no upgrades on discounted fares. The agent in the CA must not have been paying attention if you got a free upgrade on a discounted fare.

They won't even let one pay for an upgrade, I'm certain that they don't want to give an upgrade away for free.
 
I also think it's a very bad practice on the web site to silently sell a discounted non-refundable fare without telling you ANYWHERE that it is so. The only mention of it is on the ticket which is usually not even seen until right before travel. Only savvy travelers like us that pretty much know all of the current buckets can figure it out.
 
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tj722 said:
I also think it's a very bad practice on the web site to silently sell a discounted non-refundable fare without telling you ANYWHERE that it is so. The only mention of it is on the ticket which is usually not even seen until right before travel. Only savvy travelers like us that pretty much know all of the current buckets can figure it out.
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On top of that if for some reason you do want a regular unrestricted ticket you can't buy it online if the discounted one is available. The only fare that shows up is the discounted one.
 
Upstate said:
tj722 said:
I also think it's a very bad practice on the web site to silently sell a discounted non-refundable fare without telling you ANYWHERE that it is so. The only mention of it is on the ticket which is usually not even seen until right before travel. Only savvy travelers like us that pretty much know all of the current buckets can figure it out.
Click to expand...
On top of that if for some reason you do want a regular unrestricted ticket you can't buy it online if the discounted one is available. The only fare that shows up is the discounted one.
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You CAN buy it online! It's just that you can't request an adult fare - which would give you the restricted 20% off fare if it's available. But if you request a fare like AAA, NARP, etc... - you will get the normal 10% or 15% discount and it's unrestricted!
 
the_traveler said:
You CAN buy it online! It's just that you can't request an adult fare - which would give you the restricted 20% off fare if it's available. But if you request a fare like AAA, NARP, etc... - you will get the normal 10% or 15% discount and it's unrestricted!
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Which explains why my Hartford to New York ticket I was pricing out went from $26 to $30.60 when I switched to AAA Adult. I'd rather pay the extra $4 to be able to cancel if I need to. I agree that there should be a way online to figure out if a ticket is nonrefundable or not.
 
the_traveler said:
Upstate said:
tj722 said:
I also think it's a very bad practice on the web site to silently sell a discounted non-refundable fare without telling you ANYWHERE that it is so. The only mention of it is on the ticket which is usually not even seen until right before travel. Only savvy travelers like us that pretty much know all of the current buckets can figure it out.
Click to expand...
On top of that if for some reason you do want a regular unrestricted ticket you can't buy it online if the discounted one is available. The only fare that shows up is the discounted one.
Click to expand...
You CAN buy it online! It's just that you can't request an adult fare - which would give you the restricted 20% off fare if it's available. But if you request a fare like AAA, NARP, etc... - you will get the normal 10% or 15% discount and it's unrestricted!
Click to expand...
so how about the people that only fall into the adult category and want a unrestricted ticket.
 
I don't know about that question Upstate. But I just got off the phone with a very nice Amtrak Ticket Agent about 2 minutes ago and asked about using the upgrade coupon for Coach to Biz and I CAN upgrade. But... I have to use it day of departure with in an hour of departure.
 
Upstate said:
the_traveler said:
You CAN buy it online! It's just that you can't request an adult fare - which would give you the restricted 20% off fare if it's available. But if you request a fare like AAA, NARP, etc... - you will get the normal 10% or 15% discount and it's unrestricted!
Click to expand...
so how about the people that only fall into the adult category and want a unrestricted ticket.
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That's the bad thing about these special fares. You can not avoid them if you must use an adult fare - and there is no way to know it's non-refundable if you didn't before!
 
ALC_Rail_Writer said:
p&sr said:
Unfair of Amtrak, and totally unacceptable.
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Unfair, but industry standard.
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Not good enough. No policy can survive without the Free Choice and Informed Consent of the Customer. This policy leaves the Customer Uninformed, and forces a "Choice" WITHOUT Consent.

If people find out, they can Demand Better! Otherwise, we can Challenge it in Court to DEMAND our unjustly- and secretly-denied Refunds.
 
p&sr said:
ALC_Rail_Writer said:
p&sr said:
Unfair of Amtrak, and totally unacceptable.
Click to expand...
Unfair, but industry standard.
Click to expand...
Not good enough. No policy can survive without the Free Choice and Informed Consent of the Customer. This policy leaves the Customer Uninformed, and forces a "Choice" WITHOUT Consent.

If people find out, they can Demand Better! Otherwise, we can Challenge it in Court to DEMAND our unjustly- and secretly-denied Refunds.
Click to expand...
Umm-- I agreed with you that it was unfair. I don't have to justify company policy to you, and believe it or not the policy was well spelled out-- I'm sorry if somebody didn't read the T&C closely enough or couldn't find them but I for one could see it on the website and there was no attempt to hide the special.

It's like the $1 seats on a MegaBus. Does anybody complain when they get a $48 seat? Yeah, sometimes... but it should come without question that a program has conditions. The customer is not always right, sorry, those that get a special fare should be happy they got the fare. Those that didn't shouldn't over re-act.

Incidentally, I am sure that these tickets can be used as vouchers towards the purchase of another ticket.
 
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