Ticket pick-up options for unstaffed station

[jackal]

A friend (whom I am envious of!) is flying into ORD and staying with family. He wants to keep his AGR account active and check out Indianapolis, so he's looking at making a trip on the Cardinal from DYE to IND.

DYE is an unstaffed station with no QT machine. He'd be departing DYE on 8/1, so the only option Amtrak gives him online is the express delivery option with the $15 fee. He has two reasons to avoid the fee: one, it's a fee , and two, even with express delivery, it may not make it up to Alaska before he leaves for Chicago.

If he books the ticket by phone, I can think of two workarounds: one, have them hold the ticket for pick-up at another station, or two, have them schedule the ticket for pick-up on-board.

The problem with option one is that he's with family and he doesn't really want to inconvenience them by having them drive by CUS so he can get his ticket. The problem with option two is that I'm not sure they'll offer that option given that he's still 8 days out (they offer the express delivery option up to 4 days before travel). He could wait until three days before travel to book to force the option to get the ticket on-board, but then he risks the $19 bucket getting sold out and the fare going up to $30 or higher, negating most (or all) of the $15 delivery fee.

Will he be able to have an Amtrak phone agent schedule the ticket for pick-up on-board even though he's more than three days out from travel?

Anyone have any other ideas?

 

[jackal]

As posted by the_traveler in this thread, I was reminded that it's possible to put a reservation on hold without actually paying for and ticketing the trip by calling Amtrak.

Therefore, would it work for my friend to make an unpaid reservation now (to keep the price from going up) and then calling three days before the trip to ticket it, at which point the only option would be for on-board pick up from the conductor?

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I live in Norman, OK, an unmanned station on the Heartland Flyer route and on last minute trips (booked within 2 days when Express will not work) the agent gives you a res # you give to the Conductor who actually collects your payment and handwrites your ticket for that segment. But in that case, it likely will not make it automatically into AGR; so a follow up phone call to them is usually needed. Sometimes I have to remind the res agent of that option.

Perhaps that would be an option for him as well?

 

[jackal]

I live in Norman, OK, an unmanned station on the Heartland Flyer route and on last minute trips (booked within 2 days when Express will not work) the agent gives you a res # you give to the Conductor who actually collects your payment and handwrites your ticket for that segment. But in that case, it likely will not make it automatically into AGR; so a follow up phone call to them is usually needed. Sometimes I have to remind the res agent of that option.
Perhaps that would be an option for him as well?

Possibly. He's held a reservation via Julie and must purchase by the 28th. I don't know if it's different than the hold a res agent can place, but Julie informed him that the price may go up. (So it's more like a saved itinerary than an actual reservation.) And the 28th is 4 days before departure, so they'll likely still require him to do the express delivery option.

So, I had a couple more ideas:

1) Since canceled tickets get redeposited back at the same fare bucket, could he book a reservation now at the $19 bucket, mark it for pick-up at a station, and then three days before departure cancel his ticket and then book another one for pick-up on-board?

2) Or, perhaps simpler (if they'll allow it): book now, mark it for pick-up at a station, and then three days before departure, call in and say he wouldn't be able to make it by a station and to change it to on-board pick-up?

In the meantime, if he speaks to a live agent, can they actually put a real reservation on hold (not just a saved itinerary which may be subject to price increases)?

 

[the_traveler]

DYE is an unstaffed station with no QT machine. He'd be departing DYE on 8/1, so the only option Amtrak gives him online is the express delivery option with the $15 fee.

:blink: I'm confused! (That's not to hard to do! :lol: )

If DYE is an unstaffed station, why is there a $15 fee for delivery? :huh: When the departing station is unstaffed, there is no delivery fee! If you are departing from a staffed station (such as CHI or NYP or LAX or even KIN ), there would be a $15 fee!

If I was going from KIN-MYS (Mystic, CT), KIN is staffed - so there would be a $15 delivery charge if I wanted it delivered. If I wanted a MYS-KIN ticket, since MYS is unstaffed, there is no delivery fee. But if I did not want them delivered, I could call up and ask to pick them up at another station! Or, normally I wouldn't do it, but I could book KIN-MYS-KIN round trip online!

 

[Dovecote]

I have a similar situation as outlined by Jackal. Frequently I travel into WAS from HFY on short notice (within 7 days) on the CL avoiding MARC service. I too am prompted by using the express delivery option when booking online (no QT in HFY). My only recourse is to wait until the day of departure and call Julie and make the reservation and get reconnected to an agent to receive a reservation and boarding number. I then board the train, pay the fare, and receive a paper ticket that I will forward to AGR for point credits. The price at times is a little higher when I wait until the last minute. However, it is cost effective since it will not exceed $15 had I used the delivery option.

I too would like to get around this inconvience as originally asked by Jackal. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[the_traveler]

Frequently I travel into WAS from HFY on short notice (within 7 days) on the CL avoiding MARC service. I too am prompted by using the express delivery option when booking online (no QT in HFY).
Any help would be appreciated.

Is there any way you could book a round trip from WAS to HFY? :huh: (Example - You need HFY-WAS on day #2, book WAS-HFY for day #1 and HFY-WAS for day #2 and pickup up the ticket in WAS. Then get a voucher - after the trip that you couldn't take - for the WAS-HFY ticket. ) Or call up and book with an agent, and ask if you can pick up the HFY-WAS ticket in WAS!

..........

My mind is working overtime - I need a trip soon! I'm glad I'm leaving in a few hours! (But it may not be soon enough!)

 

[Dovecote]

Frequently I travel into WAS from HFY on short notice (within 7 days) on the CL avoiding MARC service. I too am prompted by using the express delivery option when booking online (no QT in HFY).
Any help would be appreciated.

Is there any way you could book a round trip from WAS to HFY? :huh: (Example - You need HFY-WAS on day #2, book WAS-HFY for day #1 and HFY-WAS for day #2 and pickup up the ticket in WAS. Then get a voucher - after the trip that you couldn't take - for the WAS-HFY ticket. ) Or call up and book with an agent, and ask if you can pick up the HFY-WAS ticket in WAS!

..........

My mind is working overtime - I need a trip soon! I'm glad I'm leaving in a few hours! (But it may not be soon enough!)

Thanks for your suggestions. Option 1 would require a trip to WAS that would not be time and cost effective. Tried option 2 back in the days when I was a MARC commuter going into WAS. The phone agent would not give me the option of picking up a ticket in WAS on a trip originating in HFY. I will certainlly try this approach again in the future but since I am now retired I would pick up the ticket in MRB (QT was installed recently).

Here is another thought, if I purchase a MRB>WAS ticket (at MRB QT) but depart from HFY, will the conductor let me on the train? There is a nominal difference in price. It is certainly worth the price difference for me. Saving the aggravation of submitting point credits to AGR is at the top of the list.

 

[the_traveler]

I would pick up the ticket in MRB (QT was installed recently).
Here is another thought, if I purchase a MRB>WAS ticket (at MRB QT) but depart from HFY, will the conductor let me on the train? There is a nominal difference in price. It is certainly worth the price difference for me.

Certainly! MBG is further than HFY, so there is no problem. If anything, the Conductor may be concerned that you paid too much - since you paid for a segment that you didn't ride!

 

[Dovecote]

Certainly! MBG is further than HFY, so there is no problem. If anything, the Conductor may be concerned that you paid too much - since you paid for a segment that you didn't ride!

Thanks!

 

[Chatter163]

I realize that the delivery would be in Alaska, but feel confident that the tickets could arrive in time with express mail. Why not call and ask?

 

[jackal]

DYE is an unstaffed station with no QT machine. He'd be departing DYE on 8/1, so the only option Amtrak gives him online is the express delivery option with the $15 fee.

:blink: I'm confused! (That's not to hard to do! :lol: )

If DYE is an unstaffed station, why is there a $15 fee for delivery? :huh: When the departing station is unstaffed, there is no delivery fee! If you are departing from a staffed station (such as CHI or NYP or LAX or even KIN ), there would be a $15 fee!

If he was doing this a month out, there wouldn't be. This is for next week, and he's inside the cutoff for regular mail delivery and is now subject to express delivery.

I realize that the delivery would be in Alaska, but feel confident that the tickets could arrive in time with express mail. Why not call and ask?

Well, he's leaving here a few days before the Amtrak ticket. I don't know exactly when, but if it's Tuesday or Wednesday, then if the tickets get mailed out on Monday, there's a chance they'd miss him.

He could have it mailed to his family's residence in IL, but then he's still paying the $15 express delivery fee. The objective is to avoid almost doubling the $19 ticket.

Ah, looking forward to the days of electronic ticketing...

 

[p&sr]

Or, perhaps simpler (if they'll allow it): book now, mark it for pick-up at a station, and then three days before departure, call in and say he wouldn't be able to make it by a station and to change it to on-board pick-up?

I'd vote for this one. It should be simple for an agent to Change an Existing Reservation. And saying that "something came up and now I have to do it this other way" should be easy for them to understand. Much easier than trying to explain the whole situation with all its complexities up front when they won't know what to do about it.

This way, it "walks them along" in gentle steps. Easier on everybody that way.