Upgrade coupon questions

[Dovecote]

Should I ask Kim to upgrade mine for me?

Nah, you know how to do it

 

[Kim1977]

I did it again. I got 3 upgrades from business class to first class on Acela without turning in any upgrade coupons. Just called 48hrs in advance, spoke to a nice woman, told her I would like to upgrade an existing reservation using upgrade coupones. I had 3 coupons to use for myself, my husband and my mother-in-law which I had the tickets on one reservation. The agent said no problem, applied the upgrade code, then said wait I have to manually preserve your original rail fare (great, I was going to ask her anyway). She did it, then I said do I have to pay again and she said no your original payment stands.

I asked her to email me the new reservation and she said she already had. I then printed this, brought it to quik-track, printed the 3 first class tickets and never turned in any coupons.

I'm not sure if I am just getting agents that don't know how to do it correctly and it keeps ending up in my favor?

 

[amamba]

You know, if it happens once that is definitely cool, but to take advantage of the system like this on multiple times is bad for everyone. It will spoil it for everyone when they eliminate these coupons completely (or do something else) if this continues to happen.

 

[rrdude]

Bull. They will just tighten it up, that's all. Look at it like a loophole, sooner or later it will be corrected. It's not "bad" to take advantage of it? Who does it hurt, other than Amtrak's revenue"

 

[Kim1977]

You know, if it happens once that is definitely cool, but to take advantage of the system like this on multiple times is bad for everyone. It will spoil it for everyone when they eliminate these coupons completely (or do something else) if this continues to happen.

I wasn't taking advantage of anything. I was following the exact orders of the agent I spoke to on the phone. I was told to take their new email that they were sending and use that to scan to pick up my tickets. I was even warned to do a new print out, not take the original email with original bar code since they had now modified the reservation. I was doing exactly as the agent instructed. If they were giving me the wrong instructions, that's their problem, not mine.

 

[rrdude]

Just did the same thing for this Friday's trip to NYC, and expect to do the same thing on my return on Acela on Sunday night. I likey. Of course at some point Amtrak will realize this, and start issuing electronic "codes" that can only be used once, but until that time! Enjoy! (and this forum will be "blamed" for screwing up another Amtrak-goodie)

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Bull. They will just tighten it up, that's all. Look at it like a loophole, sooner or later it will be corrected. It's not "bad" to take advantage of it? Who does it hurt, other than Amtrak's revenue"

Except that we're supposedly a bunch of passenger rail supporters. Or at least I thought we were. :excl:

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I wasn't taking advantage of anything. I was following the exact orders of the agent I spoke to on the phone. I was told to take their new email that they were sending and use that to scan to pick up my tickets. I was even warned to do a new print out, not take the original email with original bar code since they had now modified the reservation. I was doing exactly as the agent instructed. If they were giving me the wrong instructions, that's their problem, not mine.

You sound like a natural politician.

 

[rrdude]

Sounds like a red-blooded American, taking advantage of the "law" or "policies" that benefit them. While it is "legal".

 

[Ryan]

For sure. I like Amtrak as much (or more) than the next guy, but if there's a loophole in the rules (be it first class upgrades or multizone circular trips) you'd better believe that I'll take advantage of it. If it's really all that detrimental, Amtrak'll figure it out soon enough and get it fixed.

 

[Kim1977]

I wasn't taking advantage of anything. I was following the exact orders of the agent I spoke to on the phone. I was told to take their new email that they were sending and use that to scan to pick up my tickets. I was even warned to do a new print out, not take the original email with original bar code since they had now modified the reservation. I was doing exactly as the agent instructed. If they were giving me the wrong instructions, that's their problem, not mine.

You sound like a natural politician.

I'm not even sure what that means. I ride Amtrak all the time, spending $1000's of dollars a year. I had 6 round trips between the Boston area and DC area in the last 2 months. And yes, I had upgrades on two of those trips where the coupon wasn't collected because Amtrak agents did not process it properly and I followed their instructions to pick it up at Quik Track. If that hurt Amtrak's revenue, fine, but it was due to them not properly training their agenst, not due to me.

If I was just any other person who was not reading this board, the same thing would have happened, they would have followed the agent's instructions and gotten a free upgrade. However, because I happen to read this board and asked Alan how to upgrade over the phone and he told me how, that is the only way that I knew that the agent wasn't doing it right. So, it's probably happening to lots of people that aren't even on this board and if Amtrak fixes the issue, than good for them. Until that time, I say good for anyone who gets a free upgrade. It worked out great for my mother in-law's first trip on Amtrak (when I upgraded us), she loved it.

I always liked reading and posting here because my questions were answered and I posted some info (trip reports) as well to contribute. But I won't post anymore, everyone gets attacked for no reason.

Kim

 

[Ispolkom]

I always liked reading and posting here because my questions were answered and I posted some info (trip reports) as well to contribute. But I won't post anymore, everyone gets attacked for no reason.

Kim

Kim, I'd not be so quick to leave Amtrak Unlimited. Remember, you can easily configure your account not to read responses by irritating members. I find it improve the Amtrak Unlimited experiences significantly.

And I really can't understand the negative responses to your post.

a. I sure didn't see people complaining about loophole itineraries when they were possible. Heck no, people compiled lists of them, even though they were an obvious abuse of the system.

Me, I only was annoyed by the greater publicity, which I was sure to lead to a crackdown. Since I'm going on my 4th loophole trip of the year next month, I certainly have no moral high ground there.

b. I haven't read postings from people who called in to Amtrak to complain about extra AGR points being posted to their accounts. (Don't tell me I'm the only one that happens to.)

c. You're supposed to enforce AGR's unpublished regulations? You're supposed to correct the AGR clerk? That's absurd!

Mrs. Ispolkom is the church-goer, but Matthew 7:3 comes to mind here.

 

[amamba]

Say you only have one upgrade coupon, that you are supposed to turn in to get the upgrade. The coupon isn't collected, so then you continue to use the coupon over and over again. If you have used that ONE coupon 6 times, that is taking advantage of the system. Amtrak can lose revenue if first class ends up sold out and someone is not able to buy the upgrade. That is all I am saying, take it or leave it. You can choose to ignore my opinion, and that's all it is, just my opinion.

Taking advantage of a loophole trip wasn't breaking any rules, because the rules were that you paid by the zones compared to where you started and ended your trip, not how many you traveled across (this has now been changed). I am all about taking advantage of legitimate loopholes - that is why they are called loopholes - but continuing to use one coupon that was designed to be turned in and collected is breaking the rules and not a loophole in my opinion. You are obviously free to make your own decisions and your own choices, just my $0.02. :lol:

 

[Devil's Advocate]

For sure. I like Amtrak as much (or more) than the next guy, but if there's a loophole in the rules (be it first class upgrades or multizone circular trips) you'd better believe that I'll take advantage of it. If it's really all that detrimental, Amtrak'll figure it out soon enough and get it fixed.

The funny thing is that I don't like Amtrak as much as the next guy here and yet even I can see the irony of fans who are willing to defraud Amtrak and then pass along their lie of omission to other fans. Being legal or not doesn't change the fact that it's fraud. In the end it's not a huge deal to me if people continue to use one pass multiple times, I just want the folks who do it to call a spade a spade.

You sound like a natural politician.

I'm not even sure what that means.

It means you claim that merely being "legal" somehow makes your actions honest. You're using intentional deception and claiming it's someone else's fault for letting you get away with it. It's a very common defense among politicians who get caught doing something dishonest. It's not the end of the world but it certainly opens you up to criticism, which you've apparently never encountered before.

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Well I just got off the phone with Amtrak after successfully nabbing the last BC seat on tomorrows Maple Leaf. The agent was very friendly and processed everything properly. As soon as I hung up I received an E-Mail confirming my reservation had been modified. It contained a bar code to scan at a quik-trak! I will see what happens tomorrow when I go pick up my ticket. I'd be nice to not have turn in this coupon, so I can use it on my way home Sunday.

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Well I suppose my memory failed me there's no quik trak here in nfl but even when I went to the desk the gentlemen just printed my tickets and told me I was all set I guess I really lucked out.

 

[AlanB]

Maybe a football player stole it! :lol:

The Quik-trak that is.

 

[the_traveler]

Maybe a football player stole it! :lol:

The Quik-trak that is.

You mean it got sacked for a loss?

 

[AlanB]

Maybe a football player stole it! :lol:

The Quik-trak that is.

You mean it got sacked for a loss?

Well it is NFL.

 

[Dovecote]

I did it again. I got 3 upgrades from business class to first class on Acela without turning in any upgrade coupons. Just called 48hrs in advance, spoke to a nice woman, told her I would like to upgrade an existing reservation using upgrade coupones. I had 3 coupons to use for myself, my husband and my mother-in-law which I had the tickets on one reservation. The agent said no problem, applied the upgrade code, then said wait I have to manually preserve your original rail fare (great, I was going to ask her anyway). She did it, then I said do I have to pay again and she said no your original payment stands.

I asked her to email me the new reservation and she said she already had. I then printed this, brought it to quik-track, printed the 3 first class tickets and never turned in any coupons.

I'm not sure if I am just getting agents that don't know how to do it correctly and it keeps ending up in my favor?

Just did the same thing for this Friday's trip to NYC, and expect to do the same thing on my return on Acela on Sunday night. I likey. Of course at some point Amtrak will realize this, and start issuing electronic "codes" that can only be used once, but until that time! Enjoy! (and this forum will be "blamed" for screwing up another Amtrak-goodie)

Here is an update to this somewhat old post. To make a long story short, this inaccuracy has been corrected. I upgraded to first class on Acela via a phone call to an Amtrak agent. A new email was received after the completion of the upgrade process. I attempted to get the first class tickets from a Quik Trak machine but was unable to complete the transaction. A message on the screen informed me to see an agent to receive the tickets. I did receive the tickets for my wife and I AFTER the upgrade coupons were given to the ticket agent.