what is absolute latest you can print tickets?

[rms492]

I have barcode printout, what is absolute latest I can print without risking cancellation?

Up to the departure day itself?

"Subject to cancellation unless purchased by March 1, 2012"

So that means, my train departs on March 1, 2012, can I pick them up in the station on March 1, say 1 hour before departure?

And this "purchased" is confusing, I already purchased them! Maybe they should restate it to say "unless picked up by...."

thanks

 

[ChrisJ]

Yep, day of departure, hour before, even less than that is just fine. Been there, done that.

 

[me_little_me]

I have barcode printout, what is absolute latest I can print without risking cancellation?

Up to the departure day itself?

"Subject to cancellation unless purchased by March 1, 2012"

So that means, my train departs on March 1, 2012, can I pick them up in the station on March 1, say 1 hour before departure?

And this "purchased" is confusing, I already purchased them! Maybe they should restate it to say "unless picked up by...."

thanks

I scan the barcode at the station while waiting for the train to arrive - and in some cases while the train is at the station.

 

[the_traveler]

And this "purchased" is confusing, I already purchased them! Maybe they should restate it to say "unless picked up by...."

Technically, you did not "purchase" your ticket until it is printed. You could cancel right up to departure time (for coach travel) and receive the complete fare back. (Yes, that statement is confusing!

)

 

[Acela150]

Basically when it say purchased it means, picked up. As the_traveler said. If you paid for it by credit card online or via phone then all you have to do is pick it up but, it's paid for. That's what it means by purchase. Very easy and simple. But no need to fear just as long as you have your ticket in hand by departure time your all set!

 

[amamba]

Please note, however, that you CANNOT print tickets from the quik-trak AFTER the scheduled departure time. I don't know if this applies if the train is late, though. For example, I often ticket myself starting at BOS even though I board in PVD (more AGR points, and it only costs $9 more). I always have to pick up my tickets/print my tickets before the train departs BOS, otherwise the quik-trak won't print them.

 

[the_traveler]

I don't know if this applies if the train is late, though.

You mean some trains are late at times?

#*@*% I can't believe it!

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

You could cancel right up to departure time (for coach travel) and receive the complete fare back. (Yes, that statement is confusing!

)

Is "departure time", when your train leaves its original station, or when it departs your station?

For example, if you are taking a Silver, that goes from NYP to MIA, but you are boarding in WAS, is the refund cut-off "departing time" the time the train leaves NYP or the time the train leaves WAS ?

 

[Long Train Runnin']

You could cancel right up to departure time (for coach travel) and receive the complete fare back. (Yes, that statement is confusing!

)

Is "departure time", when your train leaves its original station, or when it departs your station

For example, if you are taking a Silver, that goes from NYP to MIA, but you are boarding in WAS, is the refund cut-off "departing time" the time the train leaves NYP or the time the train leaves WAS ?

Its departure time for the station you are travelling from.

 

[amamba]

You could cancel right up to departure time (for coach travel) and receive the complete fare back. (Yes, that statement is confusing!

)

Is "departure time", when your train leaves its original station, or when it departs your station

For example, if you are taking a Silver, that goes from NYP to MIA, but you are boarding in WAS, is the refund cut-off "departing time" the time the train leaves NYP or the time the train leaves WAS ?

Its departure time for the station you are travelling from.

And I would just add that its departure for the station you are ticketed from - regardless of if you board there or at a different station.

 

[the_traveler]

I was just going to add that too!

As amamba stated above she buys tickets from Boston but boards in PVD. In that case, it's the departure time from Boston, not PVD! If your ticket is from BAL to FL, but you decide (for some reason) to board in WAS, it's the departure time in BAL!

 

[fairviewroad]

Technically, you did not "purchase" your ticket until it is printed.

Yeah, try telling that to your credit card company!

"Yeah, about that $500 train ticket, well I don't act actually owe you any money for that since Amtrak says I haven't actually purchased the ticket yet. I'll

send you the money next March...capiche??

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Technically, you did not "purchase" your ticket until it is printed.

You simply paid a 100% deposit. :giggle:

 

[gatelouse]

I've been curious about this too: if a train is an hour late, can one show up after the train's departure time to pick up the tickets from a Quik-Trak? I figure that we're all afraid to try, for fear that our reservations will get canceled. But I suspect that the system may be smart enough to account for late trains. And here are a couple of ways we can test the system without actually risking a reservation:

- Anyone ever picked up a ticket from an agent after a train's departure time (at a station with no Quik-Trak)? Did the agent have to do any extra typing to reinstate the reservation?

- Next time you're at a Quik-Trak station and notice that a train is delayed and its departure time has past, swipe your card at the machine and see if it will sell you a ticket for that delayed train.

Either experiment can give us insight into how Amtrak manages bookings on late trains.

 

[amamba]

I've been curious about this too: if a train is an hour late, can one show up after the train's departure time to pick up the tickets from a Quik-Trak? I figure that we're all afraid to try, for fear that our reservations will get canceled. But I suspect that the system may be smart enough to account for late trains. And here are a couple of ways we can test the system without actually risking a reservation:

- Anyone ever picked up a ticket from an agent after a train's departure time (at a station with no Quik-Trak)? Did the agent have to do any extra typing to reinstate the reservation?

- Next time you're at a Quik-Trak station and notice that a train is delayed and its departure time has past, swipe your card at the machine and see if it will sell you a ticket for that delayed train.

Either experiment can give us insight into how Amtrak manages bookings on late trains.

These are some great questions. I did recently pull up amtrak.com just to look at the schedule for a day's trains. It was about 600 PM and the NEC regional that leaves at 5:35 PM was delayed. It did in fact show up but it would not allow me to buy tickets - too soon to departure it said. That indicates to me that since the train was listed as delayed in arrow it still showed up when I went to purchase tickets for a later train.

I will take a look at the QT the next time I am in PVD if there are delayed trains and check to see if it lets me buy a ticket. Great idea.

 

[R30A]

You can still pick the ticket up after the scheduled departure if the train is late in theory. However, I have found that the Quick Trak doesn't always know what is going on. Sometimes it will think a train is departed on time when it is still in the station, and sometimes, when a train has been late, and has caught up some time, It will still sell tickets after the train has left. Just some experiences I have had... Either way, by and large, Quick Trak machines are pretty good