40% off offer using points

[Bob Dylan]

Just got an email from AGR with an offer to Book Amtrak LD Travel using Points with a 40% Discount that must be booked by Aug 25th and that's good for travel until Sept 30!( not sure if this is Targeted or Not?)

I'm wondering if anyone will be able to actually use this with all the Cancellations, Sold Out Sleepers and Equipment Shortages that seem to be a Daily Occurence?

 

[jebr]

The email I received suggested it's available on all Amtrak services - so those on the corridors could also use it.

Disappointed it's such a short window of time to use it (can't use it on trips past the 30th) but still might be able to get a weekend trip booked somewhere.

 

[joelkfla]

Not showing up under Available Promotions on my account, so I suspect it is targeted.

 

[trimetbusfan]

Not showing up under Available Promotions on my account, so I suspect it is targeted.

Here’s the link. It was emailed.

https://www.amtrak.com/redeem-point...608-Aug2022-AugustRewardTravelLaunch-CTA1-AGR

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Flash sale on Amtrak redemption travel only available on Amtrak.com and the Amtrak app.
Redeem from August 18, 2022 2:00:00 PM ET through August 25, 2022 11:59:59 PM ET for travel from August 18 through September 30, 2022.
Blackout dates: September 2 and September 5.
Discount is not available on all departures and all dates.
Seating is limited, seats may not be available on all trains, or all times.
Routes and schedules are subject to change without notice.
Other terms and conditions may apply.

 

[pennyk]

I received the email and I have a hold on a reservation that I likely will pay for with redeemed points, but my travel is 10/3 (the day the Meteor returns).

 

[TinCan782]

I also received the email regarding this.
Amtrak also posted the offer on their FB page so, doesn't look particularly targeted.
That short time frame doesn't work for me. I've got a couple of Pacific Surfliner trips being planned for early October - they happen after the September 30 travel deadline. Wasn't gonna do an AGR redemption for them anyway.

Here is the Facebook link: Redeem Points for Reward Travel

 

[joelkfla]

Here’s the link. It was emailed.

https://www.amtrak.com/redeem-point...608-Aug2022-AugustRewardTravelLaunch-CTA1-AGR

Yep, it works. Guess it's one you that don't need to be opted into.

Don't know why I'm not getting the emails. I checked my account, and all email boxes are checked on in the Preferences. I notice there's also a Monthly eStatement box that's also checked, but I've never received one. Nothing in my spam folder, and they're not a blocked sender.

Thank goodness there's Amtrak Unlimited.

 

[trimetbusfan]

.

 

[PaTrainFan]

Yep, it works. Guess it's one you that don't need to be opted into.

Don't know why I'm not getting the emails. I checked my account, and all email boxes are checked on in the Preferences. I notice there's also a Monthly eStatement box that's also checked, but I've never received one. Nothing in my spam folder, and they're not a blocked sender.

Thank goodness there's Amtrak Unlimited.

I didn't get it either.

 

[TinCan782]

Yep, it works. Guess it's one you that don't need to be opted into.

Don't know why I'm not getting the emails. I checked my account, and all email boxes are checked on in the Preferences. I notice there's also a Monthly eStatement box that's also checked, but I've never received one. Nothing in my spam folder, and they're not a blocked sender.

Thank goodness there's Amtrak Unlimited.

For some time I never received any promo emails. Checked, re-checked my email address and it was ok. At some point in the past year or two, I started receiving the emails including the monthly statement. Didn't change a thing!

 

[Bob Dylan]

I tried a dummy Booking on-line for a Roomette Trip from AUS-FTW-AUS, and the system let me Book the First Leg to FTW @ for an excellent Point Total, but would NOT let me Book the Return Leg 2 days Later???

Be interesting to see if anyone actually can book a Sleeper Trip using this Promo.( using Points for Coach is not a good use of Points).

 

[PaTrainFan]

Although I did not get the email, I called about this promotion thinking I could make a change to an existing reservation. I was told that it can only be done online or in the app. Okay, so be it.

 

[Old MM]

After receiving the email yesterday, I booked a trip to WAS in a roomette, which will enable me to get to NC the next day. The CONO was either too expensive or unavailable on the dates that worked. The CAP was wide open. The 40% off is definitely a good deal. Also, the rate was the same whether clicking from the email or booking straight from the Amtrak app. So I confirmed the purchase, and now here's the rub... it assigned me to Roomette #2, which I would prefer not to have. In fact downstairs would be better, but anything other than right by the bathroom and hear the door closing all night. This morning I attempted to get the room changed. After a 30 minute wait, which was expected, the Guest Rewards agent was unhelpful, which was not expected. When she looked up the record, her tone changed from friendly to hostile. She asked if I booked it online through a promotion, in the same tone you'd ask someone if they committed a crime. Feeling vaguely guilty, I said yes. She then said there was nothing she could do. She stated she "couldn't touch it." I find this incredible, even if it's an edict from management. I asked to speak to someone else and she transferred me to Customer Relations, where I finally hung up after an even longer wait. It's not the end of the world but why must something so simple be deemed impossible.
EDIT: Forgot to add. When she told me it was impossible to change rooms, I asked (being careful not to match her hostility) what would be the case if someone couldn't climb stairs. She kinda sorta blew a gasket and told me that the no changes were in the "Terms and Conditions" that I read when I booked it. Now, I can climb stairs, so this isn't an issue for me, and regardless of what it says in the TC I don't believe that's an acceptable response and I have never heard of not being able to change to another available room.

 

[trimetbusfan]

After receiving the email yesterday, I booked a trip to WAS in a roomette, which will enable me to get to NC the next day. The CONO was either too expensive or unavailable on the dates that worked. The CAP was wide open. The 40% off is definitely a good deal. Also, the rate was the same whether clicking from the email or booking straight from the Amtrak app. So I confirmed the purchase, and now here's the rub... it assigned me to Roomette #2, which I would prefer not to have. In fact downstairs would be better, but anything other than right by the bathroom and hear the door closing all night. This morning I attempted to get the room changed. After a 30 minute wait, which was expected, the Guest Rewards agent was unhelpful, which was not expected. When she looked up the record, her tone changed from friendly to hostile. She asked if I booked it online through a promotion, in the same tone you'd ask someone if they committed a crime. Feeling vaguely guilty, I said yes. She then said there was nothing she could do. She stated she "couldn't touch it." I find this incredible, even if it's an edict from management. I asked to speak to someone else and she transferred me to Customer Relations, where I finally hung up after an even longer wait. It's not the end of the world but why must something so simple be deemed impossible.
EDIT: Forgot to add. When she told me it was impossible to change rooms, I asked (being careful not to match her hostility) what would be the case if someone couldn't climb stairs. She kinda sorta blew a gasket and told me that the no changes were in the "Terms and Conditions" that I read when I booked it. Now, I can climb stairs, so this isn't an issue for me, and regardless of what it says in the TC I don't believe that's an acceptable response and I have never heard of not being able to change to another available room.

Sometimes it’s better to just hang up, call back, and talk to a different agent

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I see the "40% Off" promo on the Amtrak website at the top of the page. It is one of the 3 banner promotions that rotate on that page. I see this without needing to sign in and with my browser cache cleared, so it's not targeted to me specifically. It might be targeted to my geographic region or some other criteria, however

 

[PaTrainFan]

After receiving the email yesterday, I booked a trip to WAS in a roomette, which will enable me to get to NC the next day. The CONO was either too expensive or unavailable on the dates that worked. The CAP was wide open. The 40% off is definitely a good deal. Also, the rate was the same whether clicking from the email or booking straight from the Amtrak app. So I confirmed the purchase, and now here's the rub... it assigned me to Roomette #2, which I would prefer not to have. In fact downstairs would be better, but anything other than right by the bathroom and hear the door closing all night. This morning I attempted to get the room changed. After a 30 minute wait, which was expected, the Guest Rewards agent was unhelpful, which was not expected. When she looked up the record, her tone changed from friendly to hostile. She asked if I booked it online through a promotion, in the same tone you'd ask someone if they committed a crime. Feeling vaguely guilty, I said yes. She then said there was nothing she could do. She stated she "couldn't touch it." I find this incredible, even if it's an edict from management. I asked to speak to someone else and she transferred me to Customer Relations, where I finally hung up after an even longer wait. It's not the end of the world but why must something so simple be deemed impossible.
EDIT: Forgot to add. When she told me it was impossible to change rooms, I asked (being careful not to match her hostility) what would be the case if someone couldn't climb stairs. She kinda sorta blew a gasket and told me that the no changes were in the "Terms and Conditions" that I read when I booked it. Now, I can climb stairs, so this isn't an issue for me, and regardless of what it says in the TC I don't believe that's an acceptable response and I have never heard of not being able to change to another available room.

I hope this call was "monitored or recorded for quality and training purposes," as we hear almost with every customer service call we make.

 

[joelkfla]

After receiving the email yesterday, I booked a trip to WAS in a roomette, which will enable me to get to NC the next day. The CONO was either too expensive or unavailable on the dates that worked. The CAP was wide open. The 40% off is definitely a good deal. Also, the rate was the same whether clicking from the email or booking straight from the Amtrak app. So I confirmed the purchase, and now here's the rub... it assigned me to Roomette #2, which I would prefer not to have. In fact downstairs would be better, but anything other than right by the bathroom and hear the door closing all night. This morning I attempted to get the room changed. After a 30 minute wait, which was expected, the Guest Rewards agent was unhelpful, which was not expected. When she looked up the record, her tone changed from friendly to hostile. She asked if I booked it online through a promotion, in the same tone you'd ask someone if they committed a crime. Feeling vaguely guilty, I said yes. She then said there was nothing she could do. She stated she "couldn't touch it." I find this incredible, even if it's an edict from management. I asked to speak to someone else and she transferred me to Customer Relations, where I finally hung up after an even longer wait. It's not the end of the world but why must something so simple be deemed impossible.
EDIT: Forgot to add. When she told me it was impossible to change rooms, I asked (being careful not to match her hostility) what would be the case if someone couldn't climb stairs. She kinda sorta blew a gasket and told me that the no changes were in the "Terms and Conditions" that I read when I booked it. Now, I can climb stairs, so this isn't an issue for me, and regardless of what it says in the TC I don't believe that's an acceptable response and I have never heard of not being able to change to another available room.

There may be a flag in Arrow that prevents changes. If the rules say nothing can be changed, I can understand an agent not wanting to go against the rules. Maybe they were even explicitly told by their supervisors not to try to circumvent it. If it needed to be deleted and rebooked, we've already heard another poster say that they were told it could only be booked on the web or app.

I think transferring you to Customer Relations was the right thing to do.

 

[Chris I]

Saw this yesterday and booked a September weekend trip up to Seattle. 4,600 points round trip for a family of 4. That's cheaper than driving (using $0.0185 per point AGR conversion).

 

[Bob Dylan]

After receiving the email yesterday, I booked a trip to WAS in a roomette, which will enable me to get to NC the next day. The CONO was either too expensive or unavailable on the dates that worked. The CAP was wide open. The 40% off is definitely a good deal. Also, the rate was the same whether clicking from the email or booking straight from the Amtrak app. So I confirmed the purchase, and now here's the rub... it assigned me to Roomette #2, which I would prefer not to have. In fact downstairs would be better, but anything other than right by the bathroom and hear the door closing all night. This morning I attempted to get the room changed. After a 30 minute wait, which was expected, the Guest Rewards agent was unhelpful, which was not expected. When she looked up the record, her tone changed from friendly to hostile. She asked if I booked it online through a promotion, in the same tone you'd ask someone if they committed a crime. Feeling vaguely guilty, I said yes. She then said there was nothing she could do. She stated she "couldn't touch it." I find this incredible, even if it's an edict from management. I asked to speak to someone else and she transferred me to Customer Relations, where I finally hung up after an even longer wait. It's not the end of the world but why must something so simple be deemed impossible.
EDIT: Forgot to add. When she told me it was impossible to change rooms, I asked (being careful not to match her hostility) what would be the case if someone couldn't climb stairs. She kinda sorta blew a gasket and told me that the no changes were in the "Terms and Conditions" that I read when I booked it. Now, I can climb stairs, so this isn't an issue for me, and regardless of what it says in the TC I don't believe that's an acceptable response and I have never heard of not being able to change to another available room.

Sounds like you got a rare "Bad Apple" @ AGR, I'd call back and hopefully you'll at least get a Friendly,Professional Agent .

The Terms and Conditions do say must be booked with the App or on the Web Site, but I see nothing about Changes to Rooms aren't allowed.

Good luck, we know being on Hold now days is SOP, hope you don't have to wait too long. Keep us informed!

 

[daybeers]

It seems the app is bugged, as I see the promo working up to the 11 month limit. I haven't checked the website. This is fantastic though; even looks like they lowered the lowest redemption rate to 200, down from 800.

Point valuation is now 4.69¢/point, up from 2.81¢/point.

 

[Barb Stout]

I hardly ever get promotional emails from Amtrak, but I got this one. I did just return from an Amtrak trip 2-3 weeks ago, so if there is any targeting, maybe it's because of that? Doesn't really make sense, so I suspect it's not targeted, but why some of the posters here didn't get it, I wouldn't have any ideas.

 

[Old MM]

There may be a flag in Arrow that prevents changes. If the rules say nothing can be changed, I can understand an agent not wanting to go against the rules. Maybe they were even explicitly told by their supervisors not to try to circumvent it. If it needed to be deleted and rebooked, we've already heard another poster say that they were told it could only be booked on the web or app.

I think transferring you to Customer Relations was the right thing to do.

Sure, it was the right thing to do, but the wait time went on forever and no callback option. I just hung up. I'm going to try and rebook it myself on the app, maybe tomorrow, not feeling brave enough tonight. The same rates/points are still available. With no change fees being charged, there shouldn't be any risk to modify the same trip to the same trip, and it might throw me into a different room than #2. Also if there's no cancel penalty I could just start over. I had tried the email contact form so maybe someone will respond. Not going to hold my breath, though.

 

[Old MM]

I hardly ever get promotional emails from Amtrak, but I got this one. I did just return from an Amtrak trip 2-3 weeks ago, so if there is any targeting, maybe it's because of that? Doesn't really make sense, so I suspect it's not targeted, but why some of the posters here didn't get it, I wouldn't have any ideas.

If people didn't get the email, it's still worth searching for a trip/dates, and seeing if the points reduction appears anyway. I think sometimes it will say you have to click a link from the email, sort of implying that's the only way to access the offer, when the offer will work without the email.

 

[dlagrua]

I would only guess that when bookings are slow Amtrak will now offer sales to boost revenue. We seem to be heading into a recession so is this may be a symptomatic stop gap measure or perhaps new policy.