AGR POINTS Question

[Rail Freak]

Just finished a trip, WAS-STP.

Forgot to tell the agent my AGR #, however, after calling, they told me I must mail in my Bus ticket (TPA-STP) and my upgrade receipt (CLB-TPA roomette) to get any additional points! Why do I have to mail, don't they have records of the transactions????

Thanx,

Travel Report coming after a little rest!!!! :lol:

RF

 

[PRR 60]

Just finished a trip, WAS-STP.Forgot to tell the agent my AGR #, however, after calling, they told me I must mail in my Bus ticket (TPA-STP) and my upgrade receipt (CLB-TPA roomette) to get any additional points! Why do I have to mail, don't they have records of the transactions????

Thanx,

Travel Report coming after a little rest!!!! :lol:

RF

AGR seems a bit challenged in matching points requests with reservation records. They often ask for the ticket stub. Be sure to only send in copies of your ticket stub and the upgrade receipt. Don't send in the originals. That way if AGR loses your stuff, you at least can try, try again.

Good luck!

 

[the_traveler]

If it was just a "regular" Amtrak ticket, they would just add the AGR # on your record, and you would get credit when the ticket was scanned. But seeing that there was a bus, and many times Thruway tickets don't post timely, they asked you to send the ticket in. As far as the upgrade, it sounds like you did an onboard upgrade. They need to see how much you paid before they can determine how much to post. (A payment of $75 and a payment of $123 do not give the same amount of points!)

 

[Rail Freak]

If it was just a "regular" Amtrak ticket, they would just add the AGR # on your record, and you would get credit when the ticket was scanned. But seeing that there was a bus, and many times Thruway tickets don't post timely, they asked you to send the ticket in. As far as the upgrade, it sounds like you did an onboard upgrade. They need to see how much you paid before they can determine how much to post. (A payment of $75 and a payment of $123 do not give the same amount of points!)

My point was, I thought they would be able to look it up electronically, instead of depending on the Postal Service & Bad Copies?????

Plus, That Upgrade Receipt I'd probably have to hand deliver!!!! :lol: ( I have it in my hands & can't figure it out!!!!)

 

[sechs]

That would involve Amtrak Guest Rewards being part of Amtrak. And we all know, that's not the case.

 

[the_traveler]

It's not a part of Amtrak - and it's not even in the same country!

 

[PRR 60]

That would involve Amtrak Guest Rewards being part of Amtrak. And we all know, that's not the case.

I know what you're saying, but regardless of Amtrak's outsourcing of the AGR operation, AGR is Amtrak. Amtrak has the ultimate responsibility for the way AGR operates. If AGR is unable to perform simple functions like checking PNR's against ticket use records, then that is Amtrak failing, not the contractor who Amtrak hired to do the day-to-day work. I think what is boils down to is that Amtrak wanted to get into the frequent traveller game on the cheap. The result is AGR as we know it.

Putting on my Nomex flame retardant clothing

The best thing Amtrak could do is take AGR and turn the whole thing over to an existing airline program - Continental One Pass comes to mind. Have CO run the game with Amtrak travel directly earning OP miles and OP miles directly redeemable for Amtrak travel. In essence, Amtrak would become a full partner of CO OP. Now Amtrak would have a first class frequent traveller program with Star Alliance partnership. Customer service would be 24/7 (not 5/12 - on the west coast you can't even contact AGR after work, it closes at 5pm). This would have great appeal in the NEC where many Amtrak travellers have little or no desire to redeem awards for Amtrak travel, and don't want the hassle of the now restricted transfer of AGR points to CO.

Right now AGR is venturing close to FUBAR status. Having to blindly send in stubs and receipts by snail mail only to have the requests drop into a 30 business day black hole is not acceptable customer service in 2009. Either Amtrak has to decide to run the program properly, or they should punt.

 

[Ispolkom]

The best thing Amtrak could do is take AGR and turn the whole thing over to an existing airline program - Continental One Pass comes to mind. Have CO run the game with Amtrak travel directly earning OP miles and OP miles directly redeemable for Amtrak travel. In essence, Amtrak would become a full partner of CO OP. Now Amtrak would have a first class frequent traveller program with Star Alliance partnership. Customer service would be 24/7 (not 5/12 - on the west coast you can't even contact AGR after work, it closes at 5pm). This would have great appeal in the NEC where many Amtrak travellers have little or no desire to redeem awards for Amtrak travel, and don't want the hassle of the now restricted transfer of AGR points to CO.
Right now AGR is venturing close to FUBAR status. Having to blindly send in stubs and receipts by snail mail only to have the requests drop into a 30 business day black hole is not acceptable customer service in 2009. Either Amtrak has to decide to run the program properly, or they should punt.

But why would Continental want to have anything more to do with AGR than it does now?

I won't disagree that AGR is shambolic, but I wonder if the problem isn't so much the contractor's incompetence as the archaic ticketing system Amtrak uses. As long as points are accrued based on paper tickets that are sent to El Paso to be scanned, there are too many ways for things to screw up. These screw-ups then overwhelm whatever customer service AGR has.

I'd think that the answer to many of AGR's problems, along with issues like getting tickets at unattended stations and changing already-printed tickets, would be to just go to e-ticketing. Paper tickets are so last century.

It's not surprising, I think, that the most reliable posting of points comes when there is no human interaction: points from the Chase AGR card, or from rental car or hotel partners.

In any case, I'm ambivalent about changing AGR. This is purely a personal preference, as I enjoy the possiblity of crazy routings (Atlanta-Minot via Washington as a one-zone trip), and I've gotten more points improperly credited my account than I've lost from not being credited. YMMV.

 

[AlanB]

It's not surprising, I think, that the most reliable posting of points comes when there is no human interaction: points from the Chase AGR card, or from rental car or hotel partners.

While it is true that the partners that you've listed are very reliable, it is not true overall that having no human interaction is the most reliable. AGR has had, and continues to have, huge problems with points posting automatically from the online mall partners. Some are very reliable, but others are down right terrible.

 

[Ispolkom]

It's not surprising, I think, that the most reliable posting of points comes when there is no human interaction: points from the Chase AGR card, or from rental car or hotel partners.

While it is true that the partners that you've listed are very reliable, it is not true overall that having no human interaction is the most reliable. AGR has had, and continues to have, huge problems with points posting automatically from the online mall partners. Some are very reliable, but others are down right terrible.

True, true. I have idly wondered how automatic postings are from on-line mall partners. Why do some venders post points much more reliably than others? Now I only use the on-line mall if I was already planning to buy from that merchant, and don't bother to follow up if the points fail to post.

 

[sechs]

I know what you're saying, but regardless of Amtrak's outsourcing of the AGR operation, AGR is Amtrak.

I don't think you do, because that's a ridiculous statement. That's like saying that my computer is me, because I have "ultimate responsibility" for how it operates.

The complaint is not who owns who or, even, who is responsible to whom; but the lack of integration.

 

[PRR 60]

...The complaint is not who owns who or, even, who is responsible to whom; but the lack of integration.

My complaint is not the lack of systems integration, or the lack of oversight, or the lack of whatever else is lacking with AGR. My complaint is that, from a customer perspective, AGR has problems, and those problems are not being addressed by the responsible party. The responsibility to fix AGR belongs to Amtrak. Whatever that fix is internally, I don't really care.

 

[AAARGH!]

...The complaint is not who owns who or, even, who is responsible to whom; but the lack of integration.

My complaint is not the lack of systems integration, or the lack of oversight, or the lack of whatever else is lacking with AGR. My complaint is that, from a customer perspective, AGR has problems, and those problems are not being addressed by the responsible party. The responsibility to fix AGR belongs to Amtrak. Whatever that fix is internally, I don't really care.

I actually agree with both of you. We know the difference between AGR and Amtrak and know who / how it should be fixed. But, as a consumer (and for the general public), we should not need to know that AGR is not run by Amtrak and the fault is with AGR. Rather, we should assume that anything pertaining to a reward program for an airline or train system is the ultimate responsibility of the airline or in this case Amtrak. In the end, if AGR is failing, they are out of compliance with their contract with Amtrak (I assume) and it is up to Amtrak to force them back into compliance. It IS Amtrak's responsibility in my opinion.

IF AGR is failing because of something Amtrak is doing / not doing, then Amtrak is most likely out of compliance and needs to do something. In that case AGR must force the issue, BUT it is still Amtrak's responsibility.