AGR redemption email confirm has wrong date

[pennyk]

This morning I made reservations for a trip exactly 11 months from today using my AGR points. I spoke to an AGR agent who made the reservation purportedly for the correct date, and she gave me a confirmation number. At the end of the conversation, she told me that she was sending me an email confirmation, but the email will have the date of travel as March 30, 2010 instead of August 30, 2010 because their system can only go out 6 months in advance. The agent assured me that my reservations are for August 30, 2010.

Should I be concerned? Is the agent correct? My reservations are in bedrooms on popular trains, so I would hate to lose the reservation. Am I just being too neurotic?

I would appreciate any advice anyone can offer. Thanks.

 

[Ispolkom]

Call 1-800-USA-RAIL. Tell Julie you already have a reservation. When you are connected to a clerk, give her your reservation number and ask her to e-mail you an itinerary. It should be in your in-box before you end the call. You are not being neurotic. The 6-month date thing is a known bug, but you want to double-check your itinerary because AGR clerks have made mistakes, and it's best to catch them now.

It would be nice if AGR would just e-mail you a proper itinerary, but this is an easy work-around.

 

[pennyk]

Call 1-800-USA-RAIL. Tell Julie you already have a reservation. When you are connected to a clerk, give her your reservation number and ask her to e-mail you an itinerary. It should be in your in-box before you end the call. You are not being neurotic. The 6-month date thing is a known bug, but you want to double-check your itinerary because AGR clerks have made mistakes, and it's best to catch them now.
It would be nice if AGR would just e-mail you a proper itinerary, but this is an easy work-around.

Thank you so much. I just did exactly what you suggested and received an email with the correct information. The email also showed the rail charge as $1,686.00. When I made the reservations at 8:15 am eastern time this morning, the rail fare was $1,356. I guess that is what happens to popular routes (DEN-SEA).

Thanks again.

 

[IHC]

You know, if any of the airlines handled their customers all this way, there would be riots. :angry:

 

[the_traveler]

I'm kinda confused! :blink:

You said you made an AGR redemption (thru AGR) and they gave you an email with the wrong date. Then you called the regular Amtrak to get a correct email - but you said it showed the rail fare as $1,686 and not $1,356 that it was at 8:15 AM! So did you or did you not use AGR points? :huh: The AGR ticket when it is printed, will show the fare as $-0- - no matter if it cost $1,686 or $1,356 or $600. But if you paid for it, and your credit card was charged $330 more, than you do have a right to complain! :angry:

 

[pennyk]

I'm kinda confused! :blink:
You said you made an AGR redemption (thru AGR) and they gave you an email with the wrong date. Then you called the regular Amtrak to get a correct email - but you said it showed the rail fare as $1,686 and not $1,356 that it was at 8:15 AM! So did you or did you not use AGR points? :huh: The AGR ticket when it is printed, will show the fare as $-0- - no matter if it cost $1,686 or $1,356 or $600. But if you paid for it, and your credit card was charged $330 more, than you do have a right to complain! :angry:

I apologize for confusing you. I was pretty confused myself. Nothing was charged to my credit card this morning - I redeemed 20,000 points for this segment of my trip. After making my reservation by phone with an AGR agent, at 8:15am EDT, I checked the Amtrak website to determine the retail value of my redemption ($1,356). The email confirm that I received from AGR showed that my travel was to commence on 3/30/10 (6 months from today) instead of 8/30/10 (11 months from today), due to AGR system limitations. As was suggested by Ispolkom, the phoned the Amtrak toll free number and spoke to an agent who emailed me a reservation confirmation. That reservation confirmation contained the correct dates, trains, etc., but also showed a dollar amount (which surprised me since this is not a paid reservation) ($1,686). The confirm also contained the language "Subject to cancellation unless purchased by August 30, 2010," which I interpret to mean that I have until 8/30/10 to print my tickets.

You are an expert on the subject of AGR points. Do you think I have done something wrong?

:unsure:

 

[NJGirl]

It isn't just you...I went through the same thing this morning. My confirmation from AGR from last night only shows 6 months out even though I'm traveling in May. I got my itinerary from Amtrak itself after seeing this thread. It has the correct date of travel, correct sleeper accomodations, AND a dollar amount...even though it was an AGR transaction. AGR says yes, this is a known system bug as they book travel on one computer and deduct your points on another.

 

[the_traveler]

No, you have nothing to worry about. And you can really disregard the "purchase by" language! You have already purchased the tickets - using points! And yes, you can print them on 8/30/10!

 

[Ispolkom]

You know, if any of the airlines handled their customers all this way, there would be riots. :angry:

Hey, if this is the worst I have to put up with in exchange for no capacity controls, bring it on!