amtrak.com Changes

[roadman3313]

The "Value Fare" description is not completely correct. The description is true for reserved coach and Acela Business. Unreserved coach sold as "Value Fare" is subject to the 10% refund fee at from the time of purchase.

Can you let me know where that is? I was trying to find that description as that historically was the policy, however the value fare doesn't mention a difference between Reserved and Unreserved anymore.

 

[PRR 60]

The "Value Fare" description is not completely correct. The description is true for reserved coach and Acela Business. Unreserved coach sold as "Value Fare" is subject to the 10% refund fee at from the time of purchase.

Can you let me know where that is? I was trying to find that description as that historically was the policy, however the value fare doesn't mention a difference between Reserved and Unreserved anymore.

Updated Refund and Exchange Policy page. Fourth bullet under Refund Calculations.

 

[SarahZ]

The "Value Fare" description is not completely correct. The description is true for reserved coach and Acela Business. Unreserved coach sold as "Value Fare" is subject to the 10% refund fee at from the time of purchase.

My apologies. I took the fare descriptions directly from Amtrak.com and only tweaked the wording to make it easier to read. I left all of the refund information as-is. I didn't think it necessary to go to the Refunds page as well. I figured whoever wrote the original descriptions knew what they were talking about. -_-

 

[PRR 60]

The "Value Fare" description is not completely correct. The description is true for reserved coach and Acela Business. Unreserved coach sold as "Value Fare" is subject to the 10% refund fee at from the time of purchase.

My apologies. I took the fare descriptions directly from Amtrak.com and only tweaked the wording to make it easier to read. I left all of the refund information as-is. I didn't think it necessary to go to the Refunds page as well. I figured whoever wrote the original descriptions knew what they were talking about. -_-

No apology needed. Amtrak has a difficult time clearly stating terms and conditions. This example is no exception.

 

[amamba]

Has anyone asked over on FlyerTalk about getting this "fixed".

Yes.

 

[the_traveler]

I found the easiest way to get the "Value Fare" to show without going thru "the moves" is just enter "from" and "to" without logging in. The "Saver Fare" will show. Chose it and then when you log in to reserve, the fare remains!

I just made 2 reservations this way in the last few minutes.

 

[roadman3313]

The "Value Fare" description is not completely correct. The description is true for reserved coach and Acela Business. Unreserved coach sold as "Value Fare" is subject to the 10% refund fee at from the time of purchase.

Can you let me know where that is? I was trying to find that description as that historically was the policy, however the value fare doesn't mention a difference between Reserved and Unreserved anymore.

Updated Refund and Exchange Policy page. Fourth bullet under Refund Calculations.

Thank you! Updated in previous post as well

 

[Hanno]

Room prices are irrelevant. What matters is "how much is this trip going to cost me?".

When I try to use amsnag, I get the following error:

Query failed: insert into choice select distinct sessId,conCode,seg,train, depSta, arrSta from result where sessId = order by conCode,seg

Error: You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'order by conCode,seg' at line 2

Query failed: delete from result where sessId =

Error: You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '' at line 1

Query failed: select * from choice where choiceId =

Error: You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '' at line 1

While presenting the total cost is just fine for a lot of people, they should still be showing the room price SOMEWHERE. I certainly would not say showing the room price is irrelevant. The way it is now there is no way to know how much you are paying for a room!

Just checked amsnag again and it was working fine. You sure you have the right link to the current version? (http://biketrain.net/amsnag/amSnag.php) At least that is what I use and it works for me.

I'm having trouble logging on to Amsnag. I tried using the address shown above but get the following error, "Fatal error: Call to undefined function mysqli_connect() in /home/biketra1/public_html/common/mysqli.php on line 11". Any suggestions would be helpful!

 

[Bus Nut]

They should just show the Saver fare next to the NARP or AAA discounted Value fares. It means when they decided how their database and frontend would work they made a decision to hide undiscounted fares when they should just make it so that the Saver fare discount is 0% or 1.00*Saver fare is your NARP Saver fare. Since Saver fare is sold under different terms there really isn't any contradiction.

This is a really horrible user interface problem that ought to have been remedied years ago. At least now it's very clear that Saver fares don't have the same refund policy as other fares.

Does anybody know if Amtrak California is going to join Cascades and NER in offering Saver fares?

 

[roadman3313]

They should just show the Saver fare next to the NARP or AAA discounted Value fares. It means when they decided how their database and frontend would work they made a decision to hide undiscounted fares when they should just make it so that the Saver fare discount is 0% or 1.00*Saver fare is your NARP Saver fare. Since Saver fare is sold under different terms there really isn't any contradiction.

This is a really horrible user interface problem that ought to have been remedied years ago. At least now it's very clear that Saver fares don't have the same refund policy as other fares.

Does anybody know if Amtrak California is going to join Cascades and NER in offering Saver fares?

For the Capitol Corridor it would depend on if the CCJPA decides to offer the fares as they set the fare matrix for the route (the table is available on their website). They have been piloting print out seat checks based on E-Ticketing scans as well and are going to pilot multi-ride E-Tickets as well so they tend to have projects and fares that don't conform to the Norm.

As the San Joaquin's and Pacific Surfliner's are also branching off to local control in their respective service areas it could be a possibility in the future. Amtrak California is basically now turning into three separate routes administered by three separate local agencies within California. It still is Amtrak California but the fares and policies will be set on a more local level now so we may see one route have Saver fares while the other two do not.

San Joaquin's do often have "Smart Fares" so it would be nice if these were just turned into Saver Fares or at least displayed on the main page as a Saver fare if is it valid on a particular day of the week and between certain stops.

 

[AlanB]

Did our Anthony have anything to do with this change??

He hasn't worked in the IT department in well over a year now; so no, he had nothing to do with it. And those who've been paying attention to recent posts on the net should be able to figure out what he's been working on.

 

[roadman3313]

Question... I was looking up a rail fares for a trip I was thinking of taking and the Roomette and Bedroom prices changed when I changed the number of people travelling.

As an example...

1 traveler in 1 room

Rail Fare: $137

Roomette: $288

Bedroom: $614

2 travelers sharing 1 room

Rail Fare: $274

Roomette $519

Bedroom: $955

Same starting and ending points and dates.

I understand that the Rail fare should go up for the second traveler but in the past the accommodation (room) charge did not. The check-out page specified 1 (or 2 adults) and 1 room. Is there a reason the Roomette and Bedroom prices would go up for adding a traveler or was I missing something before?

In this scenario could 1 traveler be booked and another added as an open sleeper so they would just pay the rail fare? I'm used to the accommodation charge staying the same so I was wondering if anyone else noticed this?

 

[TinCan782]

Question... I was looking up a rail fares for a trip I was thinking of taking and the Roomette and Bedroom prices changed when I changed the number of people travelling.

As an example...

1 traveler in 1 room

Rail Fare: $137

Roomette: $288

Bedroom: $614

2 travelers sharing 1 room

Rail Fare: $274

Roomette $519

Bedroom: $955

Same starting and ending points and dates.

I understand that the Rail fare should go up for the second traveler but in the past the accommodation (room) charge did not. The check-out page specified 1 (or 2 adults) and 1 room. Is there a reason the Roomette and Bedroom prices would go up for adding a traveler or was I missing something before?

In this scenario could 1 traveler be booked and another added as an open sleeper so they would just pay the rail fare? I'm used to the accommodation charge staying the same so I was wondering if anyone else noticed this?

Interesting...it was my understanding as well that the accommodation charge should stay the same. As I mentioned in my previous post regarding number and class of passengers, looks like we should pay attention to what the website is doing before finalizing a transaction.

I just tried it and the accommodation charge stayed the same for 1 vs 2 passengers. Of course, the total fare increased. Add the room to your "cart" and look at that.

 

[boxcarsyix]

I tried a trip on the SWC way out in the future. The total cost increase for 2 people seemed to be about the same as the Value Fare. I also tried my paid for trip on the CZ in May. The cost was the same as I paid a couple of months ago. I wonder if the cost for the second person depends on whether the 2 Value Fares are available.

 

[roadman3313]

Interesting. The trip I looked up was from DEN to RNO sometime this upcoming week. I checked another day and the price was less from DEN to EMY than DEN to RNO. I have seen this before (lower prices for further destination pairs) but I haven't seen the accommodation charge go up.

The rail fare was twice the "Value" fare for two people which is what I expected. The accommodation (room) charge went up by an uneven amount which is what puzzled me. I'm glad it at least looks like this might be an exception rather than the new norm! It would definitely decrease the value of having a room with 2 persons vs. 1 individual.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Did our Anthony have anything to do with this change??

He hasn't worked in the IT department in well over a year now; so no, he had nothing to do with it. And those who've been paying attention to recent posts on the net should be able to figure out what he's been working on.

A detective-mystery! I love it.

 

[winterskigirl]

When I try logging into Amsnag I'm getting the following error,

"Fatal error: Call to undefined function mysqli_connect() in /home/biketra1/public_html/common/mysqli.php on line 11"

I'm using http://biketrain.net/amsnag/amSnag.php

Any idea when this might be fixed?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

It apparently went down a few days ago. I did PM the owner of the site. He has not responded. Hope he's on an Internet-free vacation rather than something "bad".

 

[John Bobinyec]

It apparently went down a few days ago. I did PM the owner of the site. He has not responded. Hope he's on an Internet-free vacation rather than something "bad".

Exactly. He IS on an internet-free vacation. Biking and train riding. Sounds grand.

jb

 

[AmtrakBlue]

It apparently went down a few days ago. I did PM the owner of the site. He has not responded. Hope he's on an Internet-free vacation rather than something "bad".

Exactly. He IS on an internet-free vacation. Biking and train riding. Sounds grand.
jb

That's what I thought. Thanks for confirming.

 

[Ryan]

Did our Anthony have anything to do with this change??

He hasn't worked in the IT department in well over a year now; so no, he had nothing to do with it. And those who've been paying attention to recent posts on the net should be able to figure out what he's been working on.

A detective-mystery! I love it.

You should have been in chat last night, you'd know the story!
There's also exactly 1 post on the site in a random thread that has the answer. h34r:

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Did our Anthony have anything to do with this change??

He hasn't worked in the IT department in well over a year now; so no, he had nothing to do with it. And those who've been paying attention to recent posts on the net should be able to figure out what he's been working on.

A detective-mystery! I love it.

You should have been in chat last night, you'd know the story!
There's also exactly 1 post on the site in a random thread that has the answer. h34r:

Oh, man! :help:

 

[Ryan]

You may also find a hint of you browse around the AGR section of FlyerTalk.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

...a hint...

Thank You! :hi: Thank You! :hi: Thank You! :hi:

 

[PRR 60]

There is a topic at Flyertalk which suggests there is a bug in the new interface that sometimes bumps up the cost of the sleeper rooms if more than one person is on the reservations. For example:

16OCT - PHL-ORL #91

One person

Rail fare $132

Roomette $396

Two people

Rail fare $264 (correct)

Roomette $567 (wrong)

Beware with on-line bookings for more than one person until this glitch is corrected