Earning Rewards for Multiple Travelers

[disnycrayz]

Hello all,

I am so glad to find this forum! I am having trouble understanding the rewards program. I am booking a bedroom for two people. I have signed up for an Amtrak rewards account but my mother has not. If I enter the number on only my part of the reservation, will I earn rewards for the entire trip? Should I create an account for her as well? We always travel together and I am always the one purchasing the tickets.

(I tried emailing Amtrak 2 weeks ago, still no response.)

We took our first Amtrak trip last month and we are ready to keep traveling the rails!

 

[TinCan782]

Hello all,

I am so glad to find this forum! I am having trouble understanding the rewards program. I am booking a bedroom for two people. I have signed up for an Amtrak rewards account but my mother has not. If I enter the number on only my part of the reservation, will I earn rewards for the entire trip? Should I create an account for her as well? We always travel together and I am always the one purchasing the tickets.

(I tried emailing Amtrak 2 weeks ago, still no response.)

We took our first Amtrak trip last month and we are ready to keep traveling the rails!

Yes, estabilish an AGR account for your Mother.
Even though you are the one purchasing tickets, she will earn points when listed on the ticket as an additional passenger. When providing her name you will also provide her AGR number.
You might as well both earn points!
PS. You can earn 500 points by inviting a "friend" (your Mother).
https://www.amtrak.com/invite-your-friends-to-join-amtrak-guest-rewards

 

[zephyr17]

As the "primary" traveler you will get AGR points for your rail fare and the accommodation charge for the bedroom. Your mother will get points for her rail fare if she gets signed up for AGR and her AGR number is attached to the reservation. If she isn't signed up for AGR, the points for her rail fare will go begging, you won't get them.

 

[bratkinson]

If she isn't signed up for AGR, the points for her rail fare will go begging, you won't get them.

Which makes the payor (you) get gypped in my opinion. I have a friend I've been riding with lately and when I haven't been using a companion coupon, get gypped on getting points for one, instead of two. What a racket! Think of a family of 5 where dad pays the fare and only gets points for his part of the fare.

But then, on the Acela in business class, there's no free beverages in the cafe like all the rest of Amtrak. Getting gypped on points is one of many ways to make passengers into 'never agains'.

 

[disnycrayz]

Thank you all for your help! And sorry again for posting twice by mistake.

 

[plane2train]

My understanding is that only one person gets the points (a room is one purchase), and that is the person whose name is listed first in the PNR. NEVER put someone you’re treating to a trip as the first passenger. I learned this the hard way, and there were no exceptions. A way around this problem is to book the second passenger as a stand-alone addition to the room and then have that person add their frequent flyer number to the reservation. They won’t get as many points as you since you’re buying the room, but they’ll still get credit for the add-on.

 

[zephyr17]

My understanding is that only one person gets the points (a room is one purchase), and that is the person whose name is listed first in the PNR. NEVER put someone you’re treating to a trip as the first passenger. I learned this the hard way, and there were no exceptions. A way around this problem is to book the second passenger as a stand-alone addition to the room and then have that person add their frequent flyer number to the reservation. They won’t get as many points as you since you’re buying the room, but they’ll still get credit for the add-on.

Note that sleeper fares are made up of two parts, the rail fares for transportation of each passenger and one accommodation charge for the room itself. The current UI does its best to obscure this, but that is still the way the sleeper fares are structured.

You are making it a lot more complicated than it is. Adding a person later without the risk of the typically high accommodation charge getting switched to the current (typically higher) bucket, involves use of an Open Sleeper ticket for the additional person. Open Sleeper tickets are a pain in all respects. They cannot be purchased online, they are an obscure ticket type that not all agents are familiar with, and they are one of the very few remaining ticket types that cannot be issued as an eticket, a paper "value" ticket must be issued, which these days probably involves picking it up at a staffed station.

The simpler way is for the purchaser to be the primary traveler, the primary traveler will receive the points for their rail fare and the points for accommodation charge. The second traveler will receive the points for just their rail fare. Just make sure the person paying is the first passenger listed. The only real gotcha is that a "feature" of the current UI is that any passenger type other than "adult" will drop to second on a multiple person reservation irrespective of who is paying or what sequence you enter names. There does not appear a workaround for it on the UI. So if the person paying is a "Senior", call an agent to make the reservation. The agents do not have the same UI and are not limited and can make sure the Senior is primary.

 

[plane2train]

Note that sleeper fares are made up of two parts, the rail fares for transportation of each passenger and one accommodation charge for the room itself. The current UI does its best to obscure this, but that is still the way the sleeper fares are structured.

You are making it a lot more complicated than it is. Adding a person later without the risk of the typically high accommodation charge getting switched to the current (typically higher) bucket, involves use of an Open Sleeper ticket for the additional person. Open Sleeper tickets are a pain in all respects. They cannot be purchased online, they are an obscure ticket type that not all agents are familiar with, and they are one of the very few remaining ticket types that cannot be issued as an eticket, a paper "value" ticket must be issued, which these days probably involves picking it up at a staffed station.

The simpler way is for the purchaser to be the primary traveler, the primary traveler will receive the points for their rail fare and the points for accommodation charge. The second traveler will receive the points for just their rail fare. Just make sure the person paying is the first passenger listed. The only real gotcha is that a "feature" of the current UI is that any passenger type other than "adult" will drop to second on a multiple person reservation irrespective of who is paying or what sequence you enter names. There does not appear a workaround for it on the UI. So if the person paying is a "Senior", call an agent to make the reservation. The agents do not have the same UI and are not limited and can make sure the Senior is primary.

This is helpful to know, as the disabled passenger type is likely what made me drop down to second, though my companions are usually listed as CMP. That said, none of the people I’ve traveled with have had issues getting an open sleeper ticket. I hope that continues to be the case, as they often need to book with their own credit card. Amtrak has not made it easy to deal with multiple payments online, and that makes it hard to plan with a friend who cannot give their number to the agent over the phone when I call.

 

[zephyr17]

Open sleepers can be a pain primarily because they're issued as paper "value" tickets. If the passenger has good access to stations that remain staffed it is irritating but not a show stopper. If the reservation has to be changed, that likewise can only be done at a staffed station. I understand the new kiosks that are replacing the QuikTrak kiosks can't issue paper value tickets.

If the ticket gets lost, God help you. Losing paper value tickets is pretty much like losing cash.

The second issue of agents not knowing about open sleepers is irritating as well, but can be solved by asking for a supervisor or calling back and and hopefully getting a more experienced agent in agent roulette.

I've done open sleepers before and avoid them unless absolutely necessary. I wouldn't recommend them, although there are some cases where they're unavoidable (second passenger traveling between different stations is such a case. Adding a passenger after purchase is another).

For the general traveler, I'd recommend just being careful with the sequence. For those with other traveler types than "adult" just call and work with the agent to make sure the right party is primary. A call has to made to add an open sleeper anyway. Separate credit cards and everyone handling their own when necessary is another reasonable case.

However, I stand by my general advice that open sleeper tickets are a last choice and if the objective is simply to ensure proper points credit for the accommodation charge there are better and easier ways to accomplish that.

 

[Arctifox]

In regards to booking a ticket with a non-adult as the primary passenger: We discussed this in a different thread a while ago and you can actually do it with an annoying workaround when using the phone apps for booking the ticket. You need to add the non-adult passenger as a second passenger first, then remove the adult passenger (at which point the non-adult passenger becomes the primary passenger), and then add the adult passenger again at which point. It only works in the app, not on the web site.

 

[Flyaway]

As the "primary" traveler you will get AGR points for your rail fare and the accommodation charge for the bedroom. Your mother will get points for her rail fare if she gets signed up for AGR and her AGR number is attached to the reservation. If she isn't signed up for AGR, the points for her rail fare will go begging, you won't get them.

What if you got two roomettes? Will each passenger (of two) be given credit for one of them? What if one is on a child fare?

 

[zephyr17]

What if you got two roomettes? Will each passenger (of two) be given credit for one of them? What if one is on a child fare?

If both roomettes on one reservation, the "primary traveler" gets the points for both both accommodation charges.

Each individual traveler gets the points for their rail fare. If the passenger doesn't have an AGR account, those rail fare points are are not allocated. Fare type, child, senior, etc, doesn't matter.

If booking two roomettes and two of the passengers have AGR accounts and want points, make two reservations with two different primary passengers. Note that payer does not have to be a passenger on a reservation, so the same person can pay for both reservations, if desired.

 

[Flyaway]

If both roomettes on one reservation, the "primary traveler" gets the points for both both accommodation charges.

Each individual traveler gets the points for their rail fare. If the passenger doesn't have an AGR account, those rail fare points are are not allocated. Fare type, child, senior, etc, doesn't matter.

If booking two roomettes and two of the passengers have AGR accounts and want points, make two reservations with two different primary passengers. Note that payer does not have to be a passenger on a reservation, so the same person can pay for both reservations, if desired.

Perfect, thank you. I definitely want the points, and I’m the one paying, so that’s great.