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roger

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Anyone ever have a roomette part way and coach the remainder, yet get to stay in the roomette the entire time because no one booked after you?
 
I've never done this but there are lots of ways to tilt the odds in your favor if you are so inclined. For instance, if you booked a roomette from Chicago to Roseville on the Zephyr and then a coach seat from Roseville to EMY, it's highly unlikely that someone will have booked the roomette from Roseville to EMY even though it is theoretically possible.

Or book the Starlight from LAX to Centralia in a roomette and then coach from Centralia to SEA. Unlikely someone will have booked CTL-SEA in a roomette.

The problem is twofold:

1. Short-booking yourself often doesn't save a lot of actual cash.

2. Whether you can stay in the roomette is up to the on-board crew. You don't have the right to stay, and a SCA may be eager to have you vacate so that they can get a head start on cleaning the room.

The best reason to try this would be on a trip that combines an AGR reward to the end of a zone and a coach ticket for one or two stops into the next zone. Then at least you have a logical reason for trying other than being a cheapskate.
 
I've done something like this, early last year, with a coach ticket from Tucson to El Paso on the SL, and an AGR roomette ticket from El Paso to Chicago. When I boarded, I explained situation and asked to leave my luggage in the sleeper rack, which was OK'd. As I recall someone was then occupying the roomette I'd booked from El Paso on, but got off the train well before El Paso, and shortly thereafter the conductor told me it was OK for me to go back to my roomette. YMMV, of course.
 
I assume this would require the SCA to be willng to break the rules to help you out. Some might, but I wouldn't count on it. A generous tip the day before might help, bit at the point it becomes more like a bribe. And instead of an extra tip, you might as well just pay for the room for when you actually want it.
 
About 20 years ago I was given an early entry (shortly after leaving Colorado) into a roomette that had been booked from Salt Lake to EMY on the CZ with two of my then-small children. We had boarded in Denver, but there were no rooms available at time of booking before Salt Lake. I suspect that the new conductor who boarded at Grand Junction checked his manifest and found a room had become available at that point.
 
The old Columbus Loophole where you booked an AGR Reward from just west of STL to Columbus Wisconsin and then a Coach Ticket on into Chicago usually resulted in staying in the Roomette all the way in.
 
Not quite fair where AGR tix are concerned, haolerider.

The cost of booking a roomette for a very short ride can be insane, since it's priced as though the room needs to be cleaned and made ready for a new guest. The added cost to Amtrak of allowing a coach passenger to occupy a roomette he/she has already booked for most of the trip is practically nil, unless meals are involved.
 
Pay for the entire trip in a roomette if you want the comfort and don't try to cheat the system! That's the rule, so if you don't want to sit in coach, pay the price......I don't care if it is AGR points, Bitcoins or cash!
 
haolerider said:
Pay for the entire trip in a roomette if you want the comfort and don't try to cheat the system! That's the rule, so if you don't want to sit in coach, pay the price......I don't care if it is AGR points, Bitcoins or cash!
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Perhaps you should read posts more carefully, think things through more clearly, and consider common courtesy before accusing strangers of "cheating."
 
tricia said:
haolerider said:
Pay for the entire trip in a roomette if you want the comfort and don't try to cheat the system! That's the rule, so if you don't want to sit in coach, pay the price......I don't care if it is AGR points, Bitcoins or cash!
Click to expand...
Perhaps you should read posts more carefully, think things through more clearly, and consider common courtesy before accusing strangers of "cheating."
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Agreed. Some of the cases described above involved the conductor inviting people to occupy their accommodations early. If Haolerider wants to reject that offer on principle, more power to him. For most of us, it would be logical to accept that offer.

And ultimately, if someone books "short" and hopes they can remain in their rooms, it's not cheating so long as they move to coach cheerfully and promptly when asked. I would even suggest they should proactively offer to move to coach. But it's not the same as someone plopping down in First Class on an airline flight and hoping no one notices. (Or moving up to "Economy Plus" on United).
 
fairviewroad said:
And ultimately, if someone books "short" and hopes they can remain in their rooms, it's not cheating so long as they move to coach cheerfully and promptly when asked. I would even suggest they should proactively offer to move to coach.
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Spot on advice, IMHO, as this is exactly what I've done a few times in the past. I've never been taken up on the offer to move. That said, it has always been for a short duration - one additional station stop - and never into the station where the train terminates.
 
Leaving from Tuscaloosa or Anniston on the Crescent most conductors send us on to our AGR room from ALT north if its empty. I've had them say they would rather us go to the room early instead of dragging luggage through the diner or changing via the platform at ATL during a crew change. So far every trip we've been in the room just after departing and on some we've stayed in the room on the return. So I would say most conductors would rather you have the "free room" rather than interrupt meal time in the diner or add to boarding times at the station.
 
As a side note an AGR agent once told me it was strictly prohibited to book one section and pay for it followed by AGR booking on the same train on the same day. That particular agent refused to book a sleeper from ATL to NYP because of this. So to avoid problems don't let AGR know your intentions.
 
I have ended up staying in a room for no added cost on many occasions due to delays. If the Capitol misses its Pennsylvanian connection, I have successfully requested to keep my room and take a regional out of DC at no added cost. I have also stayed in my roomette on the Silver Star to NY Penn when we missed the regional I was supposed to connect with in DC.
 
Crescent ATN & TCL said:
As a side note an AGR agent once told me it was strictly prohibited to book one section and pay for it followed by AGR booking on the same train on the same day. That particular agent refused to book a sleeper from ATL to NYP because of this. So to avoid problems don't let AGR know your intentions.
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Interesting. I just booked a paid (coach) on the LSL to TOL and then AGR (roomette) from TOL to CHI (and beyond) with an AGR agent.
 
quote name="AmtrakBlue" post="516169" timestamp="1395961539"]

Crescent ATN & TCL said:
As a side note an AGR agent once told me it was strictly prohibited to book one section and pay for it followed by AGR booking on the same train on the same day. That particular agent refused to book a sleeper from ATL to NYP because of this. So to avoid problems don't let AGR know your intentions.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I just booked a paid (coach) on the LSL to TOL and then AGR (roomette) from TOL to CHI (and beyond) with an AGR agent.The understanding I got was that they were told to use your redemption on the shortest section and make you pay for the longest section. The other alternative is to let them book the all redemption. Of course experienced agents know anybody with any understanding of the system will maximize distance with their points. For example we all know Vancouver to San Diego is less than Anniston to Gainesville in points.
 
Crescent ATN & TCL said:
quote name="AmtrakBlue" post="516169" timestamp="1395961539"]
Crescent ATN & TCL said:
As a side note an AGR agent once told me it was strictly prohibited to book one section and pay for it followed by AGR booking on the same train on the same day. That particular agent refused to book a sleeper from ATL to NYP because of this. So to avoid problems don't let AGR know your intentions.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I just booked a paid (coach) on the LSL to TOL and then AGR (roomette) from TOL to CHI (and beyond) with an AGR agent.
Click to expand...
The understanding I got was that they were told to use your redemption on the shortest section and make you pay for the longest section. The other alternative is to let them book the all redemption. Of course experienced agents know anybody with any understanding of the system will maximize distance with their points. For example we all know Vancouver to San Diego is less than Anniston to Gainesville in points.

i think you just for a bad agent.My AGR redemption is for TOL to EMY via LAX, a bit longer than my LSL pd portion. :eek: :D
 
Crescent ATN & TCL said:
The understanding I got was that they were told to use your redemption on the shortest section and make you pay for the longest section. The other alternative is to let them book the all redemption. Of course experienced agents know anybody with any understanding of the system will maximize distance with their points. For example we all know Vancouver to San Diego is less than Anniston to Gainesville in points.
Click to expand...
That "rule" was smacked down with reckless abandon the moment AGR management heard Call Center folks were making it up. There was even a thread on it and everything.
 
RyanS said:
Crescent ATN & TCL said:
The understanding I got was that they were told to use your redemption on the shortest section and make you pay for the longest section. The other alternative is to let them book the all redemption. Of course experienced agents know anybody with any understanding of the system will maximize distance with their points. For example we all know Vancouver to San Diego is less than Anniston to Gainesville in points.
Click to expand...
That "rule" was smacked down with reckless abandon the moment AGR management heard Call Center folks were making it up. There was even a thread on it and everything.
Click to expand...
I ended up hanging up on the agent after she threatened to report me and have my AGR account cancelled after not letting her charge me bed room points for one stop. After that call I've pretended to be starting from ALT with no problem.I assumed it was just a agent starting out.
 
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A generous tip does wonders with regard to early or late room occupation
 
I can offer a few situations where early occupation/late leaving of a roomette has been part of an discussion. In one case, I booked a WPK-DLD coach leg where I already had a DLD-RVR roomette leg (last minute change of plans; the friend I was visiting was taking his brother to Disney and the alternative was several hours at the Deland station). I was allowed to occupy early and go to dinner.

The other case is ABQ-FLG, where I'll book a sleeper AGR reservation and then a coach leg. I've done this a few times:
-On one occasion, the Chief was catastrophically late and I was able to get the room at low bucket from the Conductor (I paid for an upgrade).

-On another occasion, the crew had to boot me (the train was pretty much sold out and I ended up in the lounge ABQ-FLG due to crowding...the crew offered to find me a seat; I told them not to worry about it...they were happy enough with me in the lounge, and it had taken them about 30 minutes to sort through and find the stray seats and settle the other folks boarding at ABQ). However, I was told that but for the selling-out I would have been allowed to remain in place.

Basically...if it's a stop or two that is involved and it clearly has more to do with something like a minor plan change, staying in your room is more likely. If it is longer than that, not so much.

About the only place this likely makes sense as a plan is on the Cardinal (where the upcharge between Dyer and Chicago has been noted as particularly insane). However, it can happen in oddball cases like my Florida case.
 
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