Is amtrak still doing last minute deals?

[roscoe978]

Me and my 13 year old son bought train tickets from CHI-DEN, DEN-EMY, EMY-SEA in mid-late july. We bought with the 50% discounts and are in coach. I saw some old threads about people being able to get insane deals upgrading to sleeper last minute on the train. I was wondering if amtrak was still doing this, and if it was still cheaper than normally upgrading in advance.

 

[Sidney]

Amtrak used to do this. If you want a sleeper when you board the train and there is space available you have to call Amtrak and go through them. There is no discount. Another idiotic Amtrak move. I have posted here that if there are unsold sleepers on the train,why not discount them? Better some revenue than no revenue.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Me and my 13 year old son bought train tickets from CHI-DEN, DEN-EMY, EMY-SEA in mid-late july. We bought with the 50% discounts and are in coach. I saw some old threads about people being able to get insane deals upgrading to sleeper last minute on the train. I was wondering if amtrak was still doing this, and if it was still cheaper than normally upgrading in advance.

This hasnt happened in years.

Not only do you have to call in to book an Upgrade yourself, since Conductors no longer do Upgrades, you also pay the Current Sleeping Car Bucket Price,and a Higher Rail Fare than what used to be the Low Bucket Rail Fare.

And the 50% Off Deals are NOT elgible for an upgrade, you'd have to Cancel and Rebook and pay the current Prices!

 

[roscoe978]

This hasnt happened in years.

Not only do you have to call in to book an Upgrade yourself, since Conductors no longer do Upgrades, you also pay the Current Sleeping Car Bucket Price, but also a Higher Rail Fare than what used to be the Low Bucket Rail Fare.

And the 50% Off Deals are NOT elgible for an upgrade, you'd have to Cancel and Rebook and pay the current Prices!

When we called amtrak, they said that you can still upgrade the 50% discount tickets.

Also, I know this is a dumb question, but what is rail fare and how much is it. And overall, would I save money if I bought my tickets now, or last minute

 

[Bob Dylan]

When we called amtrak, they said that you can still upgrade the 50% discount tickets.

Also, I know this is a dumb question, but what is rail fare and how much is it. And overall, would I save money if I bought my tickets now, or last minute

The 50% off Tickets are for Coach, and I'm reasonably sure either you or the agent misunderstood, since the offer clearly states that upgrading to Sleeping Cars is NOT Available with this Promo.

As for "Last Minute" Ticket purchases, one pays the current Prices when booking
,including Rail Fare ,( your ticket to ride, basically the current Coach Bucket) and any Upgrades to Biz,Class or Sleeping Car,
which are usually High due to Fuller Trains as people have begun to travel more.( there are only a few Tickets available @ the Low Bucket level on Trains, and as Trains fill up, the Prices go up, ie " Supply and Demand".

 

[roscoe978]

oh, ok but if I did have normal coach tickets, would it be cheaper upgrading last minute?

 

[me_little_me]

When we called amtrak, they said that you can still upgrade the 50% discount tickets.

Also, I know this is a dumb question, but what is rail fare and how much is it. And overall, would I save money if I bought my tickets now, or last minute

Rail fare is what you pay for your travel on the train. Accommodation charge is what you pay for your room. The combined amount is your total fare. Both rail fare and accommodation charges vary day to day based on demand. They move in "buckets" i.e. fixed amounts so it's not like you pay $175 one day and $176 on another day. There are usually 5 buckets so it moves from one bucket to another either up or down. It can be different for the same day or between days if you book at different times depending on demand and cancellations. You will sometimes see on their reservations "only one room [ or x rooms] available at this price". This means after one more room is sold, the price will go to a higher bucket. Five minutes later, someone might cancel 3 rooms on that train and the bucket may drop one or more levels.
You pay one rail fare per PERSON and one accommodation charge PER ROOM.

 

[caravanman]

As Amtrak sleeper prices are currently at an all time high, and your time of travel is in "high" season, I very much doubt that sleeper prices will drop at the last minute. Demand for sleepers is high with Covid, so I can't see any expectation of late deals. Sorry!

 

[roscoe978]

I dont know if this is the right form to ask in, but, do you have to where masks when sleeping in coach?

 

[Sidney]

Yes.

 

[TrackWalker]

roscoe978- Welcome to Amtrak Unlimited!

 

[niemi24s]

. . .what is rail fare and how much is it.

The rail fare is one of the coach fares which when added to the accommodation charge for the sleeper becomes the fare you pay for the sleeper.
• There are a total of six different coach fares for each route and portion of each route. The one that becomes part of the total sleeper fare is the third most expensive.
• Unless there is a wholesale change in the dollar values of the coach fares, the rail fare remains constant - regardless of what is charged for a plain Coach class ticket.
• Shown below are the known buckets for the whole route of the California Zephyr. . .

. . .and the rail fare is the one followed by the > symbol.
• All of these fares are for one adult, so if somebody bought a ticket for one adult in a Roomette on the CZ from CHI to EMY for, say, $688, the accommodation charge for the Roomette would have been $688 - $224 = $464 on that day of travel. Might be different (up or down) the next day, however.
• But on the same day when when that Roomette ticket was bought, the fare for one adult in Coach class could have been $141 - the Saver Fare.

And overall, would I save money if I bought my tickets now, or last minute

No real way of knowing. The fare might go down if you wait, but it might go up if you wait. The accommodation you want could also get sold out if you wait! My general advise is to buy the ticket early just to insure you secure what you want - even at a higher price. Then keep checking and if the price drops, call an agent and have your reservation MODIFIED to the lower fare. If it doesn't drop and you feel it's too expensive just call, cancel and suffer whatever penalty is imposed.

 

[20th Century Rider]

Me and my 13 year old son bought train tickets from CHI-DEN, DEN-EMY, EMY-SEA in mid-late july. We bought with the 50% discounts and are in coach. I saw some old threads about people being able to get insane deals upgrading to sleeper last minute on the train. I was wondering if amtrak was still doing this, and if it was still cheaper than normally upgrading in advance.

Upgrades are supposedly not allowed on the 50% fares... but Amtrak seems to be all over the place with everything. You may snag an upgrade... depending on the conductor... or whatever. Anything goes.

The only thing that Amtrak is consistent with is downgrading service in general. Anything goes with that as well.

 

[20th Century Rider]

oh, ok but if I did have normal coach tickets, would it be cheaper upgrading last minute?

Last minute upgrades are usually ultra expensive... unless some kind of a system delay causes the sleeper to remain open. But then again... don't count on reasonable pricing.