MKE to BOS - Save money by booking separate legs?

[Kramerica]

I'm about to book a coach trip for my family of 5 from MKE to BOS. On the Amtrak website, this trip is $725. But if I look up MKE-CHI and then CHI-BOS, the prices are $125 and $480, for a total of $605.

What am I missing? What am I gaining by booking as one trip? I'd assume that Amtrak would guarantee our connection, but the Hiawatha is so reliable and we'll take one early enough to have a nice dinner at Giordanos anyway, so what reason is there not to save that $120?

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

It is probably because of the two segments being in different fare categories. For example, if there is a saver fare available for the LSL but not the Hiawatha, the saver fare will not be applied for either segment when booked as a single ticket. However, when booked separately, you can get the lower fare for both segments. As long as you are confident in your ability to make the connection, doing so shouldn't be an issue.

 

[SubwayNut]

The Hiawatha is unreserved so it doesn't play nice with some of Amtraks savor fares. Definitely book this separately since the Hiawatha is so reliable.

 

[bratkinson]

It's not the first time that someone on this forum has reported different prices end-to-end vs segment-by-segment. It's been happening for a good number of years, in my opinion. Some would call it a glitch. Others, a bug. And others, a feature. Pick one.

I don't know if the Amtrak reservation system still has what was called 'conjunctive fares'. Booking end-to-end would sometimes save money vs segment-by-segment. As recently as 5 years ago, I used to check both conjunctive and segment fares for a roomette. One, in particular, CHI-PDX via SAN and LAX on #421-->#14 was typically less than more direct routes, and was a good 5,000 points less! But...it required an agent that knew how to book that choice quickly. One trip, the agent messed things up and the 'last one at this price' disappeared, so I cancelled while on the phone. 5 minutes later, I called back and got a different agent and they, too, 'claimed' that space before booking it and lost the 'last one' price. I called back about 10 minutes later and the agent knew to book it first, which would claim that conjunctive fare. She even knew how to put me in roomette #14 (my favorite) on both trains.

So, perhaps Amtrak still has some bits and pieces of conjunctive fares buried in the code. Unfortunately, it only chooses the higher priced options, perhaps such as taking the 'value' fare rather than 'saver'. That would be my guess...

 

[zephyr17]

Well, while it doesn't bear on the Hiawatha, the through rail fare NYP-SEA is quite a bit less than NYP-CHI and CHI-SEA on exactly the same itinerary. I am actively checking now, and am looking at it both ways so I can compare with @niemi24s chart. It is definitely less booked through, like $30 or $40 on the rail fare. Accommodation charge is unaffected.

Do you get the lower fare booking multi-city on the same reservation with two separate segments, or do you have to do two separate reservations to get the savings?

 

[Trogdor]

The Hiawatha is unreserved so it doesn't play nice with some of Amtraks savor fares. Definitely book this separately since the Hiawatha is so reliable.

Hiawatha has been reserved since the start of the pandemic.