Pay for reservation now, change to AGR redemption later?

[crescent2]

I recently put in a HH transfer to AGR points, but was told it might take 30 days. I'm afraid sleepers might sell out in the meantime, although this is for next May. If I went ahead and made the reservation (CZ, bedroom) now, could I change it to use AGR points for it later, and get a refund? (Not cancel and rebook, just change it to use AGR and get a credit back to the credit card, or a refund, for the previous payment.) I would also like to go ahead and reserve the CS roomette segment that I'll pay for, as prices are relatively low right now. Also, reserve hotels. Some here have advised that I should make the train reservations asap.

I do plan to phone Amtrak, but I know they must be swamped with more urgent phone calls due to the current situation in the Northeast, so I thought I wouldn't add to their chaos. Also, according to many posts here, the phone reps are not consistently correct in their advice, so I actually feel a little more confident asking here on the forum (as it involves something that would/would not be allowed a month later)! Thanks-

 

[AlanB]

June,

What you're thinking can be done, but be warned that you cannot get a full refund on the sleeper anymore. You could 100% back in a voucher good for future travel, but you would only get 90% back to your credit card if you go that way.

I would go ahead and reserve the CS if your plan is certain to lock in that price. If somehow a sell out does occur on the CZ, then you can always rebook the CS and transfer that money over.

 

[roadman3313]

As stated above Amtrak Cancelation policies have changed. With that said you could do that, however in most cases the bedrooms would not sell out this early for a May reservation. You will be well outside the cancellation/change window if you are doing what you propose.

I'd suggest calling the Amtrak Guest Rewards number (not the regular Amtrak number) with your question if you have any doubts.

If it were me, I'd wait for the point transfer to go through and just do one transaction. As you know though, nothing is certain but it is really up to what you feel comfortable with.

 

[crescent2]

Thanks, guys! I certainly wouldn't want to lose 10%, as some dates are already over $1,000 just for the sleeper.

And thanks, Alan, for moving my post to the AGR section. After I posted it, I thought maybe it was in the wrong place.

roadman: What do you mean by "outside the cancellation/change window"?

I've read the Amtrak site but they just don't provide a lot of details. Thanks--

 

[Anthony]

Actually, you can't pay for the reservation, then just get a refund/voucher and use points on the same reservation. The agent will have to cancel and rebook everything into a new "points" reservation, with a different reservation number. They can certainly use your paid reservation as a template for the new one, as in, write down the train, date, car and room numbers and try to recreate that in the new reservation.

This shouldn't be a big deal, because you don't care if the price goes up -- the redemption amount is the same in the end. However, if the train does indeed sell out and you are holding the "last room on the train," there will be perhaps 20 or 30 seconds between the time the agent cancels your first booking, and manages to grabs that room again for the second booking. In those 30 seconds, someone else could snatch the room out from under you.

If you're willing to take the risk (I would), then go for it!

 

[roadman3313]

A technicality listed above... but yes. I've changed an award to a paid and paid to award... generally they just process it and issue you a new reservation number. But as stated above there is some risk.

To clarify, outside of 15 days you can get a refund (minus the 10%) or an E-Voucher for the full value. Inside you can only get an E-Voucher. There will always be a refund fee on sleepers now.

I'd wait it out... but that's just me...

 

[crescent2]

I guess I will wait, because I don't want to lose 10% on such an expensive reservation, and I wouldn't need an e-voucher because I don't anticipate taking another trip that would be that expensive. The cheapest dates are $578 plus railfare, and most are already much higher. I'd probably take the 30 second risk, but I don't want to lose $58 to $105 dollars on my refund. Thanks, all!

If bedrooms sell out or plane fare gets too high in the meantime, I can always postpone the trip until a later month.

To clarify, if I reserve the CS roomette now, I CAN change that reservation to a later date without a fee, right? I'm not going to use AGR for that segment.

 

[roadman3313]

You should be able to modify the reservation online as long as you are keeping the exact same origin and destination as long as you don't print out any paper tickets. If you have an E-Ticket you should be able to change at any time. To make any other change the reservation would be subject to a 10% fee on a refund or a full value E-voucher.

Anything involving sleepers should be carefully thought out ahead of time as they will always be subjected to the refund fee if canceled or modified beyond a date change.