Same-Day Reservation

[Everydaymatters]

Could there be a problem making an AGR reservation on the day of departure? I've never tried it and was just wondering.

 

[Misty.]

Should be no problems with a same day reservation aside from the usual concerns of the train being possibly sold out. With that in mind, it's probably better to make he reservation now and have to call to cancel if the weather turns out to be not favorable to go.

EDIT: As an example, I made a same day reservation for the SPI-CHI part of my post-Gathering trip to Chicago with no problems.

 

[the_traveler]

No problem at all, provided there are rooms/seats available on the train(s)!

A few years ago, I had a paid trip from PDX-KIN. Somewhere on the EB in WI. I decided to instead save some money and redeem a 1 zone BC award from TOL-PGH-PHL-KIN! So I called AGR FROM THE TRAIN on my cell phone, for that night's departure!

I had no problems!

 

[Steve4031]

I did this last January when I thought my flight was going to be canceled. I saw there were roomettes available on 49 from NYP to Chicago. After hemming and hawing for about 45 minutes, I called AGR from my cell phone while leaving a restaurant in Manhattan at about 1:30 p.m. To get the required 20,000 points I needed to cancel another points reservation for the summer. This process took less than 10 minutes.

We then got on the subway back to the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott, got my luggage, and took the A train back to NYP. Got the railfan window too.

At NYP, printed the ticket at quick track or CA, cant remember. The diner was bad ordered, and a diner lite car substituted. I was not happy about this, but the crew did a heroic job, and dinner was one of the better meals I have had on the LSL.

The trip illustrated the reliability of train travel in bad weather. We ran on-time most of the way with one 45 minute delay for signals. I spent time on email and cell phone managing work place issues inherent to a school teacher. Even called the girls dean on her cell to let her know that I was going to be absent, and to not inconvenience the parent of a recalcitrant teenager. I got to work in time to fulfill some commitments even though I took a sick day. All in all, a fun last minute trip.

 

[Ryan]

When my sister was stranded at EWR (the airport), I was able to call and get her and her husband a BC seat on the next train heading south, no issues.

 

[Steve4031]

When my sister was stranded at EWR (the airport), I was able to call and get her and her husband a BC seat on the next train heading south, no issues.

Try THAT with an airline . . .

 

[Devil's Advocate]

In general there is no problem. However, in addition to the train possibly selling out you should also keep in mind that if there is a major disruption anywhere on the network the resulting increase in call volume could potentially overwhelm AGR's ability to cope. AGR's website allows members to perform some simple tasks but most of my reservations still require phone assistance to setup or to change. The station staff are able to process tickets and changes already setup and authorized by an AGR agent, but that was about the extent of what they could do in my experience.

When my sister was stranded at EWR (the airport), I was able to call and get her and her husband a BC seat on the next train heading south, no issues.

Try THAT with an airline . . .

Yeah, it can be hard to redeem Amtrak tickets through an airline alright. :lol:

On the other hand it's quite easy to get a ticket for the next flight out so long as you have enough points. I've only had to buy a ticket on the next plane out once or twice but it worked much like it does in the movies, excepting the whole TSA intimate x-ray/massage fiasco of course.

 

[Rail Freak]

Last Feb on the East Bound EB out of PDX, we woke up 7 hours down because of a broken rail. Once I was told I would be put up in CHI that night, I called AGR to change my reservations on the CL & SM to Florida. Gave me an edge on pax who had to wait til Chi to arrange things!!! I got the last roomette in the transdorm to WAS!

Another time, I was stuck in the Portland, Oregon airport & I called AGR & was on Amtrak the same day headed to FLA!!!! I smiled the whole way home!!! :lol:

RF

 

[jis]

When my sister was stranded at EWR (the airport), I was able to call and get her and her husband a BC seat on the next train heading south, no issues.

Try THAT with an airline . . .

It all depends on your status in the airline frequent flyer program. I have done same day booking with no problem. You just have to have sufficient status to have unrestricted access to inventory for award travel. Such things do exist. Heck, if Amtrak had a reservation system that could handle such fine allocation of inventory in close collaboration with AGR, they'd do it too. Thank our stars that they do not have the money to afford such yet.

 

[abcnews]

This is one more reason I love AGR. We were in Florida last year, and I called, snagged a BR for me and my wife - and one child, while the rest of our family remained in FL that night. They dropped us off at Amtrak Orlando - I gave them the AGR res # and while the Silver Star was sitting in the station, the agent printed our Bedroom ticket - and within a few minutes, we were onboard and being seated for dinner in the Heritage diner, and on our way back to Alexandria, VA. I ordered steak, so did my 10 year old - and she ate every bite, so we both ordered desert... I thought, this sure beats flying in coach on a crowded airplane. And try redeeming a ticket for same day travel... My dollar cost... $0.00

No searches, no lines, no traffic, just a nice moment...

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It all depends on your status in the airline frequent flyer program. I have done same day booking with no problem. You just have to have sufficient status to have unrestricted access to inventory for award travel. Such things do exist.

On several of the airlines I've flown you could redeem for same day travel without status. You just had to hand over the "anytime" redemption rate, which was typically double the points of the "plan ahead" rate or thereabouts. I haven't had to secure any same-day tickets in years so it's possible things may have changed over time.

 

[the_traveler]

With Delta, you could redeem your miles at either level (if seats were available) anytime, but if it was less than 21 days in advance - there was a $75 booking fee also charged!

And IIRC, the booking fee increased the closer you got!

Luckily, I now see they removed that fee!

 

[railbuck]

With Delta, you could redeem your miles at either level (if seats were available) anytime, but if it was less than 21 days in advance - there was a $75 booking fee also charged!

And IIRC, the booking fee increased the closer you got!

Luckily, I now see they removed that fee!

Yes, Delta removed the fee for booking within 21 days (some other airlines still have it). However, once an award flight is booked using Skymiles, it cannot be changed within 72 hours of departure, not even for a fee. If you get sick two days before the flight and are unable to travel, there is no way to change the reservation to a later date, or cancel and redeposit -- the miles are gone. :angry2: