Passenger Trains > Amtrak ticket question.

Hello I am thinking of riding amtrak to Omaha, NE in November to see and ride the UP steam train. However my wife is pregnant and is due in late November. Due date is close enough to be a concern but yet far enough that it shouldn't be much of a problem. The plan is to ride Amtrak from Waterloo to Omaha and meet a friend who is already out there chasing. We ride and then we return home together.

Now if I purchase tickets on Amtrak and then I end up not able to go what is the cancellation policy? Also if I buy tickets for both Amtrak and the UP steam excursion and can't go I may try to sell my Excursion ticket to another friend. Am I able to transfer my Amtrak ticket to someone else?

Thank You
Derek

howeld Wrote:
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> Hello I am thinking of riding amtrak to Omaha, NE
> in November to see and ride the UP steam train.
> However my wife is pregnant and is due in late
> November. Due date is close enough to be a
> concern but yet far enough that it shouldn't be
> much of a problem. The plan is to ride Amtrak
> from Waterloo to Omaha and meet a friend who is
> already out there chasing. We ride and then we
> return home together.
>
> Now if I purchase tickets on Amtrak and then I end
> up not able to go what is the cancellation policy?
> Also if I buy tickets for both Amtrak and the UP
> steam excursion and can't go I may try to sell my
> Excursion ticket to another friend. Am I able to
> transfer my Amtrak ticket to someone else?
>
> Thank You
> Derek


I'd seriously consider a pass on this one! You can not transfer Amtrak tickets. Depending on whether you buy coach or sleeper tickets, that establishes your "refund policy." Coach tickets you can cash in at a 10% penalty or retain and exchange for a ticket (within one year). Tickets involving an acommodation charge (i.e. sleeper) are a bit different. I think you now have can cancel up to a week of travel, but I am not exactly sure on the refund or how you get to use these tickets for another time. Best to check with Amtrak on this one - but perhaps the wife first!

jp1822 Wrote:

> I'd seriously consider a pass on this one! You can
> not transfer Amtrak tickets. Depending on whether
> you buy coach or sleeper tickets, that establishes
> your "refund policy." Coach tickets you can cash
> in at a 10% penalty or retain and exchange for a
> ticket (within one year). Tickets involving an
> acommodation charge (i.e. sleeper) are a bit
> different. I think you now have can cancel up to a
> week of travel, but I am not exactly sure on the
> refund or how you get to use these tickets for
> another time. Best to check with Amtrak on this
> one - but perhaps the wife first!

Wife gave the go ahead (She is great!!)as long as her Doctors appointment goes well. So its up in the air till then but excursion tickets will most likely sell out in July so that is the problem. Just seeing what my options are.

Amtrak's refund policies are somewhere on the web site.

As long as what you have is a coach RESERVATION (you have not physically picked up the tickets) you can cancel with no penalty. If you are in a sleeper there is a penalty for cancelling within 7 days of the trip whether or not you have the tickets in hand. Best bet for this one is to make a COACH reservation, then you can cancel it if need be...no harm-no foul.

As far as the excursion itself...traditionally these kind of things are supposedly non-refundable, but if you can't go you can usually sell/give/donate the ticket to someone else. The excursion operators won't be checking ID's :)

Check with the Amtrak web site or call them. That would be the best. Try these links:
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Content_C&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241267288550
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Content_C&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241245657912

As far as the excursion goes, if you really trust your friend that is out there, have him hold the tickets and if you can't make it, have him sell them for you.

John

loco4501 Wrote:
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> As long as what you have is a coach RESERVATION
> (you have not physically picked up the tickets)
> you can cancel with no penalty.

Only problem with this is you have to pay for the tickets within five days of making the reservation as I recall, you can't book it six months in advanced then pay for them the day of.

In this instance if you book the tickets (Coach) online and pay for them ahead of time, the reservation can be cancelled and refunded right up until departure without penalty. There's still restrictions on sleeper space, however if the train doesn't sell out you can generally upgrade to a sleeper onboard if you end up going.

You can pay for your ticket, but not physically pick them up. Until the tickets are printed, you can get a full refund on the reservation. Once the tickets are issued, there is a 10% penalty if you want your money back. They'll still give 100% against future travel, though.

The accomodation charge for the sleepers is a little different. You can only get credit for future reservations once you are within 7 days of your trip.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/10 23:25 by zephyr18.

One precaution. If you can not go then CANCEL your reservation. Don't simply not show up and expect a full, or any, refund. Check the cancellation policy when making a purchase.

The problem I see for you is that since Waterloo is not a staffed station, there is no way for you to reserve a seat without being ticketed. If you try to book a reservation online or via phone with a departure point that is unstaffed, they will automatically send you the tickets. The only way to avoid this is to tell them that you will pick the tickets up at a staffed station which, in your case, would mean a drive to South Bend or Toledo though Battle Creek might be closer depending on where you actually live.

Also, while a refund voucher is only good for a year, when that year is almost up you can exchange it for another voucher that is good for another year.

Jaanfo Wrote:
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> loco4501 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > As long as what you have is a coach RESERVATION
> > (you have not physically picked up the tickets)
> > you can cancel with no penalty.
>
> Only problem with this is you have to pay for the
> tickets within five days of making the reservation
> as I recall, you can't book it six months in
> advanced then pay for them the day of.
>
> In this instance if you book the tickets (Coach)
> online and pay for them ahead of time, the
> reservation can be cancelled and refunded right up
> until departure without penalty. There's still
> restrictions on sleeper space, however if the
> train doesn't sell out you can generally upgrade
> to a sleeper onboard if you end up going.

Right. I am so u to doing my bookings on-line I forgot that many people don't.

Thanks for the information. I might just switch to Toledo, OH as it is close to the same distance from me as Waterloo, IN (Bryan is much closer than Toledo or Waterloo but I'd rather ride in super liners) so as to be getting on at a staffed station. I just prefer Waterloo so I can sit and watch NS while I wait plus when I return it isn't far out of the way to get my car coming back from Iowa.

I looked into flying as well but Amtrak was cheaper by a few dollars and fit nicely into the time I had. But like I said it is all up in the air yet.

Thanks
Derek

She is a keeper...good luck "dad"..