Passenger Trains > AGR Redemption Surprise?

I don't know whether it's a bug in the Amtrak.com ticketing screens, or whether there's a 'hidden' AGR redemption surprise. 

Yesterday, while doing some price checking for a WNL to NYP round trip, I entered 0 Adults and 1 Senior travelling and a close in date.  I usually book train 56, the Vermonter, to return and as it has the split cafe car/business class with 2 & 1 seating, and it usually sells out as the date approaches.  Fortunately, there were still '4 seats at this price' available in business class, with a price of $99.50.  Just for kicks, I wondered what it would cost in AGR points, and it came up as 3899 points.  Doing the 34.5 points per dollar conversion rate in my head using $100, it should come out as slightly less than 3450 points, not 3899, which works out to 39.185 points per dollar.  I know travel on the Acela costs more than 34.5 points/dollar, but not on regional trains.  So, just for kicks, I started over and used 1 Adult and 0 Seniors travelling on the same train, same day.  It came out to $113, and amazingly, 3899 points!  34.5 points per dollar.  Thinking maybe I messed up, I repriced it both ways again, and got the same results.  

I also prowled both the Amtrak.com site and the Amtrakguestrewards.com site for any redemption rate rules, just to confirm they hadn't changed since implementation in January this year.  Nowhere could I find any indication of points/mile redemption rates.  

So, I wrote an email to Amtrak Guest Rewards indicating my surpise as I wondered if it is a senior pricing anomaly or the rule is seniors in business class pay less cash, but full price points.  It may be unique to the Vermonter, I don't know as I didn't check other trains.

Even more baffling is the response I got from AGR this morning.  Here's what I received:
Thank you for contacting the Amtrak Guest Rewards Service Center.  We appreciate your enthusiasm in our redemption program and thank you being a valued Amtrak Guest Rewards member, we are not at liberty to disclose such information.  To ensure members can get the most out of their points, we have introduced a toggle at Amtrak.com to compare the price of a trip in dollars vs. points. You'll find this on the fare results page when searching for an itinerary-giving members the ability to compare prices and redeem for a trip that best fits their needs.  We thank you again for being a valued Amtrak Guest Rewards member.

Not at liberty to disclose such information????  I suspect it ties in with using the one-class upgrade coupons I received when I reached Select status for the second year in a row.  As stated on the coupons, they require payment of full fare coach rate to use the upgrade to business or first class on the Acela.  A couple of times now, when calling within 12 hours of train time to use an upgrade, they had to charge me an extra couple of dollars as I had used a discounted fare to book the trip.  I suspect they use the same rule for redemption of AGR points, too. 

In short, for all my future point redemptions, I will definitely check their conversion rate math before I redeem points to ensure I get the best 'bang for my buck'.

I believe the same math applies on auto-train upgrades to business class.  The $59 increase  seems to be a flat fare, regardless of which coach fare bucket is used.  The lowest to highest coach difference is about $300. so two people can sometimes get a roomette cheaper or just a few dollars more than two business seats. 

That will be even more apparent as Amtrak begins to add cars for the Fall peak season southbound.

Not all fares level give you 34.5pts/dollar.
Of the 4 NEC fare levels (Saver/Value/Flexible/Premium), there is nothing with AGR for Saver and Premium even when they are available for money. Forget about expending just 1,691 (34.5 X 49)  points for all those $49 Saver fares.
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/16 09:36 by joemvcnj.

Senior, AAA, NARP, Student and other discount fares other than child are not used to calculate the points required for AGR redemption. The lower cost, "Saver" fare is also not used. The lowest available "Value" fare or higher is the basis for calculating the required points for an AGR redemption. This issue was the topic of some heated discussion on the Amtrak forum at another site that caters to frequent travelers.

An official AGR rep posted this explanation at that site:

"Adult" and "Child" pricing will apply to redemption travel, but not other discount types such as AAA, Senior, etc. "Saver" fares will not qualify for redemption, but please note that AGR One-Class Upgrade Coupons will continue to be permitted for use on non-redemption Saver fare tickets, according to the terms of the coupon (e.g. Acela and Northeast Regional).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/16 10:19 by prr60.

prr60 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> An official AGR rep posted this explanation at
> that site:
>
> "Adult" and "Child" pricing will apply to
> redemption travel, but not other discount types
> such as AAA, Senior, etc. "Saver" fares will not
> qualify for redemption, but please note that AGR
> One-Class Upgrade Coupons will continue to be
> permitted for use on non-redemption Saver fare
> tickets, according to the terms of the coupon
> (e.g. Acela and Northeast Regional).

Foolish me...I figured the 34.5 exchange rate applied to whatever the money fare was, even discounted prices.  Now it makes sense.  Redemption is always based on full price adult and child fares.  Lesson learned.  Now I'll have to rethink my future redemption plans...

Welcome to the new and improved AGR. About the only benefit is to Amtrak. Most of the rest of us get the shaft. What used to cost us 15,000 points has now more than doubled, even almost tripled if we don't plan years ahead and get the rock bottom fare. The old zone system was much better for some of us. Not hard to see why Southwest is getting more of our business when it now takes years to gather up enough points for a family vacation by train.