Upgrades from roomette to bedroom

I realize that in order to upgrade from a roomette to a bedroom there has to be one available and the conductor has to be willing to do this after the train has left the station. Is there anything "standard" about what the upgrade charge would be, assuming one is available? We'd be traveling (two persons)on the LSL from New York to Chicago.

Thanks.

The upgrade charge would be the difference between what you paid for the roomette (not including the railfare) and the low bucket price for the Bedroom, or $50 whichever is higher. So if you have a high bucket roomette, you could well get the Bedroom for just $50 bucks.

All that assume that you've paid for the roomette. If you used points for the Roomette, then as far as Amtrak is concerned when it comes to upgrades, you paid zero for the roomette. So you'd pay the low bucket price for the Bedroom and in effect threw away your points for the roomette.

Finally, unless you're traveling during a very off peak period, I wouldn't bet on a Bedroom still being available on the day of travel.

I lucked out last year when I took the Silver Star, I paid for a roomette, but when I boarded the train they had put me in a bedroom at no extra charge.

Alan (as would be expected ) gave the answer. The precise policy is outlined on pages 8-101 through 8-102 of the Amtrack Service Standards Manual which can be downloaded here. The variables are the accommodation charge you paid for the roomette (which bucket) and the low bucket price for the bedroom between the city pairs for which your upgrade is effective (often one or two stations downline -- or even more if it takes a while before the conductor deals with your upgrade) and the delta between the two numbers. In any event the minimum upgrade fee whould be $50 even if the calculation yields a lesser number.

I actually went through this process last year while riding the CS from LAUS to SEA. It was my first LD ride and although I was by myself I decided to splurge for the upgrade. The result of the calculations was $117 and I want to say that was based on the upgrade being effective somewhere north of Oxnard. If I recall correctly, the train was scheduledf for a two hour later than usual deparutre (~12:15 PM) from LAUS and no sooner was I situated then it was time to go to lunch. I think I inquired about the upgrade before lunch and my SCA (who may have even suggested the upgrade) and showed me the empty bedrooms. If I recall the sequence correctly he said we'd decide whether to do it after lunch and upon my return he moved me. But it was probably a good 30+ minutes before the conductor/assistant conductor actually came and took my money. I remember at the time being somewhat annoyed by how long this was taking but in retrospect they did me a favor because I want to say that the upgrade was from Santa Barbara. By suggesting we address the issue after lunch, the SCA saved me money.

I've since ridden the Silver Star (day only) in a roomette with my young daughter and although I remember last year on that LAUS-SEA initially being somewhat suprised and mildly disappointed at the roomette size (which is why I wanted to upgrade), I've since come to really like them.

Blue skies ..

BTW: For the truly cuious, the service manual says this:

Upgrade from Sleeping Car to Sleeping Car

The Conductor or Assistant Conductor must take

the following steps to upgrade a passenger from

Sleeping Car to Sleeping Car.

a) Check the manifest for available space.

b) If space is available, call (800) xxx-xxxx (the phone

number is also on the manifest) to hold the space.

c) Upgrade of Room Type for Entire Trip

• Determine the price the passenger paid for the

accommodation from their ticket.

• In the Conductor's Memorandum Tariff, go to the

page for fares specific to the train and city pairs.

• Using the D-Level accommodation charge for

the appropriate city pair and accommodation

type, determine the charge; then subtract the

accommodation charge that the passenger

already paid from that amount on their ticket.

• The difference is the amount to charge the

passenger for the upgrade.

• If this difference is under $50.00, charge

$50.00; it always costs a minimum of $50.00 to

upgrade to a higher room type.

• For Amtrak pass riders, apply both accommodation

charges to the 20% discount table.

• The minimum upgrade charge for an Amtrak

pass rider is still $50.00.

d) Upgrade of Room Type between Select City Pairs

• Determine the inventory class (S, A, B, C or D)

of the accommodation that was paid by the

passenger. This inventory class appears next to

the passenger's name on the manifest and is on

the passenger's ticket or ticket receipt.

• In the Conductor's Memorandum Tariff, go to

the page for fares between the city pair for

which the passenger wants to upgrade.

• Determine the D-level accommodation charge

of the higher priced room type between that

city pair.

• Using the D-level accommodation charge,

determine the charge for the lower priced

room type between that city pair – use the

accommodation charge that corresponds to the

inventory class originally paid by the passenger.

• Subtract the accommodation charge of the

lower room type from the higher priced.

• The difference is the amount to charge the

passenger for the upgrade.

• If this difference is under $50.00, charge

$50.00; it always costs a minimum of $50.00 to

upgrade to a higher room type.

• For Amtrak pass riders, apply both accommodation

charges to the 20% discount table.

• The minimum upgrade charge for an Amtrak

pass riders is still $50.00.

EXAMPLE:

A passenger has a ticket from Chicago to Seattle

showing the through "EB" roomette charge. At

Stanley, North Dakota, the passenger wants to

upgrade to an available unsold bedroom.

(Amounts shown are for the example only and

may not be accurate.)

• DD accommodation charge STN-SEA: $355.00.

• EB accommodation charge STN-SEA: $303.00.

• The charge to upgrade is $52.00.

8-102 Train Service Accounting Procedures

Service Standards Manual No. 6 8-103

If the passenger had paid the "EA" roomette charge:

• DD accommodation charge STN-SEA: $355.00.

• EA accommodation charge STN-SEA: $399.00.

• The difference is: ($44.00) (a negative number,

in this case).

• The difference is lower than the $50.00 minimum,

so the charge to upgrade would be $50.00.