Amsnag vs Amtrak pricing

[me_little_me]

Amtrak told me that two tix for an upcoming trip would cost me $100 total. Then I checked Amsnag and it said the ticket price was $38 for one. Went back to Amtrak and for one it was $38 but for two it was $100. So I ordered one at $38. Then checked Amsnag and sure enough, it was now $50 for one ticket. Ordered the second at $50 from Amtrak for a total of $88. Thanks Amsnag.

Mighty naughty of Amtrak not to give me the one ticket left at low bucket at the low bucket price when ordering 2 tickets.

 

[SP&S]

Proof, once again, that knowledge IS power.

 

[fairviewroad]

Mighty naughty of Amtrak not to give me the one ticket left at low bucket at the low bucket price when ordering 2 tickets.

Mighty naughty of you to catch them at it! :giggle:

On the other hand, good for Amtrak if they can sell tickets at a higher price. There's nothing that says a customer "deserves" a ticket

at a specific bucket level.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I've seen all sorts of screwing things when ordering more than one ticket. I honestly have no idea why Amtrak feels the need to penalize their customers for purchasing more than one ticket at a time. It's not like Amtrak even promises that you'll be seated together, so what actual benefit is there for the consumer to group several tickets into a single purchase? If a supermarket was run like Amtrak's the SUPER FAMILY SIZE box would cost more per ounce than the tiny personal sized bachelor box.

 

[NAVYBLUE]

Proof, once again, that knowledge IS power.

Amen brother.

NAVYBLUE

 

[N.T.]

Airlines do the same thing. I always check out the 'one-ticket' price first at the on-line site before I book on-line or call to book.

 

[YourFoodSherpa]

I think the reason that they do it this way is two-fold. For one, the airlines and AMTRAK are in business to make money. If they sell one less seat at the lower bucket price and one more seat at the higher bucket price, they win. On top of that, most people would never notice. If you are looking to buy a ticket for two people, you want two tickets - you're not going to purchase one and then come back thinking "oops...I need to get another one!" So, it works in their favor. Secondarily, I would think that if someone purchased two tickets at the same time, they would expect the price to be the same - and would likely call customer service if it came up otherwise. Sure, some may understand the system of bucket pricing and that they got one seat at a discount, but more people would think that they got screwed on the second ticket and call and complain. So, by allowing someone to buy two tickets at the same time for two different fares, AMTRAK would only be creating more work for their (seemingly) overtaxed customer service crew, in that they would spend part of their day explaining how the pricing model works - and only pissing off their customer base.

 

[johnny.menhennet]

YourFoodSherpa, while I know you have not been on this forum long, I see that your location lists Central Florida, and I advise you to go to the Florida Mini Gathering of other AU'ers that you could meet and hang out with for a day. There is information for it all over this forum.

 

[YourFoodSherpa]

I think I did read about that, but if I recall, it conflicts with my own trip out of town. I would happily join a meet up, if it fits my schedule.

 

[jacorbett70]

This reminds me of a recent dream I had where I arrived at the counter at the same time as a stranger and the Amtrak clerk said there was one ticket left at the lower bucket. I immediately proposed to the other guy that we split the difference (say if the second person had to pay $70 instead of $50, the first person would hand the second a $10). Then I tried to go second paying the $70 realizing more AGR points(!) I think this was caused by a discussion of a group at work over splitting a check and who would get to use their AGR (or airline miles) credit card.

 

[fairviewroad]

This reminds me of a recent dream I had where I arrived at the counter at the same time as a stranger and the Amtrak clerk said there was one ticket left at the lower bucket. I immediately proposed to the other guy that we split the difference (say if the second person had to pay $70 instead of $50, the first person would hand the second a $10). Then I tried to go second paying the $70 realizing more AGR points(!) I think this was caused by a discussion of a group at work over splitting a check and who would get to use their AGR (or airline miles) credit card.

Pretty funny but in real life there's no way the guy hands you a tenner. If you actually arrived at the counter "at the same time" then you would

in reality be at a multi-window ticket counter and would have no reason or opportunity to have that conversation. Still, a fun scenario to think about.

 

[Eris]

I saw this happen as I was pricing out and considering dates for a (coach) trip LAX->SEA on the Coast Starlight around Thanksgiving, but in my case I couldn't have bought the tickets separately because I'm one adult traveling with two children (who travel at half-price), so there was no way to split the purchase up to get the last coach seat at the lower bucket fare. That didn't turn out to be the date I wanted to travel or I might have tried calling to book it; am still kind of curious how that would have gone.