Sleeper prices in January and February

It used to be that the least expensive months of the year to travel in a sleeper were the months of January and February. I checked the Coast Starlight for several dates in January 2018 and it seems like the rates are all high -- not adjusted to a lower price level. Is this the case with all Amtrak long distance trains? One of the things I want to do is to take my wife on the train in the midst of snowy, cold weather (as in the far reaches of Northern California and in Oregon.) What is your experience? Am I out of luck? Is anyone aware of any western routes that might be offering reasonable fares? Thanks for the input ...

Yumacool said:

I checked the Coast Starlight for several dates in January 2018 and it seems like the rates are all high -- not adjusted to a lower price level.

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How sold out where the dates you checked?

Yep. The closer to capacity the sleeper cars are the higher the cost tends to be for later reservations.

Yumacool said:

I checked the Coast Starlight for several dates in January 2018 and it seems like the rates are all high -- not adjusted to a lower price level.

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Several dates? Use AmSnag to check up to 30 consecutive dates in one search: http://biketrain.net/amsnag/amSnag.php

P.S.: A recent spot check of a few LD trains revealed fare increases from about 1% to 2% at the start of the fiscal year.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but despite whatever future dates I list, all amsnag shows is the Amtrak fares for the next 30 days beginning Oct. 5.

I just tried the old and new amsnags and it shows me Jan 2018 fares - used 1/1/18 as the from date

Can you provide the URL for the new Amsnag?

Since it is not prime vacation season, lower sleeper fares are usually available in the cold winter months in the North East, North West, and Midwest, but not always. IMO, its logical to believe that traveling to or in a warm weather region has an influence on pricing. Amtrak's current revenue management system monitors and predicts ticket sales very well. While it is still part of the formula, early fares no longer guarantee a low bucket fare as the system is demand and forecast based. If the system shows that for the last several years the train sells out on a specific date, I doubt that you will ever see low bucket sleeper prices. We have traveled on the CZ at least 6 times in late spring and summer and 10 months out were unable to find a low bucket sleeper fare. Amtrak trains only have one, two or on occasion three sleepers (except for the Autotrain that has six) The limited availability of sleeper space keeps fares high.

Yesterday, I was checking fares for St. Pete to Portland, Ore. Jan & Feb were definitely the months with the lowest fares!

Amsnag 2

http://biketrain.net/amsnag2.0/amSnag.php

Yumacool said:

Can you provide the URL for the new Amsnag?

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There’s a link on the old Amsnag page to the new one

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

The first four entries you need to make are the same for the original AmSnag and the newer Version 2.0. The primary differences I've noticed between the two are:

• Original shows individual fares for coach and each of the sleepers for each day - without adding them together

• Version 2.0 provides the total fare for each day by adding them together for you.

January and February are still the lowest-demand, cheapest months for most trains... particularly in the snowbelt. However, there are exceptions... particularly outside the snowbelt. Coast Starlight demand doesn't drop much compared to LSL demand or Empire Builder demand. We did a seasonality analysis once: I think the Zephyr was the most seasonal, while the Coast Starlight was one of the least seasonal. So you might try the Zephyr -- that'll guarantee you some snow, up in the Sierras at Donner Pass!

There will also be plenty of snow in the Utah and Colorado mountains in January and February for viewing from the California Zephyr.