How to invoke the sleeper exception rule

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PaulM

Engineer
Joined
Jun 27, 2008
Messages
2,352
Location
Quincy, IL
I would like to report my experience trying to invoke the sleeper exception rule. I wanted to go DEN to LAX via CZ and CS, the very example used in the guidelines.

The first agent claimed to know nothing about the rule. When I quoted it chapter and verse, he put me on hold for quite a while. When he came back he said it would be two awards. I asked to speak to a supervisor. When he said it would not be back for about an hour, I decided to call back Monday when presumably a higher seniority manager would be on duty (it was Saturday).

When I called back, the agent again professed to know nothing. Same with the supervisor who at least was able to find the pertinent guideline. Even though she agreed with me, she didn't know how to accomplish it. She connected me to someone else who said they would research it and call me back within an hour, hopefully with a reservation number.

It couldn't have been 10 minutes before I got the call with a reservation number for a one zone award. I guess the moral of the story is that the rule is real, but you have to go fairly far up the chain of command to invoke it.

For reference: go to the AGR website, click the REDEEM tab, then the REDEMPTION GUIDELINES link several lines down and to the right. It's the last bullet item in the REDEMPTION TRAVEL BY ZONE section.
 
If there is sleeper service between two routes, but the only connections that come up include trains with no sleepers (or a bus), the all-sleeper routing is valid.

Follow the trail at the end of the last post for a full explanation and example.
 
So what we're talking about is taking the #5 to the # 11 with an over night stay on our dime instead of being forced to take another non sleeper train or bus???

Thanx
 
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It's a shame that even the route which is given as an acceptable example that meets every allowed motive and procedural restriction still requires this much effort to be ticketed successfully. Just imagine how many phone calls and escalations it would require to approve a route which was not listed as example.
 
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