Since Amtrak decided to change the bucket fare equation I have booked a few trips and in some cases have gotten low bucket fares while in others we had to pay a considerably higher price.
It used to be that if you booked 11 months in advance, when the reservation system first opened, you would always get the low bucket fare. Today Amtrak appears to be using a far different formula based on sales history and demand.
From my experiences booking sleepers this is what I believe is going on.
1. Fares on the busier routes no longer open at the same low bucket fares as they did in the past.
2. On the busiest routes seasonal adjustments have been made to the fare structure. For instance in April and in May on the autotrain going North the booking history shows that the trains will sell out. Hence the fares open well above low bucket and as sales happen they progress to high bucket very rapidly. Same on the LSL and Silvers during most of the year.
3. On all Viewliner trains as there are only two bedrooms on each sleeper car. The low buckets have been raised into medium bucket no matter how early you book. As soon as the first bedroom is sold the bucket fares then go into high gear. Almost the same with roomettes but I believe that the low bucket fare still exist on the first 3 or 4 roomettes that are sold 8 or 9 months out.
4. The Cardinal is the special case. With only two bedrooms and maybe 8 roomettes available, the pricing always opens at a medium to near high bucket fare. With one sleeper two bedrooms and the crew taking up at least 4 spaces, its hard to even get a sleeper on this route. It won't be getting better until Viewliner II comes online and an additional sleeper is added.
5 On the Superliner routes it is still possible to get low bucket fares but again the demand/sales history, figures into the anticipated ticket sales. The CZ, EB and SC routes seem to have fares opening high while othere like the CL and CNOL still use the low bucket fare as a starting point although it comes into play 8-9 months out instead of the 11 month low bucket fares.
What does all this mean? We'll unless someone can post the offical Amtrak fare system (as it applies to routes) the above may be a guide. My info can be called a logical deduction based on some experiences but in no way can I attest to its accuracy. Its does seem to work though. We usually want to spend $300 for a bedroom on an overnight trip. We have met this goal 90% of the time.
If you want to take advantage of a low bucket sleeper fare, start checking 8-9 months in advance and book early and accept that low bucket fares on some routes have gone by the wayside.
Anyone have any better info to add? Theories, experiences, comments, inside info and contradictions are welcomed.
It used to be that if you booked 11 months in advance, when the reservation system first opened, you would always get the low bucket fare. Today Amtrak appears to be using a far different formula based on sales history and demand.
From my experiences booking sleepers this is what I believe is going on.
1. Fares on the busier routes no longer open at the same low bucket fares as they did in the past.
2. On the busiest routes seasonal adjustments have been made to the fare structure. For instance in April and in May on the autotrain going North the booking history shows that the trains will sell out. Hence the fares open well above low bucket and as sales happen they progress to high bucket very rapidly. Same on the LSL and Silvers during most of the year.
3. On all Viewliner trains as there are only two bedrooms on each sleeper car. The low buckets have been raised into medium bucket no matter how early you book. As soon as the first bedroom is sold the bucket fares then go into high gear. Almost the same with roomettes but I believe that the low bucket fare still exist on the first 3 or 4 roomettes that are sold 8 or 9 months out.
4. The Cardinal is the special case. With only two bedrooms and maybe 8 roomettes available, the pricing always opens at a medium to near high bucket fare. With one sleeper two bedrooms and the crew taking up at least 4 spaces, its hard to even get a sleeper on this route. It won't be getting better until Viewliner II comes online and an additional sleeper is added.
5 On the Superliner routes it is still possible to get low bucket fares but again the demand/sales history, figures into the anticipated ticket sales. The CZ, EB and SC routes seem to have fares opening high while othere like the CL and CNOL still use the low bucket fare as a starting point although it comes into play 8-9 months out instead of the 11 month low bucket fares.
What does all this mean? We'll unless someone can post the offical Amtrak fare system (as it applies to routes) the above may be a guide. My info can be called a logical deduction based on some experiences but in no way can I attest to its accuracy. Its does seem to work though. We usually want to spend $300 for a bedroom on an overnight trip. We have met this goal 90% of the time.
If you want to take advantage of a low bucket sleeper fare, start checking 8-9 months in advance and book early and accept that low bucket fares on some routes have gone by the wayside.
Anyone have any better info to add? Theories, experiences, comments, inside info and contradictions are welcomed.
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