Student Advantage discount dropping to 10%

[FreeskierInVT]

Got an email tonight saying the discount will be dropping from 15% to 10% effective April 1st. Bit of a bummer especially when the card itself is $20/year.

The Student Advantage member discount for Amtrak travel is changing! Starting April 1, the discount on rail fares for members is moving from 15% to 10%. You are still eligible to receive Amtrak Guest Reward points (two points for every dollar spent!), plus tons of other exclusive travel deals from Student Advantage. Book your Amtrak travel now to get the 15% discount before the changes take place on April 1. Remember, reservations must be made a minimum of three days prior to travel.

 

[CHamilton]

That's too bad. If you haven't already done so, may I suggest that you join NARP? They offer a 10% discount on Amtrak tickets, and do good work advocating for improved passenger rail service.

 

[SarahZ]

AAA is a decent bargain too. It's around $50/year (last I checked). The discounts you get more than make up for that, especially if you travel frequently.

 

[Barciur]

Any idea if ISIC discount is also dropping to 10%?

 

[Texan Eagle]

Wow some serious bean counters in Washington DC digging deep into Amtrak looks like.. considering the number of cutdowns and reductions here and there we are hearing over the month or two.

I will not be surprised if checked baggage fees similar to airlines make an appearance next. Or maybe officially paid Priority Boarding (which some folks here do by bribing the Red Caps)

 

[pennyk]

I hope the senior discount will not be decreasing - right around the time that I will qualify.

 

[BCL]

AAA is a decent bargain too. The card is free if you already have their insurance. If not, it's $60/year (last I checked). The discounts you get more than make up for that, especially if you travel frequently.

Really. I used to have AAA car and home insurance. I remember one requirement was that I had to be a member and I had to pay separately for my membership.

 

[SarahZ]

AAA is a decent bargain too. The card is free if you already have their insurance. If not, it's $60/year (last I checked). The discounts you get more than make up for that, especially if you travel frequently.

Really. I used to have AAA car and home insurance. I remember one requirement was that I had to be a member and I had to pay separately for my membership.

Perhaps it has changed? I had AAA back in 2002.

Or, perhaps they rolled the membership fee into my monthly premium? It was so long ago that maybe I forgot. I just don't remember paying for it separately.

I will check and amend my statement once I get some info.

Edit: Ok, I fixed my original statement. It was my enrollment fee that was waived (approx. $15), but I paid $50 for the membership. It was charged as part of my insurance premium, which is why I forgot it was separate.

Sorry, everyone! Thanks, BCL!

 

[SubwayNut]

I just returned to graduate school and have been thinking about joining SA to get 15% off instead of 10%. I do think that students should get more of a discount than the general public discounts. Any word if Veterans Advantage is also dropping, it seems like a similar program.

 

[Texan Eagle]

AAA is a decent bargain too. The card is free if you already have their insurance. If not, it's $60/year (last I checked). The discounts you get more than make up for that, especially if you travel frequently.

Really. I used to have AAA car and home insurance. I remember one requirement was that I had to be a member and I had to pay separately for my membership.

Perhaps it has changed? I had AAA back in 2002.

Or, perhaps they rolled the membership fee into my monthly premium? It was so long ago that maybe I forgot. I just don't remember paying for it separately.

I will check and amend my statement once I get some info.

I first got just AAA membership and had to pay like $65 for it. After few months I got my car insurance moved to AAA. Next year my membership got renewed at $0, just paying the usual monthly installments for the car insurance that was negotiated at the start.

 

[jebr]

You need to pay seperately for the AAA membership if you have their insurance products.

So now I have three ways to get a 10% discount. Disappointed that it's no longer available, but I may switch to my AAA membership discount, if only so it's one less card in my wallet. For now, though, I'll book one or two more trips before the drop takes effect.

 

[SarahZ]

I first got just AAA membership and had to pay like $65 for it. After few months I got my car insurance moved to AAA. Next year my membership got renewed at $0, just paying the usual monthly installments for the car insurance that was negotiated at the start.

This might be where I got confused. I had AAA for several years.

 

[saturn04]

It's only $35 a year for NARP and that seems cheaper than AAA, if you are only getting it for the discount, that is.

 

[tonys96]

And on and on it goes....

 

[montana mike]

Next thing they will ask us to get out and push on the hills!!!

 

[SarahZ]

 

[yarrow]

who at amtrak is making all these short sighted decisions? was brian rosenwald the one who was preventing this before he was forced out and now there is no one with any sense?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Several members have mentioned "a slippery slope!" The way the "cuts" keep on coming it does seem like some suit @ 60 Mass has decided to try to appease dunderheads like Mica by copying the Airlines! What's next, doing away with Handicap and Senior Discounts cause so few Seniors and disabled ride the LD Trains?

Is anyone left @ 60 Mass that's opposing this bean counter mentality?

Maybe Joe Boardman picked the wrong people to replace real savy Rail Roaders like Mr. Rosenwald!

 

[amamba]

This is why I was so annoyed at the select packets this year. Those 10% off coupons are beyond worthless when I can easily get aaa, NARP or student advantage. And I lose a lounge pass and an upgrade coupon. IMO they should ditch the 10% off coupons and just do three lounge passes and three upgrades.

 

[jebr]

Next thing they will ask us to get out and push on the hills!!!

Yep. They're going to go straight from reducing the SA discount to match the other discount right to pushing the train. </sarcasm>

Several members have mentioned "a slippery slope!" The way the "cuts" keep on coming it does seem like some suit @ 60 Mass has decided to try to appease dunderheads like Mica by copying the Airlines! What's next, doing away with Handicap and Senior Discounts cause so few Seniors and disabled ride the LD Trains?

Is anyone left @ 60 Mass that's opposing this bean counter mentality?

Maybe Joe Boardman picked the wrong people to replace real savy Rail Roaders like Mr. Rosenwald!

Honestly, most of these cuts so far don't seem extremely drastic, and I don't see them removing handicap or senior discounts either. Those may change to 10% in the near future, but so far Amtrak hasn't removed any discounts. Really, SA will be more hurt by this change than Amtrak will, in my estimation. I'll keep riding Amtrak, and I doubt a 5% difference in fare is going to stop many people from riding. But I won't renew my SA membership when it expires in a couple of years, and I'm sure there will be others like me who just use discounts they already have access to (AAA, NARP, etc.) instead of purchasing another membership.

 

[neroden]

I will not be surprised if checked baggage fees similar to airlines make an appearance next.

Amtrak already instituted fees for excess checked baggage. Given the cost of hauling baggage on a train (essentially nothing, compared to the cost of lifting baggage into the air), I would expect Amtrak to retain the current "2 free checked bags" as a selling point.

 

[neroden]

Several members have mentioned "a slippery slope!" The way the "cuts" keep on coming it does seem like some suit @ 60 Mass has decided to try to appease dunderheads like Mica by copying the Airlines! What's next, doing away with Handicap and Senior Discounts cause so few Seniors and disabled ride the LD Trains?

Frankly, I think doing away with some of the discounts makes a lot more sense than doing away with salads.

Discounts are a questionable matter to start with and they have to be evaluated against their marketing value. Are these discounts filling seats which wouldn't otherwise be sold? Are they attracting positive "buzz"? Or are they, well, not doing that? Worse, are they irritating full-fare passengers who feel like other people are "getting away with something"?

The handicapped discounts will probably be retained for a long time, not least because Amtrak is not fully ADA-compliant, and the discount goes some way to appease people who might decide to sue otherwise.

The NARP discount is a discount for people who are calling their Congresspeople to advocate for Amtrak, so it's probably worth it to Amtrak too. I'm not so sure about the AAA discount, given that AAA has been quite hostile to rail service at some times in the past.

 

[fairviewroad]

I do think that students should get more of a discount than the general public discounts.

But why? To borrow the argument being made by some folks over in the "childrens discount" thread, a student takes up the same

amount of space as a non-student.

 

[brentrain17]

I hate to say that I see a trend, I won't be surprised if ARG awards take a hit next.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

What's next, doing away with Handicap and Senior Discounts...

Why should baby boomers get a pass?

Might as well spread the pain around a bit.