Ok, I'm going to take a rare moment to look a purported gift horse in the mouth. VIA's 50% off sales sound like a great deal, and in some cases there may be a deal to be had on the LD trains. I'm not going to complain there since I have very little frame of reference.
However, on the Corridor trains I've actually got a beef:
1) The "50% off" comes off of the "regular" (i.e. full) fare. In a lot of cases, this is barely below the "Supersaver" fare (example: With Montreal-Ottawa, the "full" fare is $63 Economy and $132 Business; half is $31.50 Economy and $66 Business versus the respective $47/39 and $72 Supersaver fares). Ok, not a bad deal, except...
2) The "special" fare blocks out Supersaver for Economy and Supersaver+Discounted for Business. The first is mildly annoying (discounted is still available, so you've got about 10% off in Economy in exchange for a 25% refund fee, but you do lose the other option), but the second is infuriating (since it becomes $132-or-no-refund, with both other options eliminated).
Look, I think everyone on here who has interacted with me knows while on the one hand, I'll take a few-strings-attached saving of some money. If you want to offer me a lower price, I'll certainly give it a glance. But I've got the same sort of issue with this that I have with Amtrak's "NEC Special" fare, namely that you're hard-pressed to avoid getting stuffed with a non-refundable fare. Actually, the NEC Special is better, since at least that one is exchangable/voucher-able.
So, sorry for the rant, but it's very annoying to have to choose between either paying the top fare, having a non-refundable ticket, or waiting and crossing your fingers that a train won't sell out (which I've seen happen often enough).
However, on the Corridor trains I've actually got a beef:
1) The "50% off" comes off of the "regular" (i.e. full) fare. In a lot of cases, this is barely below the "Supersaver" fare (example: With Montreal-Ottawa, the "full" fare is $63 Economy and $132 Business; half is $31.50 Economy and $66 Business versus the respective $47/39 and $72 Supersaver fares). Ok, not a bad deal, except...
2) The "special" fare blocks out Supersaver for Economy and Supersaver+Discounted for Business. The first is mildly annoying (discounted is still available, so you've got about 10% off in Economy in exchange for a 25% refund fee, but you do lose the other option), but the second is infuriating (since it becomes $132-or-no-refund, with both other options eliminated).
Look, I think everyone on here who has interacted with me knows while on the one hand, I'll take a few-strings-attached saving of some money. If you want to offer me a lower price, I'll certainly give it a glance. But I've got the same sort of issue with this that I have with Amtrak's "NEC Special" fare, namely that you're hard-pressed to avoid getting stuffed with a non-refundable fare. Actually, the NEC Special is better, since at least that one is exchangable/voucher-able.
So, sorry for the rant, but it's very annoying to have to choose between either paying the top fare, having a non-refundable ticket, or waiting and crossing your fingers that a train won't sell out (which I've seen happen often enough).
