Refunded Amtrak Tickets To Vouchers I Have No Use For!
Sep 3, 2016, 8:33 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 2
Refunded Amtrak Tickets To Vouchers I Have No Use For!
Hello Everyone , I'm Mike and I just signed up for this forum and this is my first post. I hope I am in the right place to discuss my issue with Amtrak. I had made a group booking on the Coast Starlight several months ago and last week I was forced to cancel the trip due to unforeseen circumstances. It was no problem for me to cancel the bookings with Amtrak but they only offered me e-vouchers to use on any future travel within the next year. The problem with that is that the group has changed their plans and are no longer coming to California so I have no use for these vouchers. I'm stuck with almost $4000 in Amtrak travel credits that Amtrak says can be used by any person for any Amtrak route within the next year.
If anyone knows any way to convert these vouchers to anything other than Amtrak travel please let me know or if you have any ideas as to what my options are then please let me know.
Thank you so much for reading this and I hope to hear from someone soon!
Mike
If anyone knows any way to convert these vouchers to anything other than Amtrak travel please let me know or if you have any ideas as to what my options are then please let me know.
Thank you so much for reading this and I hope to hear from someone soon!
Mike
Sep 3, 2016, 8:55 am
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Hi Mike. Welcome to Flyertalk! Flyertalk has an Amtrak forum (link below) & I'm sure the mods will move this post there, where you'll probably get input re: your options. Good luck!
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amtra...t-rewards-399/
Cheers.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amtra...t-rewards-399/
Cheers.
Sep 3, 2016, 1:58 pm
#4
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Amtrak
Posts: 75
I don't know if this will help, but a couple of year ago my son found himself in the same situation. All I needed to use his voucher myself was the information in the email he got. I reimbursed him as I gradually used it up.
Sep 3, 2016, 5:26 pm
#6
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: flyover country
Posts: 2,434
When I have received e-vouchers from Amtrak, I believe they contained language about how much was refundable and in what timeframe. The time limit for getting cash from the e-voucher was less than the time limit for credit on a new ticket, and the cash refund was 90% of the refunded amount. (Yes, that is a semantic discontinuity, but that was the terminology that I recall Amtrak using.)
Sep 5, 2016, 5:54 am
#7
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,614
When I have received e-vouchers from Amtrak, I believe they contained language about how much was refundable and in what timeframe. The time limit for getting cash from the e-voucher was less than the time limit for credit on a new ticket, and the cash refund was 90% of the refunded amount. (Yes, that is a semantic discontinuity, but that was the terminology that I recall Amtrak using.)
Sep 13, 2016, 6:02 am
#9
Join Date: Jan 2014
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards (SE), Virgin America Elevate, Hyatt Gold Passport (Platinum), VIA Preference
Posts: 3,134
$4000 on the CS probably means sleepers, which would (in theory) be refund-eligible.
Yes, there was a (regrettable) recent switch to a 20% fee instead of 10%. I do not recall if that applies on the basis of the date of booking/cancellation or not (and if not, depending on timing you might have some luck fighting it out with your CC if the booking was prior to the change being announced).
Yes, there was a (regrettable) recent switch to a 20% fee instead of 10%. I do not recall if that applies on the basis of the date of booking/cancellation or not (and if not, depending on timing you might have some luck fighting it out with your CC if the booking was prior to the change being announced).
Sep 14, 2016, 12:34 pm
#10
Join Date: Apr 2004
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Posts: 778
$4000 on the CS probably means sleepers, which would (in theory) be refund-eligible.
Yes, there was a (regrettable) recent switch to a 20% fee instead of 10%. I do not recall if that applies on the basis of the date of booking/cancellation or not (and if not, depending on timing you might have some luck fighting it out with your CC if the booking was prior to the change being announced).
Yes, there was a (regrettable) recent switch to a 20% fee instead of 10%. I do not recall if that applies on the basis of the date of booking/cancellation or not (and if not, depending on timing you might have some luck fighting it out with your CC if the booking was prior to the change being announced).
Sep 15, 2016, 12:20 am
#11
Join Date: Jan 2015
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I also have the voucher that is to expire within a few months. If during its validity time I don't ride Amtrak which is more than likely, I am thinking of buying another ticket no matter where and cancel it soon, so I will have a new refund voucher that would be valid for another year.
Any thoughts if this would work?
Any thoughts if this would work?
Sep 17, 2016, 7:33 pm
#12
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: DFW
Programs: UA 1K, AA Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 466
I also have the voucher that is to expire within a few months. If during its validity time I don't ride Amtrak which is more than likely, I am thinking of buying another ticket no matter where and cancel it soon, so I will have a new refund voucher that would be valid for another year.
Any thoughts if this would work?
Any thoughts if this would work?
Oct 28, 2016, 8:43 pm
#13
Join Date: Jan 2015
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Nov 1, 2016, 8:18 am
#14
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Philadelphia (PHL / ZFV)
Programs: AGR, HH
Posts: 31
To the original poster:
As another poster suggested, Amtrak vouchers are transferable to another traveler. I had a friend visiting from London who had to cancel an Amtrak trip. I use his voucher to purchase tickets for some upcoming trips, and reimbursed him for the value of the voucher. Now, this was for a couple hundred dollars, not thousands. You may have a trickier time finding someone who needs to buy a high-value Amtrak trip.
If you think you can eventually use the value, you can do what another post has suggested, to extend the voucher's life. When the voucher is about to expire, book a trip and apply the voucher to it. Then cancel the trip. You'll be issued a new voucher, with a new expiration date.
PF
As another poster suggested, Amtrak vouchers are transferable to another traveler. I had a friend visiting from London who had to cancel an Amtrak trip. I use his voucher to purchase tickets for some upcoming trips, and reimbursed him for the value of the voucher. Now, this was for a couple hundred dollars, not thousands. You may have a trickier time finding someone who needs to buy a high-value Amtrak trip.
If you think you can eventually use the value, you can do what another post has suggested, to extend the voucher's life. When the voucher is about to expire, book a trip and apply the voucher to it. Then cancel the trip. You'll be issued a new voucher, with a new expiration date.
PF
May 16, 2017, 5:42 pm
#15
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: DEN,COS,CYS,APA,KBP
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Posts: 80
Yet I do have another related question. Is it possible to buy Amtrak points with the voucher? I was unable to find anything about that, but other people might have known that trick if it's possible at all, so I decided to ask here.
Thanks!
Last edited by mandrivnyk; May 18, 2017 at 1:43 am