Amtrak Guest Rewards - No ticket service...

Need to catch a train in three days, but the only stations within reasonible distance don't have ticket services. Is it possible to just board the train (looking ahead to see if there is still room), and hunt down someone and offer to pay for a ticket? I'm just doing a short hop, but this is the only way for me to get there.

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If you book and pay for the ticket in advance, and ticketing service is not available at your boarding station, your train's conductor will have your ticket(s). If Amtrak permits you to book your reservation without requiring you to pay for it in advance, you can purchase your ticket on board. I would not try to board an all-reserved train without having a reservation. Call Amtrak Reservations, and I'm sure they'll take care of you.

Unfortunately, unless you are riding an unreserved train (a few services in CA and the midwest, IIRC), you must have a ticket to board, and they cannot be bought on-board. However, if you train departs within (IIRC) four days, if you call Amtrak, they should give you the option to purchase a ticket over the phone and then pick it up on-board from the conductor. The website won't allow you to do this, but it should give you a message to call Amtrak for further assistance if you're booking a trip for an unstaffed station for travel within four days.

Alternatively, if you are traveling on an unreserved train, you can simply buy the ticket on-board from the conductor.

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Yet another possibility is to have a local travel agent issue the ticket, but the agent might charge you a fee for that service.

Theoretically, the on-board pickup option should be available online in eligible circumstances (like yours).
More info here:
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=am2Copy&pagename=Amtrak%2Fam2Copy%2FTitle_Image_Copy_Page&cid=1080664385635

I used to take the Crescent for short trips from an unstaffed station and I would have to make reservations (by phone) but could pay for the ticket on board. Never a problem. This was years ago though.

I don't think the onboard ticket pick up option is available on all trains. I can't find a list of where it is applicable, though. If you are boarding from an unstaffed station and there is not time to have the tickets mailed to you you can certainly pay the conductor onboard the train without penalty.

Amtrak.com mentions a $25 minimum to buy tickets onboard - that's news to me. I've never heard of the minimum before and here in North Carolina you can buy $5 tickets onboard. More unstaffed stations are supposed to be getting QuikTrak machines which will help.

Just when I think I've gotten it straight (by saying something wrong and getting corrected before)... ;)

(I thought I had mentioned that you could buy tickets on-board, before, but Alan corrected me. I had originally posted the question because I was wondering how the conductor calculated the fare bucket, and I thought Alan said that it's not an issue because you can only buy on-board on an unreserved train, where fare buckets are not used. Maybe I recall incorrectly or something...)

I bought a $9 ticket on-board the Surfliner once. Never heard of the $25 minimum, either.

Amtrak.com mentions a $25 minimum to buy tickets onboard - that's news to me.
It doesn't. It mentions a $25 minimum to buy a ticket on board with a credit card. (This being a violation of CC policies is another issue.)

I've paid some of those $5 fares onboard the train with my AGR MasterCard just to get the double points. :D

I've paid some of those $5 fares onboard the train with my AGR MasterCard just to get the double points. :D
As would I. :)

I've paid some of those $5 fares onboard the train with my AGR MasterCard just to get the double points. :D
As I didn't have an AGR card until recently, I bought the $9 ticket on another rewards card (probably AS). But I did use the card.
It doesn't. It mentions a $25 minimum to buy a ticket on board with a credit card. (This being a violation of CC policies is another issue.)
Indeed. If you are challenged on it, you can call your bank and report the merchant to the Visa or MC associations (or Amex or Discover, for those cards), which, presumably, if the merchant gets enough complaints, could revoke the merchant's charging privileges. (Minimum limits are against the contracts merchants have with the card associations. Unfortunately, they are commonplace at many smaller merchants--specifically overseas, too, from what I've seen.)

Not sure Amtrak would want to risk that, so I bet if a few complaints were sent in, that policy would be changed really quickly...(then again, Amtrak is a government bureaucracy...)

well long story short, it all worked out. i'm going to sleep

Need to catch a train in three days, but the only stations within reasonible distance don't have ticket services. Is it possible to just board the train (looking ahead to see if there is still room), and hunt down someone and offer to pay for a ticket? I'm just doing a short hop, but this is the only way for me to get there.

I'd call the 800 number and make use Julie tells you when the train is due....

Bob H