Hi
GoddessSusie, welcome to FlyerTalk!
Amtrak uses a bucket system for ticket prices. So the first block of tickets will be sold for one price, then it goes up and so on. By and large they don't use dynamic prices the way airlines do.
So for example
the first 100 tickets will be $40
The next 100 will be $55
the next 75 will be $75 and so on
So always try and book as far in advance as possible. Since you can almost always cancel your reservation and get a full refund as long as you don't print the ticket, you should make a reservation whenever you think you might need to travel.
When I look a few months out it looks like you can get a ticket for about half the price you found. So try and plan your next trip in advance.
Originally Posted by
GoddessSusie
Hello!
I joined FT because I read a thread about Amtrak and know nothing, so I wanted to ask the "experts."
I need to travel on the Lincoln train from Springfield to Columbus, WI and the price seems rather high ($86.) My sister's in-laws always seem to travel on Amtrak for some piddly amount and I've never seen the cheap deals everyone is talking about.
I can get a student discount but that takes the fare down 15%.
Is there a primer for the new and clueless on how to save with Amtrak? Or...if you all would be so kind, could you tell me where to learn what you know about getting all of these deals I keep reading about? Thanks so much!
