Originally Posted by
vatraveler
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8320/4.5.0.81 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)
They say non-refundable, but that's not true in my experience. I have refunded the cheapo tickets probably eight or ten times.
As have I--not quite as many times, but I've booked, canceled, and made changes to supposedly non-refundable fares.
Originally Posted by
vatraveler
To me, that would imply that if you haven't printed out the ticket yet, it hasn't been issued.
I think that's the key. With Amtrak, there is no such thing as an e-ticket; all tickets are paper. Therefore, until you print your ticket out at a Quik-Trak machine or with a station agent, you technically do not have a ticket--you have a held, paid-for reservation that has not been ticketed. The moment your ticket is printed, your reservation is then ticketed (and then subject to further restrictions on refunds--90% refunds in normal cases or no refunds in the case of the 14-day nonrefundable fares).
If the OP is still worried, I'm sure an Amtrak phone agent can manually book a ticket in a non-restricted fare class, but many of us here can attest that the nonrefundability restriction doesn't apply as long as you haven't printed it out. (Even then, you can still exchange it for another ticket with no loss of funds.)