Originally Posted by
littlemookie
I totally agree. I'm seeing AGR redemptions being treated as "revenue-like" tix now that sales to UR and other parties are adding a large number of AGR points outstanding. The CC bonuses also added a ton of points to the program. Since AGR is only restricting tix on blackout days, with no capacity control, they needed to formalize the program with point value becoming a focus.
This may be why the loopholes were closed, AGR redemptions became segment based, and the call centers brought in-house. I never thought of transferring from UR to AGR before but its a good option if I ever am a 1k or 2k short in my AGR account.
Loopholes weren't closed for that reason, or even so much that too many people were abusing the system. They were closed for another reason.
And the AGR shopping mall isn't a recent addition; the mall has been around for at least 5 to 6 years, I don't recall the exact date it was first introduced. The AGR program has only been around for just over 12 years, so the mall has been around for at least half the time that AGR has existed.
Finally, the main reason for the increases in redemption rates is because Amtrak wants more value for those seats. Prices have been going up on the NEC for years, but the revenue that gets credited from the AGR program to the NEC for that seat hasn't been going up. I see this as a move to bring things more in line with the true costs of that seat.
As for the sleepers, I guess the idea is simply that there are fewer Bedrooms on the trains than Roomettes, so they're just trying to get a bit more value for that. If it were truly about the costs, then I would have expected Roomettes to see an increase too.