This is not an ehacement, despite the spin Amtrak wants to put on it. Right now, if one wants to make a reservation online you must pay for your ticket at the time of booking. So while one can call and make an Acela reservation for future travel, and not pay for the ticket until you get to the station (and then simply pay at the QuikTix machine) if you book online you are charged at the time of booking. In the past one could easily have those tickets refunded without penalty (except that you had to cancel a first class reservation at least 1 hour in advance to avoid forfeiting that portion of the fare - this is unchanged). Now it appears that all online bookings will incur a 10% service charge if you must cancel.