Unreserved Procedure?
 

I haven't been able to find anything specifically addressing this question.

If I purchase an unreserved coach ticket (on Capitol Corridor train) and I end up not wanting to travel on the train booked, do I need to cancel the rez before departure time to preserve the value of the ticket? Do I need to rebook a new rez (within a year) to use the ticket later?

Do the scanners have access to all outstanding, unused tickets?

I usually book the latest Capitol train/bus I'd likely take on a given day, and the conductor/driver on earlier schedules can lift the ticket with no problem. I haven't attempted going later. It should be allowed under the terms of unreserved reservations, but I don't trust the e-ticketing system to not negatively intervene.

If they're anything like the unreserved Keystones, they're fine to use whenever, before (same date only) or after (any date) the scheduled train. Amtrak's system does not auto-cancel unreserved space tickets. I have done so countless times.

The tickets are valid for travel (or refund) one year from the date for which the ticket was booked. That is, if I book a ticket today (7/23/14) for travel a month from today (8/23/14), the ticket is valid (usable or refundable) through 8/23/15.

Note that unreserved tickets are subject to a 10%/minimum-$5 cancellation penalty regardless of when the ticket was booked and for which date it was booked (future or past). This makes absolutely zero sense, since an unreserved ticket does not withhold space for sale from anyone else. If anything, unreserved tickets should be fully refundable at any time, and reserved space tickets should have a refund penalty (even for far-future dates)--Amtrak got this one totally backwards. That said, I don't really actively complain about it here or to Amtrak since eVouchers (which get around the refund penalty) are now usable online, so I have never had a need to actually refund an unreserved ticket back to my card.

How long is it taking for points to post these days?

I took a short (1-station) trip on Amtrak on Sunday. When I boarded, my phone was not working and I didn't have a printout of my ticket, so the conductor just asked my name. I told him and he seemed to see my name listed on his phone. He never scanned my ticket and never even asked for it, although I interacted with him a bit on board. It's now Wednesday and the points haven't appeared in my AGR account.

Are my points not going to post because my ticket wasn't scanned, or will they appear soon?

Thanks!

The points should post soon. Even though the conductor did not scan your ticket, your reservation can be retrieved and lifted on his or her device by looking up your name. The end result is the same as if a ticket had been scanned.

What train did you take? I don't know if it's changed with the scanning, but it used to be that posting did not happen until after the last stop of the train. So if you are on a segment at the beginning of a LD train, it can be several days before submission is made.

I've done the Sac - Reno hop overnight a few times and given the outbound train ended several days after I boarded, my activity showed the trip home as before the trip out. Of course the first response from the CSRs was I was mistaken on my travel dates. :(

Does Amtrak now say to wait 7 or 10 days before requesting missing points?