ZFV Question
 

Just a question for a friend of mine about not taking the train segments to soothe his mind or scare him out of his wits...whichever the case may be!

I've read through a couple of threads from recent months that deal indirectly with ZFV and the train and comments seem to indicate it's no problem not to take the trains. Still true? And, other than for points, any reason to check-in for the train? I think his biggest worry is will CO know he didn't take the train and cancel the return flight (I've already told him not to show up for his return flight until after the train leaves ZFV).

TIA

I just returned from a zfv trip... I don't believe they would have a clue. But... a few things to watch for:

1) I was unable to check in online - for either the outbound train segment or flight... got up to printing, then an error. Called, CO said the system showed me as checked-in and to just reprint the boarding pass at the airport.
2) I caught an earlier train - got an Amtrak boarding pass from the agent vs. machine, as I didn't print out my CO flight # associated with the train. Seems you need that to use the machine.
3) This was Sunday. It was a really good thing I caught an earlier train - no way would I have made the flight. Monorail was only running every 30 minutes.
4) When I arrived at EWR, I got the same error trying to print a boarding pass at the kiosk as I received on-line. Rather than stand on the really long line, I asked the lady at the little information booth what I should do - she printed the boarding pass for me.
5) On the return, it was not possible to print the Amtrak boarding pass on-line. The first opportunity is at the rail-link station. Amtrak has no one on duty at 6:30AM - good thing I had the CO flight # this time. But... got both the outbound and return headset coupon!
6) Back home - Thurs AM. First flight (CO) has posted, not the Amtrak segment or return flights. I needed to print my receipt (hadn't done so yet). When to the itinerary. It only shows the last train segment, original price + $50 paper ticket fee. Called CO - they said not to worry, if the $50 hits my credit card call back and they'll reverse it. They also emailed me a proper copy of my receipt. [Note to self: no more redeyes. Perhaps they can have a screaming child section in the rear?]

To Do: Make sure I get the 500 miles on-line check-in bonus; credit for the rail segments & return flight; make sure the $50 doesn't hit.

Update 1: Itinerary shows "cancelled" not "past". CO says this is because the return flight had a schedule change after I booked causing the flight to cancelled and rebooked. They say the $50 is an error & was not actually charged as they never issued a paper ticket (duh).

Update 2: First Amtrak segment posted - full EQM - 250/1 (shows as "Y" class even though original itinerary showed as "T").

Update 3: Sent an email about the second segment not posting. CO customer service called me to apologize - said the internal OP system is correct & reflects the miles, but co.com is incorrect. The web support people are researching the discrepency, but my account is correct. The call & apology was a nice touch.