Amtrak pricing (and advice!)

[williamn]

I'm planning a big trip on Amtrak this summer (bad timing given world events but a wedding is taking me there). My likely schedule is LA - Flagstaff (stop off) - Chicago on the Southwest Chief, then Chicago to Washington DC, likely on the Floridian and then DC to Montpelier on the Vermonter. Likely from there to Montreal by glamorous Greyhound (as decades of chat about extending the Vermonter to Montreal have come to nothing).

I'm aiming for a roomette for the overnights but it's not cheap, the segment from Flagstaff to Chicago alone is coming in at £918! And having used roomettes before I know that while they're fine it's not exactly luxury.

Is there any advantage to waiting to book or are prices only going to rise? And if anyone has any tips for these particular routes do let me know.

 

[AdamWW]

I'm aiming for a roomette for the overnights but it's not cheap, the segment from Flagstaff to Chicago alone is coming in at £918! And having used roomettes before I know that while they're fine it's not exactly luxury.

Is there any advantage to waiting to book or prices only going to rise? And if anyone has any tips for these particular routes do let me know.

My understanding (and I am not an expert on this) is that now for sleepers, instead of using airline style dynamic pricing where the prices start low and gradually increase as the train fills up, they start out high and then drop them if necessary.

I'd also hope that they wouldn't go up much more from £918!

 

[matt]

Whether this is the norm I do not know but when I have booked Amtrak and then afterwards the price has decreased I have contacted Amtrak and they have refunded me the difference.

 

[williamn]

Whether this is the norm I do not know but when I have booked Amtrak and then afterwards the price has decreased I have contacted Amtrak and they have refunded me the difference.

I’ve heard this before too, good to be reminded of it, thanks.