When does a “free” upgrade cost $61.80?

June 1st 2008 Ride# 29 PHL-BOS Part 1


I arrived at 30th street an hour early to check out the 1st class lounge, and see if I could use one of my space available upgrade coupons. I had done this twice before, and thought that I knew the system. I was told that to qualify for the free upgrade, I would have to pay $61.80. When I asked why, the agent said that I had already taken the AAA discount, and that I could not combine discounts. I said that I would be happy give back the $18 AAA discount. The agent said it didn’t work that way, and that they had to charge me the highest available price, which is about $222.00 because they drastically jack up the price as you get closer to the time of departure.

Later I checked the upgrade coupon. The back of the coupon was crammed with very small type, but no mention of the upgrade not being free if you bought the coach ticket at a discount.

So the lesson is that to take advantage of the “free” upgrades, I need to pay $17.80 extra for the privilege of possibly redeeming one of my space available upgrades. The reason I was able to do my other two upgrades without being gouged is that they had been on weekdays, and where not eligible for the AAA discount in the first place.

With as much money as you have to spend with Amtrak to get the upgrade coupons, Amtrak should let you have an upgrade that is truly free. If they are unwilling to do that, they should at least put their policy of not combing discounts clearly on the back of the coupon.