Amtrak quietly renews free changes for bookings this month

Although Amtrak was initially only waiving change fees on bookings made since last fall, Amtrak seems to has quietly extended the deadline againthis time to February.

This means that all Amtrak bookings made before February 28th can be changed at no additional charge, regardless of fare type.

Last summer, Amtrak waived the change fee for bookings made before October 31, 2022.

At the time, it also extended the “removal of some restrictions on the Northeast Corridor Multi-trip ticket” until the same date, according to an Amtrak spokesperson, who did not respond to a request. comment at the time of publication.

This applies to all Amtrak rides, including cash and rides booked with Amtrak khách Guest Rewards Points.

The free change applies to Amtrak classes across the board, including Saver tickets, the cheapest fare class.

Under normal circumstances, Economy fares are non-refundable beyond a 24-hour period from the time of booking, and travelers must pay a 25% fee of the total fare to make changes more than 24 hours from the date of booking. when buying.

When conducting test bookings for this story, Amtrak’s website still noted that “cancellation/change fees may apply” to Saver fares, but that is not the case for travel booked Book by February 28th.

Amtrak previously waived change fees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed the change fee for Saver bus fares in September 2021.

Just keep in mind that while you can change your Amtrak booking without penalty, you will have to pay the fare difference if your new ticket is more expensive. This is similar to how most fare-changing airlines work.

“A fare difference may apply to your new itinerary,” according to to Amtrak. “Free change does not apply to previously purchased fare rebooked for the same train, same day and origin/destination with a lower fare.”