Frequently Asked Questions About Amtrak

1. Why is the University eliminating the ability to book Amtrak rail travel through American Express?

Given the limited value provided by a travel agent when purchasing an Amtrak ticket, the level of service does not warrant the payment of service fees. This is especially true since there are several other convenient options for acquiring a ticket with no fees attached, such as purchasing Amtrak tickets online or at the Amtrak Quik-Trak in Houston Hall.

2. How do I go about making an Amtrak reservation?

You have several options when making an Amtrak reservation. You can make your reservation and purchase your ticket at the Amtrak Quik-Trak in Houston Hall, make your reservation on the Amtrak website, purchase your Amtrak ticket at 30th Street Station, or call 1-800-USA-RAIL.

3. How do I go about obtaining an Amtrak ticket?

If you purchase your ticket at the Amtrak Quik-Trak in Houston Hall, your ticket will be generated at that time. If you purchase your Amtrak ticket on-line you have the option to pick up your ticket at any Amtrak kiosk or have the ticket mailed to you.

4. What do I do if I need to change a reservation?

If you have purchased your ticket at the Amtrak Quik-Trak and have your ticket, you can call 1-800-USA-RAIL, press "0″ to leave the automated system for agent assistance and change the reservation. For reserved trains you will have to stop at the ticket counter to get the ticket reissued prior to boarding.

If you have made the reservation on the web and have a reservation number, you can call 1-800-USA-RAIL, press "0″ to leave the automated system for agent assistance and change the reservation. You can then enter the reservation number into the kiosk and the corrected itinerary will be generated.

5. What do I do if I need to cancel a reservation?

If you need to make cancel a reservation, you can call 1-800-USA-RAIL, press "0″ to leave the automated system for agent assistance and cancel the reservation. If you don't have a ticket, you are done. If you have already purchased and received the paper ticket you will have to return that ticket for a refund.

Tickets to be refunded can be taken to any Amtrak ticket window or sent to:

AMTRAK
Customer Refund Department
Box 70, 2nd floor, North Tower
30th Street Station
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2878

Any tickets returned to Amtrak will be credited back to the credit card on which the ticket was charged.

6. How do I purchase Amtrak tickets for other people?

If you make a reservation using the Amtrak Quik-Trak in Houston Hall, it assumes the reservation is for the person whose name is on the credit card and that the travel commences from Philadelphia. If you need to make a reservation for someone other than yourself or for some other location than Philadelphia, you can make the reservation using the Amtrak web site. Once you have paid for that ticket and receive a reservation number, that ticket can be picked up by that traveler at any kiosk or Amtrak ticketing counter. To pick up at a kiosk, the person:

1. Enters the reservation number and a credit card,
2. selects "Advanced Paid Tickets, and
3. "Print tickets."

The $0.00 on the ticket indicates that the payment was made from the credit card used to make the reservation.

When purchasing or picking up tickets at the Quik-Trak, please keep in mind that you can only do three transactions at the kiosk per card, per location, per day. This policy is to protect against the occurrence of any possible fraudulent activity. However, if you have a group of people traveling together, you can put up to 8 people on a single reservation.

7. Who can I contact if I have any questions or the Amtrak Quik-Trak in Houston Hall is down?

Please contact Travel Services & Procurement Cards.