Amtrack Bookings from the UK

[Mag_seven]

Has anyone any recent experience of trying to book on Amtrack from the UK? Booking online via Amtrack.com is proving difficult (an error message appears at the end of the booking process) and their phone is not being answered. We are trying to book trains in August.

 

[Shinkansenfan]

First, be sure you're using Amtrak.com (no "c" in Amtrak), but I suspect you are using the correct website because you're accessing the booking pages.

What kind of an error are you getting?

Perhaps try a VPN with a US setting?

Telephone times for Amtrak can be exceedingly lengthy. I've recently waited up to 2 hours, but they do have (at least for US customers) a "we will call you back" feature when you near the head of the phone queue.

 

[OldandRambling]

I haven't used the Amtrak site to book for some time, but always found it worked fine. I believe some trains were reduced in frequency due to covid, maybe you are trying to reserve a train on a non running day?
You could try emailing them at: [email protected]
I am a member of a USA Amtrak fans website, if you explain your problem more, I am sure help can be given.

Just for fun I tried to book a train from Chicago to Sacramento in mid August, and it worked quite okay up as far as the payment page. (No, I didn't try to pay!)
You have to tick boxes about wearing masks, and not needing insurance, and accepting conditions also, that might trip folk up?

 

[jamesontheroad]

What sort of credit card are you trying to use to make the payment?

It’s been over a decade since I booked anything on Amtrak.com but I do remember using a UK credit card instead of a debit card, which was generally not my first choice. I’m guessing I couldn’t use a UK Maestro / Visa Debit. Hopefully modern day MasterCard Debit / Visa Debit are more widely accepted in the USA.

 

[Taunton]

Troubles with straightforward Visa/MC Debit cards are widespread in the USA, as their perception of debit cards is different to the rest of the world, and they are seemingly only given to those who are poor credit risks for the equivalent credit cards. For example, if you reserve a rental car from the UK using one, it is fine, but if you try and do a new booking at the counter there I have been turned away for offering a Visa debit, not credit, card.

The other issue is websites which insist on validating a US Zip code in the address, where the website developer has not envisaged not having one. It would be unlikely that Amtrak would have fallen for this but it has certainly tripped me up elsewhere, and doesn't error at the logical place.

 

[Alfonso]

Troubles with straightforward Visa/MC Debit cards are widespread in the USA, as their perception of debit cards is different to the rest of the world, and they are seemingly only given to those who are poor credit risks for the equivalent credit cards. For example, if you reserve a rental car from the UK using one, it is fine, but if you try and do a new booking at the counter there I have been turned away for offering a Visa debit, not credit, card.

The other issue is websites which insist on validating a US Zip code in the address, where the website developer has not envisaged not having one. It would be unlikely that Amtrak would have fallen for this but it has certainly tripped me up elsewhere, and doesn't error at the logical place.

If you have a problem with postcodes/zip codes, using the numbers from your postcode (no space) then zeroes to make a 5 digit number can sometimes work

 

[sammyg901]

or 10011 (a zip code from NY) - like lots of websites in the UK these days they probably aren't doing very strict address verification

 

[OldandRambling]

I always find it a bit dispiriting when the original poster does not come back and update their situation, it can help others with similar problems too...

 

[yorkie]

I always find it a bit dispiriting when the original poster does not come back and update their situation, it can help others with similar problems too...

I understand this is still being looked at and an update will be posted in due course. Our trip is in August so no immediate rush though we are keen to get it sorted by the end of this month.

Their automated phone system seems to be designed to avoid putting you through to an agent; after being in the queue for 90+ minutes we had to give up.

 

[jamesontheroad]

I remember having lots of fun chatting with “Julie”, Amtrak’s automated telephone agent, in the early 2000s. She struggled a bit with my British accent.

 

[Red Onion]

I actually found “Julie” to work quite well for me, even with my Scottish accent! I used it in 2006 for booking journeys while I had the long gone North East rail pass. All bookings were successfully completed. I wonder if the facility is still there.

 

[OldandRambling]

I understand this is still being looked at and an update will be posted in due course. Our trip is in August so no immediate rush though we are keen to get it sorted by the end of this month.

Their automated phone system seems to be designed to avoid putting you through to an agent; after being in the queue for 90+ minutes we had to give up.

The automated phone system is slow, but it takes me 30 mins to get through to my G.P. receptionist these days...
Can you say what aspect of your booking caused the "error", was it the payment itself?

 

[SickyNicky]

It wasn't the payment - that authorised. They just gave a generic "problem at our end" error, and didn't charge the card.

We eventually managed to get through on the phone, and once though the queue, it was simple enough to book. But it would have been easier if their website had actually worked!

 

[OldandRambling]

It wasn't the payment - that authorised. They just gave a generic "problem at our end" error, and didn't charge the card.

We eventually managed to get through on the phone, and once though the queue, it was simple enough to book. But it would have been easier if their website had actually worked!

I assume you and Mr. Yorkie are both going on the same trip then? Glad to know it got sorted. I am still umming and erring about visiting the USA again to enjoy the long distance trains. Don't forget your ESTA's !

 

[Royston Vasey]

Recent experience - just booked the Coast Starlight for travel next month through amtrak.com on a UK IP and had no issues, the credit card booking process also allowed selection of a UK address and accepted my UK Mastercard no problems, other than the usual payment protection from my own CC provider.

 

[SandsofEss]

I too booked within the last fortnight on Amtrak.com with no issues. UK Mastercard with a UK address.

 

[Gorby]

Troubles with straightforward Visa/MC Debit cards are widespread in the USA, as their perception of debit cards is different to the rest of the world, and they are seemingly only given to those who are poor credit risks for the equivalent credit cards. For example, if you reserve a rental car from the UK using one, it is fine, but if you try and do a new booking at the counter there I have been turned away for offering a Visa debit, not credit, card.

Debit cards are common and not "just for the poor" in the US. As they are in effect a direct gateway to a bank account, such places as car rentals won't accept them as they have no guarantee of payment unless they stick a hold on the amount of the rental + $a few hundred. If you bang up the car and they want to charge you $5k, it's easy with a credit card, but if your bank account doesn't have it, it gets denied.

There is also less fraud protection (for both parties) with debit cards over here. Once the money has left the account, chargebacks not as easy.

 

[tiptoptaff]

Recent experience - was easily able to use UK credit card/address etc to book on amtrak.com for a NY-DC trip. However I was unable to use same card for a bid-up. I contacted amtrak via Twitter and they informed me that they'd tried it themselves and it seemed to be an issue with the UK being the country selected, but seemed ok with any other country.

 

[AlterEgo]

Amtrak accepts American Express cards issued in the UK no problem, but chokes sometimes with debit cards and other types of credit card.

One workaround is to put your card ZIP code as 90210 and claim it's American. This has worked before!