Buenos dias everyone,

For a long time, Amtrak has had a very generous cancellation policy, similar to Southwest Airlines – as long as you canceled your ticket before departure, you could get the full amount paid back as an eVoucher valid for one year. And depending on the type of fare you purchased, you could even get a refund back to your credit card (possibly with a 10% service fee depending on when you canceled your ticket).

This has all changed. For tickets purchased starting March 20, 2018, most tickets will be hit with a 25% service fee when refunding to an eVoucher. Unfortunately, the news of these changes is buried in the fare rules on Amtrak’s website and on their Refunds and Cancellations page – and even that doesn’t note that there’s been a change, or when it went into effect. Here’s the breakdown of the new policy (credit to AmtrakLKL on Amtrak Unlimited, via NovaEngr on Flyertalk):

Advance Purchase Saver Fares



Full refund to original form of payment (or eVoucher) within 24 hours of purchase

75% refund to eVoucher after 24 hours, as long as you cancel before departure

No refund for no-shows

Unreserved Coach Fares (includes most intra-California trains)

Full refund to original form of payment (or eVoucher) within 1 hour of purchase

75% refund to original form of payment (or eVoucher) after 1 hour

Reserved Coach ‘Value’ Fares and Acela Business Class

Full refund to original form of payment (or eVoucher) until 8 days before departure (1 hour after purchase for tickets purchased less than 8 days before departure)

75% refund to original form of payment (or eVoucher) within 7 days of departure

No refund for no-shows

Non-Acela Business Class or Acela First Class

Full refund to original form of payment (or eVoucher) prior to scheduled departure

No refund for no-shows

Fully Flexible Fares

Full refund to original form of payment at any time

USA Rail Pass and California Rail Pass

Full refund to original form of payment (or eVoucher) within 1 hour of purchase

75% refund to original form of payment (or eVoucher) between 1 hour after purchase and 48 hours before first departure

No refund for cancellations less than 48 hours before first scheduled departure

Note that although these rules only apply to tickets issued on or after March 20, 2018, according to NovaEngr, the website isn’t smart enough to realize this and will enforce the new rules on all online cancellations. To cancel your ticket and receive the full refund or eVoucher to which you’re entitled, you’ll need to call Amtrak reservations at 1-800-USA-RAIL or 215-856-7924.

Will this affect how (or whether) you book Amtrak trips in the future? Let me know in the comments below.