Amtrak no longer accepting travelers checks, money orders Options

[KevinKorell]

Amtrak press release 9/1/10:

Changes to Accepted Forms of Payment

Effective September 1, 2010

Beginning on September 1, 2010, money orders and travelers checks will no longer be accepted as payment for Amtrak products or services.

The following forms of payment are currently accepted by Amtrak:

* U.S. Currency: Canadian paper currency is accepted aboard trains that cross the U.S. - Canada border.
* Credit and Debit Cards: Any payment card must be a branded card featuring a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover or Universal Air Travel logo.

Forms of payment not accepted by Amtrak include:

* Non-U.S. Currency
* Cashier's Checks
* Money Orders
* Travel Vouchers
* Personal Checks (except for group travel payment)
* Travel Checks
* Payment Cards Requiring a PIN

Thank you for traveling with Amtrak. We appreciate your patronage. For schedule and reservation information, visit http://www.Amtrak.com/ or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

[The Dutchman]

The problem with this posture is that it makes it tough for certain classes of customers to buy a ticket and use the service. In effect, the administrative convenience of the Amtrak personnel at the ticket wicket is considered more important than selling the ticket to the potential customer. Not everybody carries a credit card. Not everybody wants to carry cash, particularly at some Amtrak stations out in the middle of nowhere in disheveled neighborhoods (Gainesville, Georgia; Buffalo, NY). What is wrong with a cashier's check made out to Amtrak?

I view this as a poor-quality administrative decision.

[PublicService]

What is wrong with a cashier's check made out to Amtrak?

Or Traveler's Checks for that matter.

I view this as a poor-quality administrative decision.

I could not agree more.

[Dakguy201]

Also notice that while they will accept credit cards, they do not accept debit cards. It must be too tough to modify their software!

[CNJRoss]

Also notice that while they will accept credit cards, they do not accept debit cards. It must be too tough to modify their software!

Huh?

From initial post (emphasis added):

The following forms of payment are currently accepted by Amtrak:

* U.S. Currency: Canadian paper currency is accepted aboard trains that cross the U.S. - Canada border.
* Credit and Debit Cards: Any payment card must be a branded card featuring a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover or Universal Air Travel logo.

[Dakguy201]

Maybe they will take some debit cards, but they say they will not accept a "payment card requiring a PIN". My debit card is VISA but requires a PIN. Does that leave me in or out? I'm mostly confused at this point.

[KevinKorell]

Maybe they will take some debit cards, but they say they will not accept a "payment card requiring a PIN". My debit card is VISA but requires a PIN. Does that leave me in or out? I'm mostly confused at this point.

When you use your debit card as a credit card it is treated as a credit card, and you don't need to enter a PIN. So as long as the debit card carries a Visa or MasterCard logo, it can be used as such, only the money is immediately deducted from the savings or checking account it is attached to. So therefore I would think that they would be accepted just as a regular credit card is aboard Amtrak.

This post has been edited by KevinKorell: Sep 4 2010, 12:32 PM

[AlanB]

Maybe they will take some debit cards, but they say they will not accept a "payment card requiring a PIN". My debit card is VISA but requires a PIN. Does that leave me in or out? I'm mostly confused at this point.

When you use your debit card as a credit card it is treated as a credit card, and you don't need to enter a PIN. So as long as the debit card carries a Visa or MasterCard logo, it can be used as such, only the money is immediately deducted from the savings or checking account it is attached to. So therefore I would think that they would be accepted just as a regular credit card is aboard Amtrak.

Exactly Kevin, any debit card that carries a Visa or MC logo can work either as a debit transaction that requires a pin # or as a credit card that only requires a signature.

My guess behind Amtrak's logic is that having the keypads that are needed for entering a pin are both expensive and prone to breaking on a train. And on a long distance train, you can't replace it for many miles. So rather than having to argue with customers over things, it's probably just easier to set a policy that excludes them entirely and avoid the problem of what happens when someone only has a pure debit card with no Visa/MC connection and the unit breaks.

As for the Traveler's checks issue, the number of people using them today is so minor that there is no point.

[The Dutchman]

I would respectfully take issue with Alan's comment on low numbers of travelers using traveler's checks. I would suggest that foreign tourists are quite likely to use traveler's checks. As for debit cards using pin numbers, perhaps the equipment is cumbersome; so what? Ask yourself this: is it better business (and public-policy) practice to simply let a handful of riders just travel "for free" or by writing a personal check, which may or may not clear, than to arbitrarily cut off an entire class of customers from access to the rails?

If you are trying to cast a wide net and bring in as many travelers as possible, then you do have to accept the probability that some will end up not paying for the service. Yet more likely, of that additional group, the majority will have their payment vehicles cleared (either travelers checks, or cashiers checks, or debit cards with pin numbers). Let the ones who fall through the cracks just write a personal check. Sure, some will not clear; but most probably will. It is poor management to bar customers from the service, and likely a poor money-management decision also. I sure would not do it.

What is the marginal cost of carrying one extra rider who does not pay for the trip? Probably very little, if anything, other than foregone revenue. What is the marginal cost of excluding an entire class of riders - those without credit cards (and these days, that is a lot of people). Probably quite a bit!