Instant Upgrade offers a convenient way to access our premium services. Requests for Instant Upgrade are accepted or rejected immediately after submission. Instant upgrade is available up until 5 minutes before scheduled departure for Non-Acela Business Class, Acela First Class, Roomette and Bedroom accommodations.

Bidding allows you to choose your offer amount. Notification of acceptance or rejection will be provided within 15 minutes before scheduled departure for Non-Acela Business Class and Acela First Class, and within 36 hours before departure for Roomette and Bedroom accommodations. (Exception: For Amtrak Cascades Business Class upgrades, notification will be given within 60 minutes before departure. For Auto Train Roomette and Bedroom upgrades, notification will be given within 12 hours before departure.)

Neither of these options will guarantee an upgrade. You will not be charged unless your trip is upgraded. If you don’t receive notification of your offer status, you can always check the status of your reservation by using the Amtrak mobile app or Amtrak.com.

You can check the eligibility of your trip any time by entering your reservation number and last name above. The primary passenger on any eligible trip may be invited to bid for an upgrade or to purchase an instant upgrade via email or Amtrak app push notification within 4 days before the scheduled departure.

For upgrades to Non-Acela Business Class or Acela First Class, you can place your bid up until 30 minutes before the scheduled departure. For upgrades to Roomettes or Bedrooms, you can place your bid at any time up until 36 hours before the scheduled departure. (Exception: For Amtrak Cascades Business Class upgrades, you can place your bid up to 70 minutes before the scheduled departure. For Auto Train Roomette and Bedroom upgrades, you can place your bid up to 12 hours before the scheduled departure.)

Instant upgrade is available up until 5 minutes before scheduled departure for Non-Acela Business Class, Acela First Class, Roomette and Bedroom accommodations.

If there are multiple upgrade options on your trip, you can place a bid for each class of service available. Prior to departure, only one of your offers will be accepted and one upgrade will be awarded. Instant upgrade requests are limited to one upgrade option per travel segment at a time.

Private room upgrade offers are per room. Rooms can accommodate up to two people.

For upgrades to Non-Acela Business Class or Acela First Class, you can modify or cancel your bid at any time up until 30 minutes before scheduled departure. For upgrades to Roomettes or Bedrooms, you can modify or cancel your bid at any time up to 36 hours before scheduled departure. Once your upgrade is confirmed, the ticket is non-refundable, non-changeable and non-transferable. Before making an offer, please take this into consideration. Instant Upgrade requests receive an immediate response, and if upgraded, the ticket is non-refundable, non-changeable and non-transferable.

Exception: For Amtrak Cascades Business Class upgrades, you can modify or cancel your bid at any time up until 70 minutes before scheduled departure. For Auto Train Roomette and Bedroom upgrades, you can modify or cancel your bid at any time up until 12 hours before scheduled departure.

If you choose to modify or cancel your trip before your bid is awarded, your bid will be automatically canceled, and your credit card will not be charged. Once your offer or instant upgrade request has been awarded, your trip cannot be modified or canceled.

You can modify or cancel your offer by using the link in the offer confirmation email to access your submitted offers.

For upgrades to Non-Acela Business Class or Acela First Class, winning bids will be awarded within 15 minutes before scheduled departure. For upgrades to Roomettes or Bedrooms, winning bids will be awarded approximately 36 hours before scheduled departure.

Exception: For Amtrak Cascades Business Class upgrades, winning bids will be awarded within 60 minutes before scheduled departure. For Auto Train Roomette and Bedroom upgrades, winning bids will be awarded within 12 hours before the scheduled departure.

Instant Upgrade requests will be accepted or rejected immediately upon submission.

Once awarded, an upgrade email notification with new ticket details are sent to the email address associated with your initial itinerary. For bid offers, you will also receive a text message notification to the mobile number associated with your initial itinerary. Your ticket will also be refreshed on the Amtrak app. At this time, your designated credit card will be charged. Review the full BidUp terms and conditions.

Yes, during staffed hours, station agents can help you purchase an upgrade.

Yes, eligible customer may make an upgrade offer or instant upgrade request for some, none, or all segments in the original booking.

Yes, if your upgrade is awarded you will be charged the full amount of your bid or instant upgrade amount and billed separately from the fare you have already paid for your original booking.

While you may notice an authorization on your credit card at the time you place your bid, your credit card will not be charged until your upgrade has been awarded. With instant upgrade, your credit card will only be charged upon confirmation of the upgrade. If your bid or request for instant upgrade is not accepted, there will be no charge to your credit card. Card authorization is typically removed within 2 days.

No, once your ticket has been upgraded, your ticket is fully non-refundable, non-changeable and non-transferable.

Yes. If you are an Amtrak Guest Rewards member, you'll continue to earn two points per dollar spent on your trip. Upgrades to Non-Acela Business Class will receive a 25% point bonus while upgrades to Acela First Class will receive a 50% point bonus.

No, at this point in time, Amtrak Guest Rewards points cannot be used as a payment option to bid for an upgrade or request an instant upgrade.

No, Amtrak Guest Rewards redemption reservations are currently not available for bidding or instant upgrade requests. However, Amtrak is hoping to offer BidUp for reservations paid with points in the future.

No, your upgrade offer will apply to all passengers on your reservation if your offer is accepted.  Everyone in your party will be upgraded together and will not be separated.

The instant purchase price will vary by travel segment. Verify the price of your specific departure by checking your eligibility.

Upgrades will be refunded if the applicable segment is cancelled by Amtrak and alternative travel cannot be arranged by Amtrak. This applies to accepted offers and accepted instant upgrades.

You can unsubscribe from BidUp marketing emails by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any Amtrak BidUp email. You can also opt out of push notification in the settings of the Amtrak app by clicking on ‘Settings’ and opting out of ‘Travel Offers’). Text messages are only sent to provide updates on the status of your bid and cannot be opted out.

Before you place a bid or request instant upgrade, check with your insurance provider to determine your coverage. If you selected Allianz Travel Protection when purchasing your Amtrak ticket, you can contact Allianz directly.