I had made my reservation at the Winter Park (FL) station in January and paid for it with a check. When I went to cancel my reservation over the weekend, the agent on duty told me "he didn't have enough cash on hand" to give me my refund, and that I should go down to the Orlando station to get my refund. This seems rather strange -- typically when you pay with a check, AMTRAK sends you a refund check from their customer service headquarters in Philadelphia -- I don't understand why AMTRAK's computer system couldn't generate the cancellation and a check to be sent to me from Philly. The agent says it's cheaper for AMTRAK to give cash refunds -- has anyone else heard anything like this ?

While "the verdict" on how smooth this refund process goes should best be withheld until the refund voucher is deemed collected by your bank, it appears your process has gone smoother than it has for a Member over at another board who reported that he had to submit a copy of his paid (cancelled/cleared) check in order for the refund to be processed.

While Amtrak and other transportation companies will accept payment by check, checks have become a rather arcane method of paying for anything at point of sale. In fact with vendors and other service providers with whom "on-going" business relationships are in place, stumbling over one another to get you to sign up for on-line bill paying, even these payments by check are becoming arcane.

But for "point of sale" payments, credit card is the way to go.