- Joined
- Mar 5, 2008
- Messages
- 10
I've been an AGR member for about 2 years now. I thought I would share some observations.
1. ACELA RULES-Sorry rest of country, but us regular Acela business travelers rake in the points doing the BOS-NY-WAS run at 500 pts. (before bonuses, more on that in a sec) between qualified city pairs. IN 2007, I earned 25,000 pts. on 13 round trips.
2. CLUB ACCESS AND UPGRADES: Once you join, you will need 5 round trips to get to Select. That's when the fun starts. You get a 25% bonus if you are select and 50% at Select Plus. The club access and upgrades are the most valuable commodities to an Acela regular. Which brings me to...
3. ONLY USE YOUR ACELA CLUB PASSES IN NYP: You get a couple of passes with your Select kit. Any regular can tell you that access to the lounge during rush hour at Penn Station can be worth its weight in gold. Union station in DC is not that bad.
4 UPGRADES: The other part of the equation is upgrades. First class is nice on the Acela, but I am not sure it is worth the extra $95 from DC to NYP. However, they help add on the points. Now that I am Select Plus, when I use an upgrade, I get 1125 points every time I travel on an upgrade pass (750 for first plus 50% bonus for being SP). That little pass is worth 325 pts.
5 ONLY USE UPGRADES ON THE ACELA: Don't waist them on a regional fun visit to NYC for you and Mrs. The difference btwn coach and business on the regionals is not that great, and you won't get near the point value as you will on the Acela.
6 BUY YOUR UPGRADES WISELY: You get 5 upgrades for 10,000 points, but if you think about it, you can get 13 upgrades a year for 11,000. The annual 3 (although sometimes they send me 5) freebies plus 5 purchased with 10K points will return 9K in points. Add another 1000 points and you get another 5. However, I recommend buying your upgrades earlier in the year. I would rather travel in business in February (they expire end of Feb.) than commit the unpardonable sin of having an unused upgrade left over. NOTE TO AMTRAK: DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT CHANGING THIS. THE UPGRADES ARE ONE OF THE LITTLE THINGS THAT GIVE YOU A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST YEAR I HAVE SAID TO "SHUTTLE HEAD" COLLEAGUES (HEY, TAKE THE TRAIN WITH ME INSTEAD OF FLYING, I GOT A COUPLE OF UPGRADES).
7 ASK FOR UPGRADES FROM COWORKERS AROUND JAN/FEB.-Don't be shy. Just shoot an email to friends or coworkers toward the end of the AGR year and ask if they have any upgrades they are not going to use. Of course, be sure to proactively offer them up if you have any you won't use.
WATCH FOR PROMOTIONS: AGR regularly runs promotions offering bonus points for certain trips at certain times. However, you need to register for them to get them to apply.
IF YOU ARE LOW ON UPGRADES, SAVE THEM FOR THE RETURN HOME: In the morning, I am just as happy in bus. class in the quiet car. I only take advantage of the free booze on the afterwork runs. (and the food is better). You will get more bang for your buck in the PM.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR POINTS: As you can tell, I think the return on value for upgrades (at least from DC) are a good deal. However, At the begining of 2008, my wife and i each had about 35,000 pts. We booked the Empire Builder (deluxe bedroom) for a trip in June for 30K. If your only Amtrak experience is the Acela, I urge you to give one of the overnights a shot. It is a totally different experience.
1. ACELA RULES-Sorry rest of country, but us regular Acela business travelers rake in the points doing the BOS-NY-WAS run at 500 pts. (before bonuses, more on that in a sec) between qualified city pairs. IN 2007, I earned 25,000 pts. on 13 round trips.
2. CLUB ACCESS AND UPGRADES: Once you join, you will need 5 round trips to get to Select. That's when the fun starts. You get a 25% bonus if you are select and 50% at Select Plus. The club access and upgrades are the most valuable commodities to an Acela regular. Which brings me to...
3. ONLY USE YOUR ACELA CLUB PASSES IN NYP: You get a couple of passes with your Select kit. Any regular can tell you that access to the lounge during rush hour at Penn Station can be worth its weight in gold. Union station in DC is not that bad.
4 UPGRADES: The other part of the equation is upgrades. First class is nice on the Acela, but I am not sure it is worth the extra $95 from DC to NYP. However, they help add on the points. Now that I am Select Plus, when I use an upgrade, I get 1125 points every time I travel on an upgrade pass (750 for first plus 50% bonus for being SP). That little pass is worth 325 pts.
5 ONLY USE UPGRADES ON THE ACELA: Don't waist them on a regional fun visit to NYC for you and Mrs. The difference btwn coach and business on the regionals is not that great, and you won't get near the point value as you will on the Acela.
6 BUY YOUR UPGRADES WISELY: You get 5 upgrades for 10,000 points, but if you think about it, you can get 13 upgrades a year for 11,000. The annual 3 (although sometimes they send me 5) freebies plus 5 purchased with 10K points will return 9K in points. Add another 1000 points and you get another 5. However, I recommend buying your upgrades earlier in the year. I would rather travel in business in February (they expire end of Feb.) than commit the unpardonable sin of having an unused upgrade left over. NOTE TO AMTRAK: DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT CHANGING THIS. THE UPGRADES ARE ONE OF THE LITTLE THINGS THAT GIVE YOU A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST YEAR I HAVE SAID TO "SHUTTLE HEAD" COLLEAGUES (HEY, TAKE THE TRAIN WITH ME INSTEAD OF FLYING, I GOT A COUPLE OF UPGRADES).
7 ASK FOR UPGRADES FROM COWORKERS AROUND JAN/FEB.-Don't be shy. Just shoot an email to friends or coworkers toward the end of the AGR year and ask if they have any upgrades they are not going to use. Of course, be sure to proactively offer them up if you have any you won't use.
WATCH FOR PROMOTIONS: AGR regularly runs promotions offering bonus points for certain trips at certain times. However, you need to register for them to get them to apply.
IF YOU ARE LOW ON UPGRADES, SAVE THEM FOR THE RETURN HOME: In the morning, I am just as happy in bus. class in the quiet car. I only take advantage of the free booze on the afterwork runs. (and the food is better). You will get more bang for your buck in the PM.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR POINTS: As you can tell, I think the return on value for upgrades (at least from DC) are a good deal. However, At the begining of 2008, my wife and i each had about 35,000 pts. We booked the Empire Builder (deluxe bedroom) for a trip in June for 30K. If your only Amtrak experience is the Acela, I urge you to give one of the overnights a shot. It is a totally different experience.
