19 replies to this topic

[opamar]

Hi all,
I've been browsing this group for a little while and now that I'm planning my first big (for me at least) trip I'm hoping to get some help from those of you who know this system a lot better than I do.

I signed up for the AGR card at the beginning of the year for 30k points and currently have about 33k that I want to use to plan a trip for my girlfriend and I before the redemption rates go up on 4/1. Even after reading a fair amount of threads and trip reports I'm a little confused about exactly how multi-segment trips work within the zone system. Trying to figure out the itinerary on the Amtrak website seems impossible and even using the Timetable is a bit of a hassle, so I'm looking for feedback before I book anything.

We're traveling from NYP and want to get the best value for the points and also spend sometime in an interesting city, right now we're leaning towards New Orleans as our final destination. Originally, I wanted to use points to travel to Pensacola and then pay for the train to New Orleans so it would only be a one zone tirp, but it looks like that line has been suspended (any idea if it will get restored?).

So now we have to use a 2-zone reward to get to NO. As far as using points is there any difference between going from NYP to New Orleans via the Piedmont and Crescent lines compared to going to Chicago and then taking the City of New Orleans (Or for that matter between going NY-CHI-DFW-SA-NOL)? Am I right that both are considered 2 zone trips even though the route is completely different? If I'm not misunderstanding things it looks like we would arrive in Chicago at 10am and not have to board the city of New Orleans until 8pm, which would be perfect as far as we're concerned. Are there any transfers with layovers like that to take advantage of?

Since we don't have enough points for two 2-zone roomettes we'll probably pay for either the train or take megabus from New Orleans to Atlanta and then then travel coach back to NYP.

Any thoughts on this plan? I'm open to other routes/schemes if anyone has a personal favorite trip to recommend. My train experience is limited to the Northeast Corridor between NYC and Virginia, so I'm looking forward to exploring some new train lines as well as new parts of the country.

Hope this wasn't too long winded, this site has definitely been the most helpful and informative while trying to figure all of this out.

Thanks.

tl;dr
-When Amtrak calculates zones can you really transfer to as many different train lines as you want as long as there aren't any extended breaks in travel (ie. just the layovers).
-Recommendations for how you would use 30k points starting in NYC.
-Tips for which lines are the best-have the best layovers or offer the best views.

[jb64]

New York to New Orleans is two zones, each way, no matter which routing you take to get there.

If it were me, I would go the Chicago to City of New Orleans routing. As you already indicated, it gets you a nice layover in Chicago to do some fun things. It also gives you the opportunity to do some of your trip in a Superliner, which I prefer. I would imagine the scenery to maybe be a little nicer, too, than the Crescent. Scenery in the south is mostly just a lot of pine trees but taking the Lake Shore Limited or Cardinal to Chicago and then the City of New Orleans will give you a little more variety.

Either way, I hope you have a great trip.

[AlanB]

With 33,000 points I'd suggest the following if you have time. First, buy 2,000 points to get you to 35,000 points.

Now, use 15,000 for a Roomette from NY to Atlanta; this is the expensive part of the route. They pay for the Roomette from Atlanta to New Orleans, it'll probably only set you back about $100 or so. Spend some time in New Orleans, before returning to NY using a 2-zone Roomette award on the City of New Orleans to Chicago and then the Lake Shore to NY. Total points used, 35,000 and you get a nice trip.

[the_traveler]

I agree with what Alan suggested, except I might take the City of New Orleans to Chicago and connect to the Cardinal! Personally, I think the daytime scenery is much better!

And if you were to buy points, consider doing so before 3/31/12! There is currently a promotion offering a 30% bonus! (You can purchase up to 10,000 points - not including bonuses - per CALENDAR year!)

[Texan Eagle]

If you are willing to spend a little money, the idea suggested by Alan and the_traveler seems awesome! You get to do a big circular journey- NYC to NOL by Crescent, NOL to CHI by City of New Orleans, CHI to NYC by Cardinal- different types of scenery, different types of traincars too!

To get a rough idea of how much you'd have to spend more for this plan-
You said you have 33,000 points. Are they exact 33,000 or a little more? I ask because currently under the special offer you can buy 1950 points for $41.50, or if that is insufficient to reach 35000, you could grab 2600 points for $55.
As said, ATL-NOL is probably the best deal on Amtrak network as far as snapping cheap bedrooms/roomettes is concerned. On some days you might get a roomette for as low as $76, and that includes six meals between the two of you, so it virtually pays for itself!

[opamar]

Thanks for the feedback so far.
It's not completely up to me, but I am mostly sold on the NY-Chicago-New Orleans and New Orleans-Atlanta_NY route since it will give us a varied route without any duplication. Hopefully my girlfriend won't think that's too much time on the train.
I had been so focused on trying to keep costs down that I hadn't considered buying points. I actually have 33,717 points, so I could get to 35,000 for just 28.50 with the current bonus. It looks like a roomette from Atlanta to New Orleans is going for about $172, which may be a little more than we'd prefer, but it's definitely worth considering. Actually if that's something we want to do it would make sense to buy enough points to get to 40,000 and use another 2-zone award (that would cost $137.50 with the current promotion).

This trip planning all came up out of my desire to use my points up before Amtrak changed their rates, but now that I'm looking more carefully, it seems that the points required for a Roomette aren't actually going to be changing afterall. It seems strange that everything else would change except the Roomette, but it's not listed here: https://www.amtrakgu...edemptionchange. If that's the case, I may just hold off until I'm able to accumulate enough points for two 2-zone awards, because we weren't planning to travel until next fall or winter anyway.

Just out of curiosity what are some of the differences in a Superliner?

[johnny.menhennet]

The Superliners are bilevel trains which operate on all western long distance routes south and west of Chicago, as well as on the Capitol Limited and Auto Train. All Superliner trains have a viewing car in between the coaches and the diner that have floor-to-ceiling windows on the second story, allowing for some amazing views. In my opinion, the Superliners ride better, but that's just that, my opinion. When on a Superliner on your trip, make sure to book a roomette 1-10, not 11-14, since those are downstairs and less desirable.

[amamba]

Did you check the rates on the roommette for ATL - NOL (instead of NOL - ATL)? I think you will have a better trip if you take the Crescent first and then return with the routing through CHI.

If your dates are flexible, you can try to find the date with the cheapest roomette price and then plan the trip around that.

[the_traveler]

When on a Superliner on your trip, make sure to book a roomette 1-10, not 11-14, since those are downstairs and less desirable.

I very much doubt that you can get Roomette 1 on a Superliner - unless you're an Amtrak employee working that sleeper! Roomette #1 is the attendant's room!

[opamar]

amamba, I did try it for both directions on several random days in fall and all came up as $70 base fare plus $102 for the roomette for $172 total. I haven't booked a roomette before, but I don't think I'm mixing anything up.

Good to know about the Superliner, I knew some of the trains out west had viewing cars, but I didn't realize I'd get to ride on one for this trip.

[gatelouse]

I'd strongly recommend buying points to reach 40,000. Trying to save 5,000 points by buying 2 coach seats or a room NOL-ATL isn't going to save much, if anything. Much less stress simply to book NOL-NYP and be done with it.

If you'd like to spend more time on those wonderful Superliner trains, consider NOL-CHI-WAS-NYP which will include the Capitol Limited. Oddly, this routing is only bookable northbound so you'd have to reverse your circuit to take advantage of it.

[the_traveler]

I would suggest buying a COACH ticket from ATL to NOL! If it is not sold beyond ATL, you may be allowed to stay in the roomette beyond ATL! You will not get included meals beyond ATL, but it's all a daytime run. Eat breakfast before ATL (which is very easy to do), and you will only miss lunch. (Buy something at the cafe if you must.) Then have a nice dinner in NOL! (There is only 1 setting for dinner on the train, and it is early anyway!)

[gatelouse]

Per OP's post, best case for coach is $70. Until 3/31, buying 5000 points to guarantee the sleeper is about $110. The choice is yours.

[the_traveler]

For $110 - or even $102 - two people can have a GREAT dinner in NOL! And most times, I only eat lunch because it is included (free) with the sleeper. If in coach, normally I pass on lunch.

The choice is yours to make!

[gatelouse]

Yup, $110 an buy a fantastic meal (or any other fantastic adventure of your choosing...) in NOL. But the price difference isn't $102 or $110, it's $40. For that difference I'd just go sleeper all the way and enjoy the extra meals and privacy for the 10-hour ride.

Now, some might prefer the openness and side-by-side seating of a coach car for daytime travel, particularly for parties of two.

[johnny.menhennet]

When on a Superliner on your trip, make sure to book a roomette 1-10, not 11-14, since those are downstairs and less desirable.

I very much doubt that you can get Roomette 1 on a Superliner - unless you're an Amtrak employee working that sleeper! Roomette #1 is the attendant's room!

I was actually aware of this. For the OP's simplicity, I stated 1-10, while I knew it was 2-10 in reality. I also suggest going via ATL there and CHI back

[the_traveler]

But the price difference isn't $102 or $110, it's $40.

Just wondering where you got that $40 figure? I'm confused!

OP stated the fare was $70 plus $102 for the roomette!

amamba, I did try it for both directions on several random days in fall and all came up as $70 base fare plus $102 for the roomette for $172 total.

Edited by the_traveler, 30 March 2012 - 11:23 PM.

[gatelouse]

But the price difference isn't $102 or $110, it's $40.

Just wondering where you got that $40 figure? I'm confused!

OP stated the fare was $70 plus $102 for the roomette!

amamba, I did try it for both directions on several random days in fall and all came up as $70 base fare plus $102 for the roomette for $172 total.

Sure--to bump from 35,000 points to 40,000 points costs about $110 thanks to the 30% buy bonus expiring in a few hours. That gets you roundtrip in sleeper NYP-NOL.

With 35,000 points in the bank, ATL-NOL needs to be bridged with a pair of coach tickets for the party of 2, which the OP priced out at $70 for low bucket.

$110 - $70 = $40 difference between these options.

[opamar]

Just to check back in, I had intended to buy some points before the bonus ended, so that we could do two 2-zone redemptions. That just seems like the simplest way to go, and for me the cost would be worth it to have everything planned out far in advance. Unfortunately I was a way for a couple days and it slipped my mind until after the deal expired. Luckily, since the rates for roomettes didn't increase and we won't be traveling until fall/winter anyway we can afford to hold off on booking and acquire some more points in the meantime. If we don't have enough points when the time comes it shouldn't be too expensive to buy enough to make up the difference.

Everyone seems to recommend going to NOL via Atlanta and returning through Chicago, and I think that's almost certainly the route we'll take. Now we just have to decide on which line to take the Cardinal or the Lake Shore Limited from Chicago to NYC. The Lake Shore may win by default since it runs daily.

[amamba]

I haven't taken the Cardinal, but I think a general consensus is that the scenery heading East on the Cardinal is really nice as you get to see the New River Gorge in the daylight. However, the cardinal only has one sleeper and only runs three days a week, plus it doesn't have a full diner, so there are some concerns. Also I think it is more prone to delays than the LSL. But you get more train time and have more meals on the train. In any case, enjoy your trip