New AGR program question

On the old AGR program, I would book a room and the price was by zone. Example- 25,000 points for the bedroom for 2 people. There were no additional fees for a second passenger.

I am looking at a roommette for fall and the points price is saying 16,000 points.

Are there additional points under the new system for a second passenger or does it work like the old program and include both passenger fares and meals with the price of the roommette?

Is there a way to now book a room on points online, or do I still need to call the AGR rep to make a reservation?

You can book online, and it's a ration of points for dollars, so just like you have to pay the base railfare for the second person in a room, the points cost will be slightly higher.

The award now is based on the price alone. While some awards cost less points under 2.0, some cost more - some MUCH more. And like when you pay cash, the cost is different for 1 person than for 2 people.

You can book online. On the screen showing the choices of trains, at the top are 2 boxes - "cash" and "points". If you chose cash, it will show the price as $159 and $478. If you chose points, it will show the price as 3,478 points and 21,634 points (or whatever it is). Like when you book for cash, the computer chooses your room. If you want a specific room, it's best to call and speak with an agent.

Thanks!

the_traveler said:

The award now is based on the price alone. While some awards cost less points under 2.0, some cost more - some MUCH more. And like when you pay cash, the cost is different for 1 person than for 2 people.

You can book online. On the screen showing the choices of trains, at the top are 2 boxes - "cash" and "points". If you chose cash, it will show the price as $159 and $478. If you chose points, it will show the price as 3,478 points and 21,634 points (or whatever it is). Like when you book for cash, the computer chooses your room. If you want a specific room, it's best to call and speak with an agent.

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It's not always that simple. I have seen numerous examples (and I posted one) of huge discrepancies between dollars and points where for example, a roomette had the proper 0.029/point but the bedroom had an outrageous amount of points but a reasonable room $$ cost. The other thing to remember is that the points are based on UNDISCOUNTED dollars.

You have to be careful booking online as the points/dollar value is not a fixed amount whereas if you talk to an agent, you might be able to have them talk to a supervisor if there is an anomaly.

The other issue with the online system is that if you select a bedroom with dollars then change to points, the system resets in beck to a roomette. If you don't notice it, you might not be booking what you think. There is no easy back and forth between points and dollars.

Re: discounts such as NARP, Senior Citizen, AAA etc.: do these help at all on the base rail fare when redeeming Guest Rewards points?

No. The award redemption amount is based on the full undiscounted bucket. Thus no AAA discount, NARP discount, senior discount, etc... and no saver fares!

The points calculation is based on the lowest available "Value" or "Flexible" fare. The "Saver" 14-day advance purchase fare, along with any of the special discounted fares such as senior and AAA are not used to calculate the number of points needed for an AGR redemption.

PRR 60 said:

The points calculation is based on the lowest available "Value" or "Flexible" fare. The "Saver" 14-day advance purchase fare, along with any of the special discounted fares such as senior and AAA are not used to calculate the number of points needed for an AGR redemption.

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It may be based on that but is not always the same multiple. Never better than $0.029 but sometimes much worse.

Are there discrepancies other than 800 minimum for each individual segment and such?

jis said:

Are there discrepancies other than 800 minimum for each individual segment and such?

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Amtrak appears to have their version of "surge pricing" that can drive the points:dollars ratio far higher than the originally presumed 34.5. That higher pricing seems to kick-in for reservations during the old blackout dates, and during the old Acela weekday time of day blackout periods. Even beyond that, there have been examples of pricing higher than 34.5 points per dollar for one type of accommodation on a train while other accommodations on the same train are priced normally.

For example, a roomette for one on the Lake Shore Limited NYP-CHI on September 7 is $483, or 16.661 points. That is consistent with the advertised 34.5 ratio. That same trip on September 2 (Friday before Labor Day) is $411 (cheaper than September 7), but the points cost is 28.359. That is a points:dollars ratio of 69 - a 100% surcharge.

The only thing that is predictable is that the ratio will never be less than 34.5. It could be more, and in some cases, a lot more.

You also can't use agr for it seems for certain last seats. I'm going (booked in coach, can't jusify the high sleeper cost for an extremely short trip) SOB-ROC on Friday night, coach is sold out there is supposedly one roomette left, and Amtrak won't even give me a points price saying No Points! It could also be a situation of phantom roomette avalibity that I've encountered before.