What a year... gonna get Select Executive...
- Thread starter neroden
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Congrats to all you Wealthy members and Corridor residents that can easily make Select + and SE, we poor slubs out in Flyover Country, where Amtrak Trains are scarce, are SOL with the New and Unimproved AGR2.0.
In Club Acela at NYP they announce the track numbers before they hit the board and tell you that you can assemble at the escalator for that track, so for all intents and purposes, it's priority boarding. This is literally the only reason I stretch slightly to make S+. It really beats standing and staring at the downstairs board for 20-30 minutes every week.
jis
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So the only places where one can get priority is at the less than a dozen places that have a lounge? WAS is different since they do have a separate boarding order for upper class and select+/E.
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Re: the NEC, for the most part, I only board in two places, NYP and BAL. Believe me, I wish I could have priority boarding in BAL but I don't know how it would work. The train is in the station for 3-4 minutes and just about every one of those minutes is used by passengers actually physically boarding the train. They wait on the platform for the train to arrive, as they do at every other station I've passed through other than WAS, NYP, and BOS. I mean, would you hold them back in a cordoned off area on the platform? Or in the station? I can't imagine how it would work in practice at the vast majority of stations and still have trains leave on time.
neroden
Engineer
Yeah, the status really provides practically nothing in my context.
I have access to the lounges anyway because I'm taking sleepers when I travel overnight, and I'm not usually arriving much in advance of boarding at a major station for a coach departure. (I did manage to use one lounge coupon, returning from NYC in coach, and the bathrooms in the Acela Lounge are certainly nicer than the main Penn Station bathrooms.)
The business class upgrade coupons are never usable because business class is always sold out (outside the NEC).
The companion coupons are only useful in coach, which doesn't apply when travelling overnight in sleeper (as I usually am when taking my girlfriend), or when travelling alone (which I usually do when going to NYC), which means I haven't figured out how to use one yet.
The coach discount coupon is for the same amount as the NARP/AAA discount so it is completely and permanently worthless unless I find someone to give it away to.
The only thing I get is the 25%/50%/100% points bonus for paid travel, which, to be fair, is nice, since the points can be redeemed. Valuing the points at 2.3 to 2.8 cents, it's a slight bonus. If we assume 2.5 cents, then it's 1.25% for Select, 2.5% for Select Plus, and 5% for Select Executive.
Oh, and at "Select Executive", automatic registration for promotions. A slight convenience, I guess.
I have suggested that they provide *some* freebie which is usable outside the NEC. Anything. Coupon for a free hot dog?
I have "coupons":
-- two companion coupons which already expired unused last week
-- two upgrades valid through tomorrow at midnight, expiring unused
-- two discount coupons valid through tomorrow at midnight, expiring unused
-- companion coupon valid through 5/12/18, likely to expire unused
-- upgrade valid through 5/12/18, likely to expire unused
-- lounge pass valid through 12/31/17, certain to expire unused (and I'd have to physically hand it off to give it to someone else)
-- two lounge passes valid through 2/28/18, almost certain to expire unused
-- lounge pass valid through 6/30/18, likely to expire unused too
Almost worthless.
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Amtrak could easily make the companion coupon worth it by dropping the "excluding sleeper" provision on them - sure, charge the full accommodation charge + one person, but let the companion pass waive the second rail fare. I can see why they don't want to allow upgrade coupons for sleepers, but if there was a widespread business class on all of the long-distance trains it could be more useful.
jis
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What Neroden says applies to me too, specially after having moved away from the NEC. Haven't had a chance to use any of the coupons anywhere outside of the NEC. Oh well.
Why don't you give these away to someone else who could use them?
neroden
Engineer
That is, unfortunately, work.
I don't have local friends who could use them either, because they have the same location-based difficulty in using them. All the coupons are designed for the NEC. If someone here wants one of the two non-expired online passes, the companion coupon or upgrade expiring 5/12/18, I guess they could PM me (there's no way I'm going to the trouble of mailing the physical lounge passes).
uppereastsider
Train Attendant
They now have priority boarding in NYP.
My favorite perk is United Club access - of all the things about earning AGR status, this is what primarily drives my excitement about it. Being able to use a united club, even when not flying United, is a massive perk (as I fly over 100 flights a year, on top of around 40-50 amtrak trips a year)
jis
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The United Club access is indeed a great benefit for those that are not already member of United Club for other reasons, typically to get access to Star Alliance Clubs abroad. Since a significant amount of my flying is abroad to locations with no United Club, I generally maintain a United club membership via the Presidential Plus Card, which is grandfathered from Continental with additional EQM privileges attached (2,000 EQM per $5000 spend, usable in any of the subsequent three years to reach the next higher premier level, except for 1K, with the dollar amount requirement waived), and is no longer taking new subscribers.
