What is current Accommodation charge Acela Business to First WAS-BOS

Traveling Acela this Saturday, wondering if anyone could chime in on best value/way to upgrade.

Curious if anyone knows what is the accommodation charge Acela first WAS-BOS.

Overview: Party of 2. One Passenger is select plus. Able to get club access for early boarding in WAS. We have companion coupons and upgrade coupons in our arsenal. We purchased in low-bucket at $188 on the BOGO.

Since reservation is a BOGO fare we are unable to use upgrade coupon and Amtrak unable accept cash to purchase upgrade. We are also unable to modify to earlier train with this reservation. It has been suggested that I could modify this ticket to upgrade to flexible or first fare, once in that fare bucket, then cancel and refund this fare with no penalty or change fees.

Options:

1. Stick with business class on Acela (never been on this train, we're just sightseeing) and enjoy what we purchased and use Club Acela access in WAS to board early. Dream of using first class some other day.

2. Buy the fare at $188 and use a companion coupon for the second passenger, then upgrade using cash for the accommodation charge. (unsure what the accommodation fare is at this time)

3. I could buy 2 tickets at $188 each and use 2 upgrade coupons. Both mid-morning trains have first seats available.


Last, a logistical question: taking this train WAS to BOS, can we get off the train in PHL, NYP to gain access to Club Acela for breaks and snacks? Trying to figure out food situation if we remain in acela business class for the 8hours.

TIA!
Penguinflies

Just subtract Business class price from (premium)First class price too find upgrade value. Prices vary with demand. Act fast as the few Saturday Acelas sellout FC limiting chances for upgrades in allowed time frame.

There's nothing 'shabby' about Acela business class. Food in the snack bar is standard NEC lounge car fare. Or, do as I usually do these days, buy something that can be eaten cold with a bottle of soda at WAS and eat it enroute. I tend towards Potbelly's on the main floor at WAS and did so this past Tuesday.

As for using upgrade coupons, they can only be used with full fare purchases and cannot be combined with other discounts, etc. So, is it worthwhile taking a 'hit' for cancellation of the BOGO, paying full fare ($188 x 2) and then using the upgrades? It's up to you. I'd save the money and ride business class as planned.

I've used upgrade coupons a couple of times in the past 6 months or so to ride Acela First Class. The biggest advantage in my mind is the slightly wider seats as they are only 2-1 seating throughout. Free food and beverages, of course. My impression of the food is it's OK, certainly nothing to write home about. Very limited menu https://www.amtrak.com/acela-express-dining-options Which of the 3 rotations is currently in effect is unknown. Small portion sizes, too, in my opinion.

Enjoy your trip! Sit on the right side of the train to get great views of Chesapeake Bay as well as the Ocean on the way to Boston!

There are maybe three minutes in PHL so no getting off there. NYP has ~20 minutes but that's only if it's on time. Club Acela is a bit of a distance from the track but there are few if any snacks there anyway (they're often out of whatever little thing they have, at best it's a bag of pretzels). If I were going to risk getting off the train I'd dash up the stairs and grab something from whatever the closest food place is depending on where you are.

But as bratkinson says, the food on the train is fine plus you can board with your first meal.

Thanks for the updates. For the coupons, I'm in the Chicago market, so my upgrade coupons are valued at the accommodation fee for STL-CHL, which is a max of $21. I found the first fare being $153. x2 value makes the coupons appear more to have more value in NE.

For this exercise on using instruments, looks like the best deal to upgrade would be to modify my BOGO, then cancel, then refund. After that, buy 2 tickets at $188, then using my 2 48hour upgrades to process an upgrade now. The main reason why I ask this is I might need to switch trains to an earlier or later departure. So it's nice to run through some alternate-options before a few days of crazy travel.

Thanks for the feedback on the logistics! If we stick to business, we'll look to bag-lunch out of WAS, then cafe NYP to BOS.

How was the trip?