1 zone reward question

[AAARGH!]

I can't seem to find this on the AGR website....

If I want to go coach class from Pittsburgh to Portland, ME (all in the Eastern zone - Pennsylvanian, Regional, Downeaster), would that be one reward (5500 points) or three (one per train)?

Sort of the same thing, WAS to Montreal (Regional connecting to the Adirondack), one or two rewards?

Taking it a step further, if I wanted to go from Pittsburgh to Montreal (Penny, Adirondack), I assume because these two are not connecting trains, it would be two rewards, correct???

 

[PRR 60]

I can't seem to find this on the AGR website....
If I want to go coach class from Pittsburgh to Portland, ME (all in the Eastern zone - Pennsylvanian, Regional, Downeaster), would that be one reward (5500 points) or three (one per train)?

Sort of the same thing, WAS to Montreal (Regional connecting to the Adirondack), one or two rewards?

Taking it a step further, if I wanted to go from Pittsburgh to Montreal (Penny, Adirondack), I assume because these two are not connecting trains, it would be two rewards, correct???

As long as you simply connect from one train to the next, as defined by what the Amtrak reservation system provides as a routing, then it is one trip and takes just a single one-zone award. So, Pittsburgh to Portland ME is one award: Washington to Montreal is one award.

The Pittsburgh to Montreal example requires an overnight in New York to make it work. Even though that is not an itinerary that the Amtrak reservation system would construct, I believe that AGR will book it as a single award despite the overnight at NYC. There are other examples like that (Coast Starlight to Sunset Limited), and they just force the overnight connection. Since you are leaving on the next train to your destination, it should still be considered a connection, and not a stop over.

 

[the_traveler]

An AGR award level includes all trains (and in most cases, Thruway buses) to go from your origination point to your destination point.

As an example, if you wanted to go from Miami to SF, naturally Amtrak does not run trains to SF (it may try, but it doesn't run on water very well :lol: ) - but MIA to SFC is only a 3 zone trip. You would take a Silver train, the CL, the CZ and a Thruway bus EMY-SFC. Or if you go on the infamous loophole trip from SDL-LAX, you would take the Crescent, CZ, EB and CS - but it would only be a 2 zone award even though there are 4 trains!

 

[HP_Lovecraft]

DC to Montreal would be a Northeast reward. Just 3000 points instead of 5500. I pretty good bargain.

On that same note, you could buy a regular ticket from Pitttsburg to Harrisburg, then go from Harrisburg to Portland on 3000 points.