Acela BOS to NYP

[Cumbres]

I will be traveling in the northeast with my wife and two daughters this April and we have booked the Acela for a trip south from Bos to Nyp.

I just qualified for Amtrak Select and, from what I can gather, I will be receiving an upgrade coupon in the mail. It would be nice if I could snag a couple more and then present a combination of coupons and cash to my local agent to upgrade everyone to first class. It's their first Acela experience and I think it would be a cool Christmas present to upgrade.

I notice that some upgrade coupons are for sale on eBay and the sellers claim that they are transferrable. However, I have also heard that Amtrak forbids people selling their coupons and that I may have difficulty getting them honored when I go to my local station agent.

I really shouldn't spend $80 per ticket for this upgrade, but, if I could get 2-3 coupons it would be doable to pay for the rest.

Should I try to snag the ones on eBay?

Also, is there a preferred side for scenery when traveling south from Bos?

Thanks for this forum; a search already answered my question about bag storage in Bos.

 

[AG1]

First of all you, should receive 3 upgrade coupons with your select package that usually will arrive in late February . You might receive an immediate mailing with your temporary card PDF and coupon(s) if this is your first time at Select .

Regarding Ebay, you might be the one to be snagged ! Someone on this forum with extra coupons might contact you by Private Message.

The ocean side has the best scenery (for kids), however the large windows on the Acela make either side OK for me.

 

[amamba]

You should have enough coupons for everyone in the family when you get your select packet. You can also buy some with your AGR points. The only issue is that the ones that we all have now expire at the end of February or March 2013, so no one probably even has coupons right now that will be good in April. So please BEWARE of those ebay forums. I wouldn't use them.

 

[Cumbres]

Thanks for the advice!

I just got outbid on one of the upgrades anyway. I just qualified for Select for the first time at the end of November. I will send an email to AGR to see if there is a way I can go ahead and redeem the upgrade coupons now so that the first class booking can be "under the tree."

Getting to the station my be a little tight for the 1 pm departure and I would like to leave our bags there in the morning. Would it make sense to leave them with a red cap?

 

[AG1]

Sorry, but the coupons can only be applied during a time window before departure. There are "12 hour upgrade coupons" for Select status and "48 hour upgrade coupons" given for Select Plus status.The AGR point purchased coupons are also "12 hour upgrade coupons". You take the chance of First Class being sold out at peak times. It happens.

You can set up the upgrade via telephone only during the 12 hour window and then present the coupon to an agent for new tickets.This takes time.I suggest 30 -45 minutes before departure.