Buddy, do you live in an area where stations are relatively close together? You're guaranteed a minimum of 100 points, so even if you pay $8 to ride to a station 20 miles away, you'll get those 100 points.
Additionally, Amtrak has a Double Days promotion right now, so you get 200 points. There is a limit to the number of trips that will earn double points each day, but it's still pretty fun and worth it to do "point runs".
For example, I live in KAL, and it's a 30-minute ride to BTL. If I buy the tickets in advance, it's around $8 each way. So, for $16, I can get 200 points on a normal day and 400 during Double Days. Since there are several trains that run between KAL and BTL, I can do that point run 3-4 times on a Saturday and Sunday.
The additional Double Day points themselves don't qualify for tier status, only the actual points for travel, but points are points.
You can still use them for travel, as long as it isn't a blackout date. I do point runs when we need another 1000-2000 points to get a roomette. In some cases, it's cheaper than buying points, and for those of us who buy 10,000 points every year (the limit), it's the only option unless we want to ask someone to buy points and then transfer them to our account.
