double days returning?

[the_traveler]

That would be three segments but I'd only get AGR points for 2, right?? So it would be pointless to make a r/t in one day even if it were possible?

I'm not exactly sure of the exact rules, but it may be that you only earn double points on the first 2 and single points beyond that. Or it could be you earn the "100 point minimum" on the first 2 and only 2X beyond that. (A $26 ticket would earn 52 points.) Either way, you would earn AGR points for each segment.

 

[Anderson]

It did use to be 2 ROUND TRIPS or 4 ONE WAY SEGMENTS per day. If you go from NYP to HFD, you need to take 2 different train numbers, connecting in NHV. Do you only earn 2X one way? :huh:

Yes, they now cap the bonus at two segments per day, you can ride four segments but the second two to post don't get a bonus. If you ride more than 4 individual segments in one day the 5th and later segments to post doesn't earn you any points at all.

This started in around the Fall of 2012 if I'm recalling correctly, before all four segments could be doubled and infact tripled the few times they did a triple points week. I went up to New Haven to 'do' all the stations between New Haven and Hartford and earned 1,200 points on only $23 of Amtrak spend, (plus $23 of Metro-North tickets to get me up to New Haven)!

My understanding is that someone at some point decided to make S+ in one go by booking a hundred unreserved PHL-PAO tickets, got the conductor to take them and got the points for them, and then posted on FlyerTalk about pulling it off. It was at that point that AGR realized the potential problem they had and started cracking down on points runs such as we've seen (the daily segment caps, for example).

 

[benale]

I use the Keystones to get double points. $11.04 RT Senior fare from ELT to LNC or HAR. I traveled almost every week since September. One more run tomorrow and I'll have 1600 DD points and that will also put me over the top to renew Select for next year. Of course, double and bonus points don't count,but it's nice to get the extra points. I used 40,000 points for a two zone RT from TOL to SLO in a roomette next June,using The Empire Builder and Texas Eagle to maximize train time.

Nice. I had 188 points when I booked my trip in mid July. Now I'm back up to close to 4000 points for my next big adventure. Of all the rewards programs,it seems Amtrak gives you the best bang for the buck,and I love riding trains.

 

[BCL]

I use the Keystones to get double points. $11.04 RT Senior fare from ELT to LNC or HAR. I traveled almost every week since September. One more run tomorrow and I'll have 1600 DD points and that will also put me over the top to renew Select for next year. Of course, double and bonus points don't count,but it's nice to get the extra points. I used 40,000 points for a two zone RT from TOL to SLO in a roomette next June,using The Empire Builder and Texas Eagle to maximize train time.

Nice. I had 188 points when I booked my trip in mid July. Now I'm back up to close to 4000 points for my next big adventure. Of all the rewards programs,it seems Amtrak gives you the best bang for the buck,and I love riding trains.

I'm actually up to almost 5000 double points. I'm going to be 100 points shy of that by the end of the day. I threw in a few days with 3 minimum point segments, but at least that's getting me closer to Select Plus, so I'm sure that it's been at least 5000 TQPs since the current Double Days promotion started..

I'm thinking of maybe doing a 2 zone bedroom trip next year for my family of 3. I have plenty of Chase Sapphire Preferred points that I could transfer if I'm short. I was thinking maybe Emeryville to Chicago.

Right now I'm just making a mad dash to the finish line to try and make Select Plus. I was hoping maybe I could try some creative ways to add segments. Last year, the Capitol Corridor 50% weekend special made it really easy to collect quick/cheap points, because the discount also applied to the bus segments. I've tried some creative ways to add bus segments, but the promotional discount doesn't seem to apply to the bus portions.

 

[neutralist]

My understanding is that someone at some point decided to make S+ in one go by booking a hundred unreserved PHL-PAO tickets, got the conductor to take them and got the points for them, and then posted on FlyerTalk about pulling it off. It was at that point that AGR realized the potential problem they had and started cracking down on points runs such as we've seen (the daily segment caps, for example).

well thats free revenue for Amtrak, one trip paid a hundred times.

 

[BCL]

My understanding is that someone at some point decided to make S+ in one go by booking a hundred unreserved PHL-PAO tickets, got the conductor to take them and got the points for them, and then posted on FlyerTalk about pulling it off. It was at that point that AGR realized the potential problem they had and started cracking down on points runs such as we've seen (the daily segment caps, for example).

well thats free revenue for Amtrak, one trip paid a hundred times.

However, it sort of defeats the purpose of having a loyalty program. It's not simply about revenue, but about loyalty to the service. Personally that sounds like abuse of the program. The point is to actually ride, even if it's some random trip to nowhere to collect points.

Heck - I've encountered a few cases of "What are you trying to pull?" Once was a conductor who thought I was wasting his time buying a ticket on the train when I had the Amtrak app on my phone. I've had conductors look at my itinerary and ask if I was doing it for AGR points. I've even requested a paper ticket (I like having it out while my phone stays in my pocket) and didn't get it.

 

[Anderson]

My understanding is that someone at some point decided to make S+ in one go by booking a hundred unreserved PHL-PAO tickets, got the conductor to take them and got the points for them, and then posted on FlyerTalk about pulling it off. It was at that point that AGR realized the potential problem they had and started cracking down on points runs such as we've seen (the daily segment caps, for example).

well thats free revenue for Amtrak, one trip paid a hundred times.

However, it sort of defeats the purpose of having a loyalty program. It's not simply about revenue, but about loyalty to the service. Personally that sounds like abuse of the program. The point is to actually ride, even if it's some random trip to nowhere to collect points.

Heck - I've encountered a few cases of "What are you trying to pull?" Once was a conductor who thought I was wasting his time buying a ticket on the train when I had the Amtrak app on my phone. I've had conductors look at my itinerary and ask if I was doing it for AGR points. I've even requested a paper ticket (I like having it out while my phone stays in my pocket) and didn't get it.

Also, if the benefits get too juicy...in such a situation, with a Double Days going on and someone with Select Plus status at the time you'd multiply that 10000 points by 2.5 (so 25,000 points). Under a case like that, you're looking at maybe $500 in revenue for Amtrak (depending on the actual price paid and any discounts) against a cost for those points to Amtrak of anywhere from $250-1000.

Edit: To be fair, I've managed to pretty much make SE with relatively little travel on the NEC proper, which tends to sort of "break" the system...but the ability to have a nice day in Washington followed by a nice dinner on the way home is something that is hard to underestimate the value of.

 

[BCL]

My understanding is that someone at some point decided to make S+ in one go by booking a hundred unreserved PHL-PAO tickets, got the conductor to take them and got the points for them, and then posted on FlyerTalk about pulling it off. It was at that point that AGR realized the potential problem they had and started cracking down on points runs such as we've seen (the daily segment caps, for example).

well thats free revenue for Amtrak, one trip paid a hundred times.

However, it sort of defeats the purpose of having a loyalty program. It's not simply about revenue, but about loyalty to the service. Personally that sounds like abuse of the program. The point is to actually ride, even if it's some random trip to nowhere to collect points.

Heck - I've encountered a few cases of "What are you trying to pull?" Once was a conductor who thought I was wasting his time buying a ticket on the train when I had the Amtrak app on my phone. I've had conductors look at my itinerary and ask if I was doing it for AGR points. I've even requested a paper ticket (I like having it out while my phone stays in my pocket) and didn't get it.

Also, if the benefits get too juicy...in such a situation, with a Double Days going on and someone with Select Plus status at the time you'd multiply that 10000 points by 2.5 (so 25,000 points). Under a case like that, you're looking at maybe $500 in revenue for Amtrak (depending on the actual price paid and any discounts) against a cost for those points to Amtrak of anywhere from $250-1000.

Edit: To be fair, I've managed to pretty much make SE with relatively little travel on the NEC proper, which tends to sort of "break" the system...but the ability to have a nice day in Washington followed by a nice dinner on the way home is something that is hard to underestimate the value of.

I don't necessarily get the value of points. That I can do a 1:1 transfer of Chase Sapphire Preferred points makes me value the points at one cent per point, since I can get a $100 gift card for 10,000 points. So 25,000 points (worth $250 in my book) gets me a one zone bedroom, which would otherwise cost over $1000 (EMY-CHI).

Also - isn't there an issue with those short trips, where the conductors might not lift the tickets and sometimes don't care? They figure you've gotten the trip, so why bother them trying to account for it. I could have made SE on the basis of 50 RIC-BKY-EMY-OKJ-OAC multi-city trips that would get 400 TQPs each for $9 with promo code V763. That would be $450. However, the conductors see that itinerary and think the passenger is just a little bit too obsessed. I remember reading about the AU Gathering where they were talking about seeking a conductor to make sure their multiple Emeryville to Berkeley (2.1 miles) tickets got lifted. I would have liked to seen that.

However, I'm really just trying to get this status as part of my regular commute. It would actually be cheaper for me to buy a 10-ride ticket, and easier in terms of having to get a new parking permit at EMY each day (I get a long-term permit if I show them a 10-ride). I'm willing to pay a little bit more. That $108 10-ride gets me 216 points. However, I can take 10 of those rides for $13.50 each and collect 1000 points. Or even get tricky with a multi-city intinerary (like this morning) and make it 1500 or even 2000 points. Or spend less by getting a ticket starting at OAC or HAY.

Yeah - I know this is sort of gaming the system, but it's costing me time. I'm also finding excuses to have stopovers, which cost money. You gotta have some sort of hobby.

 

[William W.]

The value of points changes based on what on the cash value of the redemption is.

If I use 20,000 points to book a ticket that normally costs $400, the value of each point is $0.02. Cash value / the number of points used gives you the value of each point.

 

[BCL]

The value of points changes based on what on the cash value of the redemption is.

If I use 20,000 points to book a ticket that normally costs $400, the value of each point is $0.02. Cash value / the number of points used gives you the value of each point.

However, it's not quite the same as other rewards programs in that there's flat rate redemption categories based on zones or routes. Other AGR redemption categories like gift cards where 10,000 points gets you a $100 Applebee's gift card. 9000 points gets me 6 redemption on a special route. End to end on Capitol Corridor is $40. End to end on the San Joaquin is $48. That doesn't even account for the possibility of bus routes being allowed on the same 1500 point redemption. Oakland to Los Angeles on the San Joaquin and an associated bus is $59.

There are some airline rewards programs that are based strictly on retail fares. Southwest's points costs for a flight are proportional to the retail cost of a flight, although if you value one point as worth a penny, they provide a "sale price" relative to that. The other thing about Southwest's program is that their points awarded are based on the price of a ticket, unlike the traditional mileage model.

 

[BCL]

So now that it's over, what are AU members' double point totals? My tally was 5100.

I went crazy and figured it was about time to make a push to S+. I renewed at least Select during the promotion and figured Double Days was a good time to make the push for even more points. I even pushed a few three min segment days although no four min segment days, even though it doesn't double past the second min segment.

Every single segment during this promotion was the min 100 points for me, and I somehow managed more than 5000 points. I didn't tally the number of TQPs, but altogether I'm guessing I have enough points with the TQPs, 25% Select bonus, and double points for a couple of one zone coach tickets or maybe even a roomette. And nearly all of this was really just my commute where I'd otherwise be spending money on gas as well as wear and tear on my car.

I'm less than 1500 points from making S+. I was hoping maybe Capitol Corridor would bring back the weekend 50% off promotion (400 TQPs for less than $12 in my case taking less than 2.5 hours) but I suppose turning a commute trip into a points run makes more sense given that I'm already spending money getting to work and recent horrendous traffic is insane. It's nice just kicking back on the train.

 

[CHamilton]

Mine was 5,174. I would have gotten another 444 if they had ended the promotion on the 15th rather than the 14th, as I left from Sacramento on the CS at 11:59pm on the 15th!

 

[AmtrakBlue]

1204 But better than nothing.

That's just the bonus points.

 

[Barciur]

2344. Not bad for someone who travels strictly for leisure.