We are hoping to plan a trip on the EB, CS and CZ this September leaving from and returning to Chicago, and I have close to 20,000 AGR points. We had a roomette before but really want to treat ourselves to a bedroom this time. What will the 20,000 points get me? Would it be worth it to buy more points? Thanks for your help.
What
amamba said is true. If you look at the reward chart, you look to see what zone you begin in and what zone you end in to determine how many points you need. You mentioned you would like the EB, CS and CZ and you said leaving from and returning to CHI. If you want to just ride and not stop to sightsee (to much), have I got a deal for you!
h34r:
As I said, look at the zones. A trip from Omaha, NE (OMA) to Columbus, WI (CBS) begins in the midwest zone and also ends in the midwest zone! Thus, it is a 1 zone award - and a bedroom "costs" 20,000 points! But due to the timing of the trains, an overnight would be required in CHI. So a loophole routing exists!
You take the CZ from OMA to SAC (Sacramento, CA), layover IIRC about 8-9 hours, take the CS from SAC to PDX (Portland, OR) and then the EB from PDX to CBS! This will give you 5 nights in a bedroom for only 20,000 points!
All you have to do is buy a
COACH ticket from CHI to OMA and buy a
COACH ticket from CBS to CHI. (There's a good chance you can occupy the room before OMA or after CBS, if you speak to the SCA and/or Conductor!)