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PaulM

PaulM

Engineer
Joined
Jun 27, 2008
Messages
2,352
Location
Quincy, IL
Every time someone complains that a route they are interested in isn't "published", someone will insist that it's to prevent round about (aka rail fan) AGR rewards.

I always point out that many direct routes are not published, whereas many bizarre ones are published. Here is the mother of all rail fan journeys. In case you don't have time to follow it all the way, its CHI to NYP

bizarre.jpg


That would be three zones, right? :wub:
 
No go! :(

I just tried it. At first, the agent said it would be 2 zones (CHI-NYP). But before she booked it, she checked with her lead (on her own) and said it would be 2 zones west and 3 zones east - a total of 5 zones! :(
 
the_traveler said:
No go! :(

I just tried it. At first, the agent said it would be 2 zones (CHI-NYP). But before she booked it, she checked with her lead (on her own) and said it would be 2 zones west and 3 zones east - a total of 5 zones! :(
Click to expand...
HUCA HUCA HUCA you are obviously receiving bad customer service
 
Start in WPT. That should be a valid three zone redemption if you start there.
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Yes, but Wolf Point to Atlanta is also listed, and it should be a valid 2-zone award. It seems to me that paying cash for Atlanta to New York in a roomette is better than spending an extra 15,000 points to change from a 2-zone to a 3-zone award.
Interestingly, Wolf Point to El Paso, which would be a 1-zone award, is not a published route.
 
Under the present AGR rules it appears you are looking at a two-zone trip to get from Chicago to the west coast and a three-zone trip to get from the west coast back to New York. AGR will not permit circle trips on a single award even if that trip appears as a valid itinerary on Amtrak.com. As soon as you reenter a zone in which you have already traveled, it's a circle trip and requires a separate award. The days of the so-called "loop hole" one award meandering odysseys are gone.
 
jis said:
What is interesting is that for the roomette fare you can fly round trip to almost anywhere in the world with competitive air service, if you select your travel date and itinerary with a little care.
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Indeed.

I've flown round trip to Europe and Asia on numerous occasions for substantially less than the coach fare on that itinerary. The roomette fare is more than enough to reach serious bucket list locations such as Kathmandu, the Maldives, and French Polynesia.
 
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jis said:
What is interesting is that for the roomette fare you can fly round trip to almost anywhere in the world with competitive air service, if you select your travel date and itinerary with a little care.
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Not only in terms of price, but also in terms of time. You could get from Chicago to virtually anywhere in the world, then back to New York in less time than

it takes on this itinerary.
 
That's not a valid routing for next week, but it is valid in September.

I'd be interested to know the logic chain inside Arrow that resulted in it deciding that your routing was a valid alternative to the LSL.
 
Bjartmarr said:
That's not a valid routing for next week, but it is valid in September.

I'd be interested to know the logic chain inside Arrow that resulted in it deciding that your routing was a valid alternative to the LSL.
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It's valid starting April 9. I think that before that there's a temporary, earlier departure time for the Sunset Limited, which breaks the connection with the Coast Starlight.

Logic? From Amtrak? I'll guess that in this case it spits out the routes that it has between the two cities. Why anyone programmed this one is certainly beyond my guess.
 
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My son was looking up a trip to give me as a surprise from Chicago to DC and it shows a similar route. He laughed when he saw it would be 45 hours on the EB and then was astounded when he looked further down the screen and realized the total trip is about 148 hours in length! Needless to say he got me booked on the Capital Limited. :)
 
Found a trip for September 23, 2015 going from Essex, Montana through Los Angeles then New Orleans then New York. I think it would be a legitimate 3-zone redemption(?) Funny though, can't get Amtrak to allow a reservation on the same route to San Antonio for the same day.
 
I ran into the same issue. Was thinking of changing my WPT-Houston ticket from Roomette to bedroom, but it's no longer bookable. But I can do WPT-ATL and just get off in Houston, I suppose.
 

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