Recent content by bryan9

Stayed there twice on Amtrak layovers -- great hotel, great location, 5 minute walk from station, outstanding free breakfast.

I totally agree! Still, the language is ambiguous. It merely says that any qualifying activity under the new rules in the last 36 months will prevent point expiration. It doesn't say that this activity resets the expiration clock! I raised this point expressly with the AGR rep, who insisted...

No reservations are accepted for seats in the dome car. I imagine there will be a lot of competition for them! (I base this on my experiences with pre-Amtrak travel on western railroads during the 1950s and 1960s.) I noticed that the car is added to the train in Albany... surely there will be...

Just be aware that the new, more liberal reset rules do NOT apply retrospectively (according to what I was told) -- I have had monthly credit card earnings and multiple redemptions during the past three years, but my points will expire (I was told) unless I took a paid Amtrak trip before January...

I should have listed this among the context points in my first post (I'm adding it now), but I *have* had redemptions during the past three years -- I had one earlier this year! I told the AGR rep about this, but it didn't make any difference. I believe the implication here is that the new...

The implication of what I was told, I believe, is that the January transition does *not* reset the three-year clock. (This is what I have assumed - wrongly, as it turns out).

Thanks! I'm aware that I can redeem my points this fall under the present rules, even for 2016 travel, and that this will be advantageous. I plan to do so. However, I won't use all of my miles for my planned trip. Under the present rules, redemptions don't reset the expiration clock, so the...

Members with large point balances should give some thought to the possibility that their points will expire unexpectedly, based on a conversation I had with an AGR telephone rep yesterday. I explained my situation as follows: * Large point balance (115,000) largely from use of Chase AGR card...

Any news on when the new BofA Amtrak card will be available or what the points earnings will be? I'm using my Chase card again full time in an effort to build up points, but there's only three weeks to go...

It seems that some trains are always high bucket, like the Cardinal. Any others?

This is a pretty good example of a high-mileage, high-bucket itinerary that is penalized by the new redemption structure. But you can still make the trip via the Capitol Limited, and Zephyr/Coast Starlight or Empire Builder for a lot less (as low as $1072 for the July, 2016 dates I examined) --...

What really worries me is that changes will be made to the AGR Mastercard that significantly decrease the points earned simply by using the card. We rarely earn points by paying for our Amtrak travel -- and when we do, the number of points we earn is miniscule. What's made it possible for us to...

Paul, apologies, I did indeed grasp your very good point; just wanted to focus on the lower fare that I found. -- Bryan

Maybe I just got lucky, but for 1/11/2016, I got a $910 fare for a one-way roomette trip DEN-ORL. This will cost 31,395 points under AGR 2.0 according to the calculator. Did you price a round-trip by any chance? If so, the points required today would be 40,000, not 20,000.

I used to use amsnag for this (http://biketrain.net/amsnag/amSnag.php), but it seems to be down... does anyone know what's up with the site? PaulM said: "Your points are going away," but this depends a lot on the route, bucket, compartment vs. bedroom, etc. One conclusion I'm adding to my...