Recent content by jpeterson

I've had (Amtrak-standard) tasty meals on both. The presentation of Acela First is, in my opinion, nicer. If I was forced to rank meal services I've experienced, I'd say (1) Acela First -- if not for the quality, then for the fact that there's typically something new every season; (2) Auto...

I had a number of similar issues earlier this year with missing multipliers. Further, upgrades with vouchers from Business to First on Acela incorrectly wipe out the original Business 25%. According to FlyerTalk, one can just call in to fix but I have not worked up the motivation to do so just...

I saw this too, but by the time I was at the penultimate step to purchasing the ticket, I finally saw a price in points (and it seemed reasonable).

Mondays and Fridays I tend to avoid because I expect them to be busy (so not very helpful for that info). Tuesdays through Thursdays are definitely less packed but it also depends on where you're traveling between. WAS-NYP is pretty busy these days while north of NY, it's noticeably lighter. I...

This far out, fares for either NER or Acela look to be as cheap as they're going to be (barring any fare deals, which are possible). Of note, Acela travel is usually exempted from any fare passes or multi-ride passes, though the Regional should be applicable. In any case, just be sure to...

If you want to take Acela, I wouldn't count on any deals in the next few months. Fares have been quite pricy of late and looks that way for the medium-term. Even moreso if you're booking First Class.

As an Annapolitan, I would love this.

Something of note--and it makes sense why--since late January, Acela First has gone from what feels like half full to now elbow-to-elbow both northbound and southbound*. *I've been taking 2158 northbound from BWI and either 2155 from PHL or 2159 from NYP on Wednesdays or Thursdays weekly. Last...

You do. Your base calculation becomes 2 * ([Price of original ticket] + [Cost to bid up]). Then calculate class of service bonus plus any other applicable bonuses for you. Also, point calculations are rounded down to the nearest whole number if something causes a non-integer value anywhere in...