Any way to make this trip in one redemption?

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C

ceblack

Train Attendant
Joined
Feb 15, 2007
Messages
69
Location
California
Bottom Line Up Front: Is there any way to get a trip EMY -> LAX (CS), LAX ->CHI (SWC), CHI -> WAS (Cardinal) as one 3-zone AGR redemption?

Background: I will be taking the wife and kids to a family reunion back east next summer. We will be going from the San Francisco Bay area to Washington D.C. Due to time restrictions, we plan to take the train one direction and fly the other way. The way the dates are working out, it looks like it will be the eastbound trip (EMY to WAS) that will be on the train. Unfortunately, the only all-train schedule for that direction that comes up on Amtrak.com is the California Zephyr to either the Capitol Limited or Cardinal. While the CZ is a dynamite ride, we take it often to see relatives back in Colorado, so we were hoping to take a different route between the west coast and Chicago on this trip. We've never taken the Coast Starlight south from the Bay Area, and with rumors always swirling regarding the Southwest Chief being rerouted, we thought it would be wise to get a ride over Raton and see the semaphores while we have the chance.

There are tons of great options on the reverse route, but going eastbound from the Bay Area to D.C. the first part of the trip is either CZ or take a bus and San Joaquin/Surfliner to Los Angeles to catch the Southwest Chief. For any train ride over a couple hours, anything less than a roomette is probably a non-starter for the wife. And bus is kind of a four letter word to her (and me, too) after some unpleasant bustitutions on previous Amtrak trips. I suppose the San Joaquin to Bakersfield and bus to LA wouldn't be too bad, but it sure ain't the Coast Starlight in sleeper class between EMY and LAX from either a comfort or scenery standpoint.

The weird thing is, if I just wanted to go to Chicago, the CS -> SWC routing shows up, even with the overnight in LA. Could I book that as an AGR redemption first and then try to modify it from a 2-zone redemption to a 3-zone going all the way to D.C.?

If not, are there any other tactics, tips, or tricks that might allow me to get the Coast Starlight -> Southwest Chief -> Cardinal routing on one AGR redemption? (Start from a station other than EMY? Just hope I get an AGR agent having a good day?)

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or ideas.
 
The bus from Bakersfield to LA is really not a bad ride. I've done it several times and never had a bad experience. The San Joaquin is a comfortable train ride from ENY to Bakersfield.

And you could use this route with the SWC to go east on a 3-One trip, if you book before Jan 26.
 
If you are in a roomette, then you can book EMY-Albuquerque for one zone (15k points) and then ABQ-WAS as a two zone (20k points). The total is the same as one three zone redemption (35k points). This method does not work in a bedroom or coach. In a bedroom, it will cost you a 5k point premium to book it this way - 65k vs. 60k. In coach it is a 3k premium - 10.5k vs. 13.5k.
 
Jersey42 has the best solution if you want the Starlight and SWC!! Bedrooms are the way to Roll if available!

Remember to book it by Jan 23,2016 when the New and Unimproved AGR2.0 takes effect.( these are popular Trains so booking ASAP is a good idea!)
 
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It is all based on the published route redemption rule. If you can pull up the routing on Amtrak.com, it is a published route and you can have it (at least until January when it is all price based and you can do what you want...probably using more points).

EMY-WAS via the Starlight, the Southwest Chief and the Capitol Limited is a published route, despite the overnight layover in LA. However, via the Cardinal it is not. Based on what AGR Insider posts in Flyertalk, the routes are actually manually constructed and configured in Arrow and not done by algorithm, so it is what routings they think are logical and/or had enough requests for.

There is a way around it though. For a roomette, a 2 zone + a 1 zone is the same number of points as a 3 zone. So you could do EMY-CHI 2 zone redemption and CHI-WA 1 zone redemption. However, for a bedroom, that same strategy is 5000 points more.

If you were to do it, I would break it up in Chicago, not Albuquerque, since EMY-CHI via 11 and 4 is now a published route (it didn't used to be, and would have been nice a couple of years ago when I tried something similar) and there would be less possibility for confusion with not having 2 tickets on the same train.

One other thing, while having 3 people in a bedroom is within the maximum capacity for the bedroom, the recommended capacity is 2 people. AGR only honors the recommended capacity, not the maximum.

Remember, it all will change in January when they go to a price based redemption scheme and you can do whatever you have enough points for.
 
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zephyr17 said:
There is a way around it though. For a roomette, a 2 zone + a 1 zone is the same number of points as a 3 zone. So you could do EMY-CHI 2 zone redemption and CHI-WA 1 zone redemption. However, for a bedroom, that same strategy is 5000 points more.

If you were to do it, I would break it up in Chicago, not Albuquerque, since EMY-CHI via 11 and 4 is now a published route (it didn't used to be, and would have been nice a couple of years ago when I tried something similar) and there would be less possibility for confusion with not having 2 tickets on the same train.
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The break in CHI works, but I suggested breaking at ABQ because it keeps it as a 1-zone + a 2-zone award. If you do the break at CHI, then you have two 2-zone awards which will cost more points.
 
Concur. You may be able to break at CIN, that would help you obtain the Cardinal over the Cap.

Two tickets for the same train isn't an issue - when you call in they'll be able to help you get the same room on both reservations.
 
Ryan said:
Concur. You may be able to break at CIN, that would help you obtain the Cardinal over the Cap.

Two tickets for the same train isn't an issue - when you call in they'll be able to help you get the same room on both reservations.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately CIN won't work either because EMY-LAX-CIN with the overnight in Los Angeles is not a published route. The good news is ABQ-WAS on the Southwest Chief and the Cardinal is a published route so you will be fine. You just need to plan around the three day per week schedule of the Cardinal. Good luck.
 

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