So, the boyfriend and I are taking a trip to visit his folks in Portland in August and we'd really like to take the train back home instead of flying since both of us despise flying. I just started using my AGR MC today and the 18000 bonus points are supposed to post in 6-8 weeks. Currently I only have 7000, so I can't book the room until those points post. My question, will 1-2 weeks be enough time to book a bedroom from PDX-SIM? Or am I just crazy to wait that long?
You are correct. You cannot book an AGR trip until the required points are in your account.
Whether rooms will be be available close-in to your travel date is anyone's guess. The Starlight has three sleepers, so that provides 15 bedrooms. Since AGR has no inventory limitation, if just one is left, it is yours. You can watch the availability by going to Amtrak.com and starting a booking for a bedroom. If you start a booking for 8 travellers, the system will tell you how many bedrooms are left up to 8.