I want to take a trip using points

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Bigval109

OBS Chief
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
525
Location
Richmond VA
I live in zone one nec Richmond VA. We want to go to LA in a sleeper. So We want to use my points from the start of zone 2 to LA round trip. The trouble is since I live in NEC I will need to buy 2 tickets to the beginning of zone 2. Will the conductor let us into the sleeper if I give him both tickets or will he come and get me in the middle of the night to go to the sleeper? Or could I possibly upgrade on board to the sleeper I will be in?
 
Maybe, maybe and yes.

Another :ph34r: idea - if a coach ticket is cheaper than a ticket to the zone border you are thinking about (and you love extra train time :lol: ) - is to buy a ticket from your station to Atlanta, GA! :D ATL happens to be a border city. Thus, it is in the Midwest zone.

From ATL, it is a 2 zone award to LAX! However due to the routing of the Crescent, you must travel via either CVS or WAS to head west! B) And if you have a sleeper award, ALL nights (including on the Crescent) are in a sleeper! B) And as a bonus, you may even take the infamous loophole trip (via PDX) from ATL to LAX! :D

EDIT - Or by getting a coach award from your station to ATL and then a 2 zone sleeper award ATL-LAX, the total point cost for 1 person drops from 35K/50K for a 3 zone sleeper award to 25.5K/35.5K for 3+ zones! :p
 
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I live in zone one nec Richmond VA. We want to go to LA in a sleeper. So We want to use my points from the start of zone 2 to LA round trip. The trouble is since I live in NEC I will need to buy 2 tickets to the beginning of zone 2.
If you mean per person, that's wrong. If you mean total, that's correct. A 1 zone ticket will get you to the border of zone 2. The problem is two coach 1 zone tickets total 11,000 points. You might as well get a roomette for 4000 more.

Will the conductor let us into the sleeper if I give him both tickets or will he come and get me in the middle of the night to go to the sleeper? Or could I possibly upgrade on board to the sleeper I will be in?
If you try this trick, do it on the Cardinal, as it crosses the zone border in Cincinnati at 1AM (versus 5AM for the CL or LSL).
 
Another option, the big "2-zone loophole" from Atlanta to LA. It connects in DC.

It would be possible to get from DC to LA and back just using TWO 2-zone awards.

Just do not use the ticket from DC-ATL & ATL-DC

This is assuming it would be allowed. I know the airlines really hate this practice.

Years ago, flights to LA were much cheaper then flights to Houston, even though the LA flight connects in houston. So, I would just not reboard in Houston.

However, these days, the airline will void the return ticket if you did that.
 
Another option, the big "2-zone loophole" from Atlanta to LA. It connects in DC.
Just do not use the ticket from DC-ATL & ATL-DC

This is assuming it would be allowed.
Although Amtrak would not just void the trip (because it takes a few days for the tickets to get processed), I wouldn't be surprised to find another 15,000 points removed from your account because you boarded in zone 1 instead of zone 2! Or worse yet, they could CLOSE the loophole and move the border along the Crescent line to NOL! :( (That would ruin it for all of us! :angry: )

I personally would rather spend 5,500 for a coach reward, have a few extra miles and a few extra nights on the train - and save ~10K points! :)
 
Another option, the big "2-zone loophole" from Atlanta to LA. It connects in DC.
(That would ruin it for all of us! :angry: )

I personally would rather spend 5,500 for a coach reward, have a few extra miles and a few extra nights on the train - and save ~10K points! :)

Just wondering how long has the loophole been there and how long do you count on it lasting?
 
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Just wondering how long has the loophole been there and how long do you count on it lasting?
It's been around a few years. At one time, the border between the East and Midwest zones was the CONO with CHI, MEM, NOL and in fact all CONO station in both the East and Midwest zones! Then they revised the borders to TOL, CIN and ATL. But that left the stations between ATL and SDL with the loophole!

How long will it last? Who knows! But I would not to be the one who caused it to be closed - because I booked from ATL to get a 2 zone award but got on in WAS instead!

There was a time also that you could get a 100 point minimum per segment (even on the same train). But I think it was abused royally, and that loophole was closed, and is now only for different number trains. And recently, it got restricted more to no more than 4 segments per day!
 
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Just wondering how long has the loophole been there and how long do you count on it lasting?
It's been around a few years. At one time, the border between the East and Midwest zones as the CONO with CHI, MEM, NOL and in fact all CONO station in both the East and Midwest zones! Then they revised the borders to TOL, CIN and ATL. But that left the stations between ATL and SDL with the loophole!
I've been in AGR since it was created, joined within the first week in fact, and I don't recall the zones ever being different than they are today. The only real changes to awards, beyond increases in certain categories, was the creation of the Northeast zone and the 1,000 point special trains.
 
Just wondering how long has the loophole been there and how long do you count on it lasting?
It's been around a few years. At one time, the border between the East and Midwest zones as the CONO with CHI, MEM, NOL and in fact all CONO station in both the East and Midwest zones! Then they revised the borders to TOL, CIN and ATL. But that left the stations between ATL and SDL with the loophole!
I've been in AGR since it was created, joined within the first week in fact, and I don't recall the zones ever being different than they are today. The only real changes to awards, beyond increases in certain categories, was the creation of the Northeast zone and the 1,000 point special trains.

So that means Amtrak has figured it out right :blink: and even if they do will they care and close it up or just let it go. I mean I guess it hurts them when people end up on the EB and then the CS lol but does it really matter in the grand scheme of amtrak things?
 
I've been in AGR since it was created, joined within the first week in fact, and I don't recall the zones ever being different than they are today. The only real changes to awards, beyond increases in certain categories, was the creation of the Northeast zone and the 1,000 point special trains.
It was before I joined AGR, but I clearly recall seeing a zone chart showing

  • the East zone to include cities like BOS, WAS, ORL, CHI, MEM and NOL
  • the Midwest zone to include CHI, MEM, NOL, ELP, ABQ, DEN and WPT
  • the West zone to include WPT, DEN, ABQ, ELP. LAX, EMY, PDX and SEA
 
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I've been in AGR since it was created, joined within the first week in fact, and I don't recall the zones ever being different than they are today. The only real changes to awards, beyond increases in certain categories, was the creation of the Northeast zone and the 1,000 point special trains.
It was before I joined AGR, but I clearly recall seeing a zone chart showing

  • the East zone to include cities like BOS, WAS, ORL, CHI, MEM and NOL
  • the Midwest zone to include CHI, MEM, NOL, ELP, ABQ, DEN and WPT
  • the West zone to include WPT, DEN, ABQ, ELP. LAX, EMY, PDX and SEA
Back in March of 2001:

http://web.archive.org/web/20010405142714/...&CATEGORY=T

The redemption chart and zones look remarkably as today....
 
So the "loophole" has been around for a number of years. I'm sure that AGR must know about it then. As long as it's not abused (like booking from ATL but boarding in WAS), I hope it will stay! (I'm sure that I'm not the only one either.)
 
So the "loophole" has been around for a number of years. I'm sure that AGR must know about it then. As long as it's not abused (like booking from ATL but boarding in WAS), I hope it will stay! (I'm sure that I'm not the only one either.)
I'm about to try and book a loophole trip as well. I want to end up in Seattle from Slidell. And when I type it in to the reservation system, it gives me a choice of via LAX on the SWC, then the Starlight. I'm trying to get it to go on the Zephyr though.
 
So the "loophole" has been around for a number of years. I'm sure that AGR must know about it then.
I agree- I think its a matter of simple logistics.

The current "zone" method is an extremely simple way to administrate a "Frequent Rider Program". The AGR staff does not even need to understand rail, or amtrak, or anything. They just use the same system we use, and basically BUY our tickets for us.

Plus, while the Slidell to LA is a "loophole" for some, for someone who wants to go from DC to Chicago the 2-zone trip seems much less cost effecient. I'm sure AGR just looks at it as it all balances in the end.

(Granted, you could do DC-Chicago as a one zone by doing DC-Port Huron, but anyway)

For me, I could take a 2-Zone trip from Portland, Maine to El Paso, Texas. No "loophole" but almost the same amount of time in a train as the Slidell-LA one. Cost is about the same as well.
 
Except for the Sunset East, there never (as far as Amtrak) were any same day connections in NOL between the Crescent, CONO and SL.
Same day? The Sunset Limited didn't even connect with itself same-day!
If you were lucky, you could connect from the southbound CONO (mid afternoon) to the Sunset East (late evening) in NOL. With luck, I think you might also have connected from the southbound Crescent to the Sunset East. And with a lot of luck, the Sunset West and Sunset East ran through and connected! :rolleyes:
 
So the "loophole" has been around for a number of years. I'm sure that AGR must know about it then. As long as it's not abused (like booking from ATL but boarding in WAS), I hope it will stay! (I'm sure that I'm not the only one either.)
The agr lady told me that my trip would be cancelled if I tried to use that path atl to okj and get on in was. She did tell me I could use it on the way back and get off the train in was if I wanted. So I used your ideas for my trip by booking from lax back to atl with points but I will get off in was on my way home.then take a train to ric from was home. What I want to know is what do I do with the ticket from was to atl. And would it help if I cancelled that segment of my trip when I get to washington?
 
What I want to know is what do I do with the ticket from was to atl. And would it help if I cancelled that segment of my trip when I get to washington?
DO NOT (UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES) CANCEL YOUR WAS-ATL SEGMENT! If you do so, you will have taken a 3-zone award trip (LAX-WAS) - and you will be charged for a 3-zone award! :eek:
So what should I do. Will there be any problem for me not getting on the was to atl train? I have purchased a ticket from was to ric inorder to get home.
 
What I want to know is what do I do with the ticket from was to atl. And would it help if I cancelled that segment of my trip when I get to washington?
DO NOT (UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES) CANCEL YOUR WAS-ATL SEGMENT! If you do so, you will have taken a 3-zone award trip (LAX-WAS) - and you will be charged for a 3-zone award! :eek:
So what should I do. Will there be any problem for me not getting on the was to atl train? I have purchased a ticket from was to ric inorder to get home.
Don't cancel the WAS-ATL segment. Just no-show and don't use it. Take your WAS-RIC (actually RVR is Amtrak-speak) home. After you no-show, Amtrak might put the hidden-city two and two together after the fact, but I doubt it. However, if you call and cancel, you will have done the math for them. It's too bad that they system is set up in such a way that this has to be done, but it is.
 
What I want to know is what do I do with the ticket from was to atl. And would it help if I cancelled that segment of my trip when I get to washington?
DO NOT (UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES) CANCEL YOUR WAS-ATL SEGMENT! If you do so, you will have taken a 3-zone award trip (LAX-WAS) - and you will be charged for a 3-zone award! :eek:
So what should I do. Will there be any problem for me not getting on the was to atl train? I have purchased a ticket from was to ric inorder to get home.
Don't cancel the WAS-ATL segment. Just no-show and don't use it. Take your WAS-RIC (actually RVR is Amtrak-speak) home. After you no-show, Amtrak might put the hidden-city two and two together after the fact, but I doubt it. However, if you call and cancel, you will have done the math for them. It's too bad that they system is set up in such a way that this has to be done, but it is.
So I just keep the was to atl tickets as a souvineer. Then take the was to rvr train on home. Is that correct? Will this come back to haunt me the next agr trip I take? Thanks for all your help. With all this stuff going on in the world I need a train ride to get my nerves together.
 
So I just keep the was to atl tickets as a souvineer. Then take the was to rvr train on home. Is that correct? Will this come back to haunt me the next agr trip I take?
Yes, yes and it shouldn't.
Well I'm all set just waiting for MAY :) The way things are going right now in the country I really need a train ride to get my nerves together. Pray for our country.
 
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