There really are none in the east, because none of the east routes cross into the midwest zone (with an easy turn). The best you could do from WAS is buy (or redeem a coach award) to ATL - the zone border - and get a 2 zone loophole trip to the west coast!I think I read that most of them are in the central zone, and only a few in the east. (I'm in WAS).
Another one I just did: SAS-SDL (I actually got on in AUS)Slidell-HammondOmaha-Columbus
Kirkwood/Kansas City-Columbus
Palm Springs-Truckee
Or to make it 2 zones, ONA (Ontario, CA)-SDL (going via SAS/AUS, CHI and WAS)! I did this last year! ELP-SDL may work via CHI and WAS as a 1 zone trip too!Another one I just did: SAS-SDL (I actually got on in AUS)
Oh, come on now, that is just the Slidell Loophole and can be done with a ton of cities in the central zone. Does every city that can get the Slidell routing really need to be listed?Add SPI-NOL Springfield, IL to New Orleans via Texas Eagle to CHI, Capitol Limited to WAS and Crescent to NOL
Edit to add: Alton, IL to NOL & Carlinville, IL to NOL gives the same routing as above.
Mmm - no Slidell & New Orleans are not the same.Oh, come on now, that is just the Slidell Loophole and can be done with a ton of cities in the central zone. Does every city that can get the Slidell routing really need to be listed?Add SPI-NOL Springfield, IL to New Orleans via Texas Eagle to CHI, Capitol Limited to WAS and Crescent to NOL
Edit to add: Alton, IL to NOL & Carlinville, IL to NOL gives the same routing as above.
but they function the same in these situations.Mmm - no Slidell & New Orleans are not the same.Oh, come on now, that is just the Slidell Loophole and can be done with a ton of cities in the central zone. Does every city that can get the Slidell routing really need to be listed?Add SPI-NOL Springfield, IL to New Orleans via Texas Eagle to CHI, Capitol Limited to WAS and Crescent to NOL
Edit to add: Alton, IL to NOL & Carlinville, IL to NOL gives the same routing as above.
Since I was first told about the atlanta loophole it has become my favorite . However I can only use it coming back to the eastcoast . You can get off in washington. I'm hoping when I get enough points again maybe I'll ride down to atl in coach and then get the full use of it .There really are none in the east, because none of the east routes cross into the midwest zone (with an easy turn). The best you could do from WAS is buy (or redeem a coach award) to ATL - the zone border - and get a 2 zone loophole trip to the west coast!I think I read that most of them are in the central zone, and only a few in the east. (I'm in WAS).
That's what I do - because it cost less points! I redeem a 1 zone coach award to ATL for 5,500 points, (then actually buy an <$30 coach ticket to BHM - because it allows a 3 hour turn instead of 12 hours), then redeem a 2 zone loophole award to the west coast for 20,000 points (for a roomette) or 30,000 points (for a bedroom). This way, it costs 25,500 points for a roomette instead of 35,000 points! Or for a bedroom, it costs 35,500 points instead of 50,000 points!
And it can go back thru WAS!
Yes!Hey all you "loophole pros", would Raton, NM to Columbus, WI be considered a one zone ride? Looks to me like it is, but hard to believe AGR would book it that way.
Nice. Hope it stays that way.......Yes!Hey all you "loophole pros", would Raton, NM to Columbus, WI be considered a one zone ride? Looks to me like it is, but hard to believe AGR would book it that way.
In fact, anything between KWD/KCY and ABQ should be 1 zone to CBS!
Mrs. Ispolkom booked a 1-zone AGR trip ABQ-LAX-PDX-MOT last November, so Raton - Columbus shouldn't be any problem. It took a little work with the clerk, but they eventually saw it our way. On the other hand, the clerk positively wouldn't book MSP-CHI-ABQ, because of the required layover in Chicago.Hey all you "loophole pros", would Raton, NM to Columbus, WI be considered a one zone ride? Looks to me like it is, but hard to believe AGR would book it that way.
Who's got a list of 3-Zone loopholes? Oh wait, lemmie think. Hmmmmm.I went back through a lot of the old posts and copied down all the loophole routings I found, then checked them on Amtrak.com to get the total trip hours. (The times include stopovers, not just train time, because I was lazy and didn't feel like doing the extra math).
Note: I am not taking credit for discovering any of these loopholes. Everything on this list has been previously posted somewhere else on the AU forum.
1 Zone:
POS-SPI-GBB-EMY (120 hours)
OMA-SAC-PDX-CBS (110)
KCY-LAX-PDX-CBS (110)
CBS-PDX-SAC-DEN (99)
ELP-CHI-CVS-SDL or ELP-CHI-WAS-SDL (95)
ABQ-LAX-PDX-CBS (91)
SCH-LAX-DDG (83)
SDL-WAS-CHI-HMD (77)
ABQ-CHI-CVS-NOL (69)
ATL-WAS-CHI-DEN (61)
PTH-CHI-PGH-PHL-MIA (61)
WPT-CHI-CVS-ATL or WPT-CHI-WAS-ATL (61)
2 Zone:
SDL-WAS-CHI-SAC-SEA (135)
PDX-SAC-CHI-CVS-SDL (108) or PDX-SEA-CHI-WAS-SDL (91) or PDX-CHI-WAS-SDL (87)
AUS-SPI-GBB-SAC-PDX (104)
SDL-WAS-CHI-LAX (98)
ATL-WAS-CHI-LAX (87)
POR-BON-BBY-CHI-ELP (82)
Ooh, that's even better. Fixed my first post.Just for the sake of completeness, the KCY-CBS loophole has bCBSeen extended to be KWD-CBS (116 hrs)
I love Gilda Radner! :lol:Who's got a list of 3-Zone loopholes? Oh wait, lemmie think. Hmmmmm.
Actually, I believe OMA-SAC-PDX-CBS is only 99 hours.1 Zone:
OMA-SAC-PDX-CBS (110)
I was adding up the time on the train, not the total time between departure and arrival. That's the difference.Tuesday, March 09, 2010From: Omaha, NE (OMA)
To: Columbus, WI (CBS)
Morning Afternoon Evening $447.00 110 hr, 18 min$447.00
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