Lounge Access-without same day ticket

[TinCan782]

The only remaining reason for getting Select Plus is to get the additional AGR points. It is not really worth doing anything special to get it. If one reaches it in normal course of things. If not c'est la vie.

Also turns out, now that I don;t go to Penn Station that often, and half the time when I do it is by Sleeper, I really don't have an opportunity to exercise my Lounge rights as much as I did before. Similarly when I am in Chicago I am either doing Sleeper or Business Class. Don;t do METRA much.

The past couple of years, and my upcoming travel this summer, our Amtrak travel was points redemptions so, no earning that way even though I am Select Plus and my wife is Select. It's likely we will drop a tier next year. Our trips are always sleeper or business depending on train so, we've got lounge access anyway.
The vast majority of our points earnings are via the credit card so "status" doesn't change our earnings that much. It's likely next year's travel will be paid.
Its a cycle: one year we earn points, the next we spend them!

 

[bms]

Missed this topic the first time around, but I think the reason they require a same-day ticket is because of the Legacy Club debacle.

Amtrak offered membership in the Legacy Club in Chicago Union Station for $500 a year. If you were a member, you could bring up to 4 guests. The club had two daily happy hours, offering each person 3 drinks each.

So for $500 a year, someone's entire crew of 5 people could get 6 drinks a day, every day. Enough people actually did that, which forced Amtrak to close the Legacy Club.

https://www.scivision.dev/chicago-union-station-legacy-club/

 

[railiner]

Missed this topic the first time around, but I think the reason they require a same-day ticket is because of the Legacy Club debacle.

Amtrak offered membership in the Legacy Club in Chicago Union Station for $500 a year. If you were a member, you could bring up to 4 guests. The club had two daily happy hours, offering each person 3 drinks each.

So for $500 a year, someone's entire crew of 5 people could get 6 drinks a day, every day. Enough people actually did that, which forced Amtrak to close the Legacy Club.

https://www.scivision.dev/chicago-union-station-legacy-club/

Missed this topic the first time around, but I think the reason they require a same-day ticket is because of the Legacy Club debacle.

Amtrak offered membership in the Legacy Club in Chicago Union Station for $500 a year. If you were a member, you could bring up to 4 guests. The club had two daily happy hours, offering each person 3 drinks each.

So for $500 a year, someone's entire crew of 5 people could get 6 drinks a day, every day. Enough people actually did that, which forced Amtrak to close the Legacy Club.

https://www.scivision.dev/chicago-union-station-legacy-club/

Curious about that Legacy Club....did Amtrak actually operate it, like the Metropolitan Lounge, or was it run by some private operator?

 

[Exvalley]

I have to be in New York City on a coming Sunday and will have some time to kill between my last meeting and when I take the LIRR to JFK airport.

I'd like to use one of my lounge passes so I can hang out in the Metropolitan lounge. I will be there around dinner time, so I thought that it would be worth it for dinner and a nice place to relax.

The cheapest Amtrak ticket I can find is a $14 fare from Penn Station to Yonkers. I would buy this ticket just to meet the "same day ticket" requirement, and would not actually travel on the Amtrak train. Has anyone done this before - and has anyone been able to find something cheaper than $14?

 

[me_little_me]

Depending on your sense of ethics, you could buy a fully-refundable ticket for a train later than your LIRR train, then cancel it when you leave the club to board it.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I have to be in New York City on a coming Sunday and will have some time to kill between my last meeting and when I take the LIRR to JFK airport.

I'd like to use one of my lounge passes so I can hang out in the Metropolitan lounge. I will be there around dinner time, so I thought that it would be worth it for dinner and a nice place to relax.

The cheapest Amtrak ticket I can find is a $14 fare from Penn Station to Yonkers. I would buy this ticket just to meet the "same day ticket" requirement, and would not actually travel on the Amtrak train. Has anyone done this before - and has anyone been able to find something cheaper than $14?

I did this when I visited NYC in May to see the New Moynihan Train Hall.Ibought a Coach ticket to Yonkers, but the Fare was $10 then.I cancelled the ticket after leaving the Lounge and received a Voucher that I used on a day trip later on.

An AU friend had kindly given me a Lounge Pass, along with an Upgrade Coupon that I used to ride in FC Acela ( $69 BC Fare)the next day from NYP-BWI.

 

[caravanman]

As a coach passenger, are the lounge passes available to buy, or are they just given as "perks" ? (I know that the lounge is available to sleeper folk anyway...)