MIA- CHI help using air and rail [if needed]

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J

Jtbarton

Joined
Dec 31, 2016
Messages
8
Hello, I am travelling from MIA-CHI on June 25. The current best fare I have found is 30k miles on AA+ 11.5$. I am looking to beat this any way I can. Restrictions below

TRIP FOR 2 ADULTS

Must leave after 5:45 eastern on the 25th of June.

Must arrive no later than 9:50am central on the 26th.

Cash vale must not exceed 330$

AA miles value must not exceed 27000 per person.

I have a 40$ Amtrak voucher. [fine using]

Don't mind staying up all night if it means the best value.

All transportation methods are allowed [Amtrak, Greyhound, Plane etc].

Can fly out of any airports and/or stations in any city.

Let me know what you come up with

Jack
 
So in other words......You have to fly. There is no way a bus or train would conceivably work. And with your cash restrictions, the only way it will work is using your miles. Only two other options come even close, which is a 6am non-stop flight with United priced at about $167pp, arriving at 8:45am. Other option is getting up to Fort Lauderdale for a 9:40pm non-stop flight to Midway, which is with Southwest priced at $171pp.

Stick with your reward flight.
 
Jtbarton said:
Pm
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I don't see how Amtrak is can even be a partial option leaving Miami after 5:45pm and having to be in Chicago at 9:50 the next morning.

One American option would be to buy 6000 AA miles for $147.50 (includes a 1000 mile bonus if you buy before 1/30), then cash 30,000 miles each for two Economy Anytime one ways, MIA-ORD. That would be use your desired 27,000 miles per person, plus a cash component of $170.50 total (the cash purchase of miles plus the two ticket fees). Per person the cost would be 27,000 miles plus $85.25.
 
I don't sound off on this forum too much, but this topic caused an immediate reaction from me, based on some of the crazy trips I've tried to plan. My first question, based on friends reacting to my itineraries, would be "What! Are you nuts?" but I would digress doing so, so....

First thing I would do is put the Amtrak voucher away. You won't be doing any Amtrak over a long distance because of your time constraints.

I presume you mean after 5:45AM on the 25th. Are your budgets of 330$ and AA27000 miles both per person? I won't go further without knowing this first.

:)
 
Even a direct Miami-Chicago train was still running, it would not have made it in your time frame. It is roughly 1400 miles by direct route (and Amtrak's routing through Washington, DC is not direct), no ground transportation would. It would have to make 93 mph over the entire distance to make in the 15 hours (assuming 5:45 pm) you have with no stops for anything and no traffic at all anywhere. And not get stopped for speeding on the highway or get the engineered pulled off for exceeding maximum allowable speed anywhere. Have you looked at a map?
 
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I expect with the distance between the two cities, you knew you had to fly with your time limitations. Your only option is to use your miles, if the seats are still available. When looking for cheap flights, my son uses KAYAK.com. Me, I use Amtrak and make the time frames work. Only exception was this past August when I had to fly to Anchorage for an emergency.
 
This is an Amtrak forum. My suggestion is that you do the research on all the forms of transportation and you decide whether you can get there by means other than air. You then post the best cost/time you can find in the post using Amtrak and ask if others have alternate suggestions that you hadn't thought about.
 
Miami to Chicago is a $50-100 flight, you are trying to book way too far away from your fly date to get a good price. Start looking in April/May
 
Meat Puppet said:
Miami to Chicago is a $50-100 flight, you are trying to book way too far away from your fly date to get a good price. Start looking in April/May
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That's not good advice when the OP had no flexibility in travel times. If they were able to travel over multiple days or even over the span of an entire day, there may be a better chance of finding a deal. But with being so specific on travel times, -I- certainly wouldn't chance it.
 

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