Select Member Benefits

[saxman]

I just found out I am going to qualify for Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Member benefits for the first time. However it seems that they mostly benefit travelers in the Northeast. I do not live in the Northeast, and I wasn't planning on going to the Northeast anytime soon. Do the benefits expire? What do they include? Do they do any good for someone living in Texas and North Dakota (for school)? My mom was talking about doing a trip from Texas to Maine. That would get me to the Northeast at least. Any comments?

Chris saxman

 

[AlanB]

Chris,

You are correct, that many of the Select benefits are only useful to riders in the NE. However, there are still some things that you may find useful. First off of course, is the fact that you will now receive a 25% point bonus on all Amtrak travel. That makes the points add up just that much faster.

Then there are the free upgrade coupons. The best bang for your buck is to use them to upgrade to Acela First Class, but you can still use them to upgrade to Business Class on any mid-west train.

The free Club Acela lounge coupons are only useful if you find yourself traveling in the east.

Then you may or may not find a few of the other benefits useful, like getting Gold status with Hertz or Hilton Hotels.

Finally have the Select Toll Free reservations numbers can be nice too. You don't get Julie when you call those numbers, you get a real person. Additionally Amtrak seems to put their best people on those lines. I've only used it twice, but both times I got great service.