Select Status In My Future?

[ALC Rail Writer]

I'm moving to New York in late Jan. And would love to earn Select for next year... but, what's the best way to ear railpoints without blowing my wallet along the NEC?

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Two quick rides come to mind all though I am sure the pros know the best way to get AGR points. 2 short runs come to mind that will earn you 100 rail points. Going from NYP to MET is a short and quick ride that will cost you about 20 bucks round trip. (keeping in mind you can only make 4 runs a day [2 roundtrips]) My other thought is ALX to WAS which is a short ride that costs about 15 one way and you can take the Acela to get to WAS which would give you 1000 points round trip plus the trips to alx and back.

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Just popped into my head when I hit post. You could ride either the keystone or empire service out of new york and back in one day for a reasonable amount and still pick up some AGR points.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Two quick rides come to mind all though I am sure the pros know the best way to get AGR points. 2 short runs come to mind that will earn you 100 rail points. Going from NYP to MET is a short and quick ride that will cost you about 20 bucks round trip. (keeping in mind you can only make 4 runs a day [2 roundtrips]) My other thought is ALX to WAS which is a short ride that costs about 15 one way and you can take the Acela to get to WAS which would give you 1000 points round trip plus the trips to alx and back.

But are those 1000 Acela points railpoints? I was under the impression that those were bonus points...

 

[AlanB]

Two quick rides come to mind all though I am sure the pros know the best way to get AGR points. 2 short runs come to mind that will earn you 100 rail points. Going from NYP to MET is a short and quick ride that will cost you about 20 bucks round trip. (keeping in mind you can only make 4 runs a day [2 roundtrips]) My other thought is ALX to WAS which is a short ride that costs about 15 one way and you can take the Acela to get to WAS which would give you 1000 points round trip plus the trips to alx and back.

But are those 1000 Acela points railpoints? I was under the impression that those were bonus points...

No, when you ride Acela between the pair cities you don't get the normal 2 X $1 in points, you get either 500 points for BC or 750 for FC and they are rail points. That's how I rack up most of my points, riding Acela.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Two quick rides come to mind all though I am sure the pros know the best way to get AGR points. 2 short runs come to mind that will earn you 100 rail points. Going from NYP to MET is a short and quick ride that will cost you about 20 bucks round trip. (keeping in mind you can only make 4 runs a day [2 roundtrips]) My other thought is ALX to WAS which is a short ride that costs about 15 one way and you can take the Acela to get to WAS which would give you 1000 points round trip plus the trips to alx and back.

But are those 1000 Acela points railpoints? I was under the impression that those were bonus points...

No, when you ride Acela between the pair cities you don't get the normal 2 X $1 in points, you get either 500 points for BC or 750 for FC and they are rail points. That's how I rack up most of my points, riding Acela.

So if a RT BC is $266, you get the standard 532 rail points plus 500 between NYP and WAS (and another 500 for the way back) for a total of 1532?

Two of those trips would fill me up to select, given my current balance. I guess that $266 sounds expensive, sticker shock... but given that I had to spend 413 to get 900 points on my trip to the Pacific NW back in September, its not bad at all.

Anybody have any ideas of what day (as in Monday, Tuesday, ect) are best to get low bucket fares? Any low-travel weekends? I was planning on taking a day trip to DC sometime in Feb-May, maybe that would be a perfect opportunity to go ahead and do it.

Any other advice and suggestions are welcome too!

 

[AlanB]

Two quick rides come to mind all though I am sure the pros know the best way to get AGR points. 2 short runs come to mind that will earn you 100 rail points. Going from NYP to MET is a short and quick ride that will cost you about 20 bucks round trip. (keeping in mind you can only make 4 runs a day [2 roundtrips]) My other thought is ALX to WAS which is a short ride that costs about 15 one way and you can take the Acela to get to WAS which would give you 1000 points round trip plus the trips to alx and back.

But are those 1000 Acela points railpoints? I was under the impression that those were bonus points...

No, when you ride Acela between the pair cities you don't get the normal 2 X $1 in points, you get either 500 points for BC or 750 for FC and they are rail points. That's how I rack up most of my points, riding Acela.

So if a RT BC is $266, you get the standard 532 rail points plus 500 between NYP and WAS (and another 500 for the way back) for a total of 1532?

No, I've now underlined the important word that you missed. You don't get the normal points when you ride Acela between selected city pairs. You get only 500 point for BC or 750 for FC. So a RT NYP-WAS would earn you only 1,000 AGR points; 1,500 if you went FC. The normal 2 points for a dollar goes out the window.

Anybody have any ideas of what day (as in Monday, Tuesday, ect) are best to get low bucket fares? Any low-travel weekends? I was planning on taking a day trip to DC sometime in Feb-May, maybe that would be a perfect opportunity to go ahead and do it.

For Acela you'd find cheaper buckets probably on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and try to avoid the rush hour departures; although that's almost impossible to do unless you return very late in the day or stay overnight. Weekends can also be gotten for cheaper, if you book early enough. Wait for the last minute and forget it most of the time.

Finally, NYP-BOS is always cheaper than NYP-WAS, but you still earn the same amount of points.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Finally, NYP-BOS is always cheaper than NYP-WAS, but you still earn the same amount of points.

True, and can I use my SA card on that on top and still get the 1000 flat points?

Excuse the ignorance, I have always found the regionals practical for my purposes... never even considered riding the Acela once in my life.

 

[AlanB]

Finally, NYP-BOS is always cheaper than NYP-WAS, but you still earn the same amount of points.

True, and can I use my SA card on that on top and still get the 1000 flat points?

Only on weekends. On weekdays no discounts are allowed on Acela, even AAA and NARP are not allowed on a weekday.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Finally, NYP-BOS is always cheaper than NYP-WAS, but you still earn the same amount of points.

True, and can I use my SA card on that on top and still get the 1000 flat points?

Only on weekends. On weekdays no discounts are allowed on Acela, even AAA and NARP are not allowed on a weekday.

Yet another reason that I do not take the Acela. Anyway... will look into that option. 1000 points for 185 bucks.

What about that FC upgrade, does it have to be both ways?

 

[AlanB]

What about that FC upgrade, does it have to be both ways?

Yes, if you want the 1,500 points. No, if you're happy with 1,250; 750 + 500.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

What about that FC upgrade, does it have to be both ways?

Yes, if you want the 1,500 points. No, if you're happy with 1,250; 750 + 500.

Considering the FC upgrade is 100 the 250 points are *technically* better than the 1:2 you get for a regular NEC train... However, I would guess that 100 is better spent towards another Acela trip to try and get another 1000