Upcoming Winter/Spring trips for me

[saxman]

As some of you may remember, I will be taking a few Amtrak trips this spring, using my flight benefits with AA. Well I have started my internship with AA, and will begin flying soon. I'll be working for them now, until May.

I have a few questions about the routes I plan on taking, so answer as you see fit:

The two top priority routes are the Acela and Zephyr. I'll be using GR points to take a bedroom from Omaha to Sacremento. Whats the best time to take the CZ? February or should I wait until April? I want to travel at non-peak times, so I may book my trip using the points. How far ahead should I book using points? If I don't make my flight (since i'll be on non-rev), can I cancell my trip and get all my GR points back, or use them toward a future trip?

The GR points trip I plan on taking, is first class on Acela. I would really like to get my "points" worth, and ride the entire WAS to BOS trip. However I would also like to stop in NYC and PHL, but I don't think I can make stopovers on Acela, can I? I also need to use my upgrade coupons and ClubAcela passes before the end of Feb.

Here are the other trips I plan on taking.

Cardinal: IND- WAS (ClubAcela coupon in WAS)

City of NO: Jackson-NO

SW Chief: LAX - ABQ

Surfliner: LAX - San Luis Obispo (upgrade coupon)

Starlight: Sacramento-Portland

Downeaster: BOS- Portland

Regoinals: NYP-PHL (ClubAcela)

I'm also toying with Capitol Limited from PIT to WAS. Is it scenic? Which direction should I take?

Also 3 Rivers, Youngstown to PHL, before it shuts down. What direction should I take?

I'm also thinking of something in Florida on Silver Service.

The latter of the routes depend on money I have left, and time.

I will be writing trip reports, so please read them over the next few months!

If you have any pointers, please let me know. If you would like to join me, just send a message and maybe we can arrange something.

Chris

 

[AlanB]

First off, to the best of my knowledge, GR rewards are subject to the same cancellation rules as paid fares are. That means if you book a coach seat on the CZ and miss it you'll get all of your points back. If you book a sleeper, then you may loose your points if you miss the train.

I would call GR and ask them. If they tell you that you can cancel at the last minute, then I'd call back at least once or twice more. Each time hoping to get different agents and see if all give you the same answer and get their names.

You'd probably do better riding the CZ in April, just to avoid possible heavy snows in the mountains. As for when to book, as long as Amtrak still has an available sleeper, you are supposed to be able to book that sleeper with GR points. Other than blackout dates, like around Easter, Amtrak has no other restrictions on booking GR sleepers.

Next, you cannot make stopovers on Acela. You will need extra points for stopovers. You also cannot book a GR Business class ticket and use a coupon to upgrade to First Class. That coupon requires a full price ticket to perform the upgrade. You also won't need to use a Club Acela coupon, if you are in First Class. That applies to both Acela and the Cardinal. If you are in a sleeper on the Card or in First Class on Acela, then you automatically gain access to Club Acela.

Moving on, the Capitol Limited has some decent scenery, but you must be riding from PIT to WAS to see it. Except during the summer months, most of the scenery is in the dark if you are leaving from WAS.

As for the 3R's, if you want to see Horseshoe Curve, then again you must be heading east from Youngstown to PHL. The only exception to that is during the summer months.

The same is also true for the Cardinal, you must be going from IND to WAS if you wish to see the scenery. The Cardinal by the way has IMHO the best scenery of all the trains that run from Chicago to the East Coast.