Would This Be 2 Zones?

[OlympianHiawatha]

Right! I'm thinking of using 20,000 points and doing a 2 Zone Midwest-West circle tour in a Roomette and am wondering if this indeed would qualify as a 2 Zone:

Norman (OK) -FTW

FTW-CHI

CHI-SEA

SEA-LAUPT

LAUPT-SAS

SAS-FTW

I know I would have to connect with the next train in each city to keep the circle unbroken and would have to terminate in FTW rather than back in Norman as that would be a round trip segment.

Has anyone done a run as complicated as this and would Amtrak res have kittens when I try to book it as a 2 Zone?

 

[the_traveler]

I really don't know if AGR would allow a 2-zone circle like that. (They may if you "start" and "stop" in a different place - such as start" in DAL and "stop" in FTW - but I don't even know about that.)

One thing I do know is that there is no same day connection possible between the EB and CS in SEA. (The EB arrives a few minutes after the CS departs. ) Now it may be possible with a EB->CS connection in PDX!

And yes, I'm crazy enough to do it! In fact, I'm doing the infamous 2-zone loophole award later this year. I'm going from BHM-LAX via PDX for 20,000 points! And because of the Crescent's schedule, I have to connect in WAS! B)

 

[sechs]

It can't be done as a single award, as you'll have to pass through Fort Worth twice.

If you pick a day that the Sunset Limited doesn't run, you might be able to get as far as Los Angeles via Portland -- but I can't get this to come up on the website. Not a positive sign.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

It can't be done as a single award, as you'll have to pass through Fort Worth twice.
If you pick a day that the Sunset Limited doesn't run, you might be able to get as far as Los Angeles via Portland -- but I can't get this to come up on the website. Not a positive sign.

So if I start in Dallas, do the loop and finish in Norman would that work? That would leave the circle "open" between FTW and DAL and not make any round trip.

 

[Trogdor]

It can't be done as a single award, as you'll have to pass through Fort Worth twice.
If you pick a day that the Sunset Limited doesn't run, you might be able to get as far as Los Angeles via Portland -- but I can't get this to come up on the website. Not a positive sign.

So if I start in Dallas, do the loop and finish in Norman would that work? That would leave the circle "open" between FTW and DAL and not make any round trip.

No, because they'd basically force you to take the Texas Eagle to the Heartland Flyer.

Sometimes they'll let you take an indirect routing if you're going across country, but there's no way to really circle the country and wind up next door on a single award.

No matter how you cut it, you'd have to buy at least two separate award tickets to take this trip.

 

[sechs]

Really, just check on the website. If the website will spit a routing out, then AGR can book it. If you can't get the routing on the website, chances are, you can't get an award that way.

 

[the_traveler]

Really, just check on the website. If the website will spit a routing out, then AGR can book it. If you can't get the routing on the website, chances are, you can't get an award that way.

That is true. AGR sees the exact same screen that you do online. If the computer offers a routing, AGR can book it as an award. But if it's not offered as a choice, AGR can not book it piecemeal for the same award level.

Example - On an award from WAS-EMY, the computer will show WAS-CHI on the CL and then either the CZ to EMY or the SWC to LAX connecting to the CS to EMY. I don't believe it shows the EB to PDX connecting to the CS. If not, AGR could not book via PDX for the same 3 zone award level. It would take TWO 2 zone awards to go via PDX (1 WAS-CHI and 1 CHI-PDX-EMY)!

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Now I am curious as to what folks have found to be the longest possible 2 Zone award possible starting in the Midwest. I thought one time I heard someone say it involves travel on the Crescent.

 

[wayman]

Example - On an award from WAS-EMY, the computer will show WAS-CHI on the CL and then either the CZ to EMY or the SWC to LAX connecting to the CS to EMY. I don't believe it shows the EB to PDX connecting to the CS. If not, AGR could not book via PDX for the same 3 zone award level. It would take TWO 2 zone awards to go via PDX (1 WAS-CHI and 1 CHI-PDX-EMY)!

Couldn't you book WAS-Whitefish as a two-zone reward and Whitefish-EMY as a one-zone reward? Saves points over doing it as two two-zones.

 

[the_traveler]

Example - On an award from WAS-EMY, the computer will show WAS-CHI on the CL and then either the CZ to EMY or the SWC to LAX connecting to the CS to EMY. I don't believe it shows the EB to PDX connecting to the CS. If not, AGR could not book via PDX for the same 3 zone award level. It would take TWO 2 zone awards to go via PDX (1 WAS-CHI and 1 CHI-PDX-EMY)!

Couldn't you book WAS-Whitefish as a two-zone reward and Whitefish-EMY as a one-zone reward? Saves points over doing it as two two-zones.

WAS-Whitefish? :huh: I think you meant WAS-Wolf Point - that is the zone border!

Yes that may be possible as a 2 zone + a 1 zone award.

 

[the_traveler]

Now I am curious as to what folks have found to be the longest possible 2 Zone award possible starting in the Midwest. I thought one time I heard someone say it involves travel on the Crescent.

The infamous 2 zone award does indeed include the Crescent! It is from Slidell, LA to Los Angeles, CA. (It must be from Slidell - not New Orleans!) Due to the Crescent's schedule, it would involve an overnight (at your expense) in New Orleans. So it routes you via WAS to the CL to get to CHI. Then one of the options given to LAX is the EB via PDX to the CS!

Thus the routing to get from SDL (midwest zone) to LAX (western zone) is SDL-WAS-CHI-PDX-LAX!

 

[sechs]

It doesn't have to be Slidell. Any Crescent stop on the New Orleans side of the zone divider is fine. Folks have take the train from Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, for example.

What's really surprising is that Arrow will give different options between two intermediate points of an itinerary, depending on where you start and end. For example, check Atlanta to San Jose, which necessarily must go through Washington, DC, to Washington directly to San Jose.

 

[wayman]

Example - On an award from WAS-EMY, the computer will show WAS-CHI on the CL and then either the CZ to EMY or the SWC to LAX connecting to the CS to EMY. I don't believe it shows the EB to PDX connecting to the CS. If not, AGR could not book via PDX for the same 3 zone award level. It would take TWO 2 zone awards to go via PDX (1 WAS-CHI and 1 CHI-PDX-EMY)!

Couldn't you book WAS-Whitefish as a two-zone reward and Whitefish-EMY as a one-zone reward? Saves points over doing it as two two-zones.

WAS-Whitefish? :huh: I think you meant WAS-Wolf Point - that is the zone border!

Yes that may be possible as a 2 zone + a 1 zone award.

Oops, misremembered the zone map! Thanks for catching that.

 

[the_traveler]

It doesn't have to be Slidell. Any Crescent stop on the New Orleans side of the zone divider is fine. Folks have take the train from Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, for example.

You're right - it can be anywhere between SDL and ATL. (I'm doing BHM-LAX! ) Then you will be routed via WAS or CVS! B)

What I really meant was if you put in NOL-LAX, it will only offer the CONO or the SL (on the days it operates). I don't believe it offers the Crescent at all. You could still ride the Crescent - just book the AGR award from SDL and then BUY a ticket from NOL-SDL! (I think it's worth $10 - less any discounts - to pay for the extra ride! :lol: )

 

[JayPea]

It doesn't have to be Slidell. Any Crescent stop on the New Orleans side of the zone divider is fine. Folks have take the train from Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, for example.

You're right - it can be anywhere between SDL and ATL. (I'm doing BHM-LAX! ) Then you will be routed via WAS or CVS! B)

What I really meant was if you put in NOL-LAX, it will only offer the CONO or the SL (on the days it operates). I don't believe it offers the Crescent at all. You could still ride the Crescent - just book the AGR award from SDL and then BUY a ticket from NOL-SDL! (I think it's worth $10 - less any discounts - to pay for the extra ride! :lol: )

By December, I should have accumulated 20,000 AGR points, and am planning to book a trip for next summer doing exactly that......buying a ticket from NOL to SDL, then doing the famous SDL-LAX 2-zone trip. Of course, there's a bit of a trip for me here in the state of Washington to get to New Orleans, but I have plenty of time to figure that out. And I've flown from LA to Spokane before, after a trip on the Southwest Chief......I've done the bus from LAUS to LAX before, so know all about that. And from reading posts here, have a good idea about overnight accomdations in LA. So now all I have to do is wait until I have the 20,000 points!