# Take ten trips



## Ispolkom

Wow, the fall promotion was worth waiting for. Take ten trips by 12/14 (limit 2 per day), and you get double points on each trip plus 10,000 bonus points.


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## pennyk

I signed up this morning.


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## frugalist

Be careful: "Minimum spend of $40 per one-way trip required."


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## Ryan

Yeah, I think that the $40 minimum spend is pointed square at us - another way of crushing those cheap points runs.


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## frugalist

Without the $40 minimum spend requirement, I could've done it for a total of $81. Works out to 0.675 cents per point for 12,000 points. I would've seriously considered going for it. At $40 per ticket just riding for the bonus points would cost $400. That's 3.333 cents per point. Cheaper to just buy 10,000 points if you haven't reached your yearly limit ($275 for 10,000 points). Cheaper still if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa: buy 5,000 points per month for $125.

Also, monthly passes and multi-ride tickets don't qualify.

Nice bonus if you're gonna ride anyhow. But not worth going for it just for the bonus.


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## Long Train Runnin'

I was really excited about the promo till I read the fine print! that cuts out middle of the night runs BUF-CLE :lol: oh well the double points will be nice!


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## Ispolkom

Darn. I hadn't noticed the $40 minimum. That's what I get for posting before my morning coffee.

I already have 4 $40+ trips in that period, but it's not worth it to book 6 more. But, as Long Train Running wrote, double points is still a nice promotion.


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## John Bredin

I can understand why Amtrak would want to weed out mere "points runs" from this promotion, but IMHO they've missed the mark significantly with a $40 threshold.

A trip from Chicago to Galesburg, Springfield, Champaign, or Milwaukee (or vice versa) wouldn't qualify. Neither would a trip from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara or San Diego. Neither would a trip from Philadelphia to Harrisburg.

Those are all trips that are popular with "regular" passengers (not points-mad railfans :giggle: ) for "legitimate" reasons (business, day trip to the destination city, etc.) but are effectively excluded from this promotion by the $40 minimum.


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## jimhudson

Since I can't get into AGR don't have the specifics/small print! I will sign up when able, I do make some $40 trips but would rather spend the money on point runs since as a previous poster pointed out you can buy/transfer points cheaper than this promo! Again the business travelers and those that ride the NEC trains get another break over us poor schlubs out here in fly over country! Damn! And I was hoping for triple points! :angry2:


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## Shanghai

*Jim,*

*Here is the fine print.*

10 trips = 10,000 bonus points. Plus, double points along the way. Take Ten-the celebration starts on Friday, October 1, 2010. It's the ten-year anniversary of Amtrak Guest Rewards, and we're celebrating our members with more ways to better serve you, including an improved program, extended service center hours, a better online experience, mobile site, and the new Take Ten promotion. Earn with Take Ten from 10/1/10 through 12/14/10 - 10,000 bonus points when you Take Ten trips - *Double points on all Amtrak® travel - Plus, the points you already earn for Amtrak travel *

Terms & Conditions

Must be an Amtrak Guest Rewards member and register for this offer online or by calling 1-800-307-5000 to participate. Once registered, all qualifying travel during the promotion period will be eligible to earn double points and count toward the Take Ten and earn 10,000 points promotion. Cancelled or refunded reservations/tickets will be deemed ineligible. Members must include their membership number when making reservations for travel to qualify. Offer expires at 11:59 pm Central Time on 12/14/10. Other terms and conditions apply. -Take Ten qualifying one-way trips on Amtrak between 10/1/10 and 12/14/10 and earn 10,000 bonus points. *Minimum spend of $40 per one-way trip required. Limit of two qualifying one-way trips per day.* Travel with a monthly pass or using multi-ride tickets does not qualify for this promotion. Only one 10,000 bonus point award may be earned per member. Bonus points will be awarded within 4 weeks following your tenth qualifying trip. -Earn double points on qualifying Amtrak travel from 10/1/10 and 12/14/10. Double Points earned through the promotion will post with regular point-earnings. Allow up to 4 weeks from completion of travel for points to post to your account.

*I can appreciate the $40 threshold. The program will cost Amtrak and the main purpose of the program is*

*to boost paid travel during a normally slow period of the year. There was no mention of blackout periods,*

*so I would assume blackouts will be in force during the Thanksgiving holiday.*


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## amamba

That type of requirement is pretty standard on ALL of their promotions, at least on the NEC. Some of the special ones that they have require an $80 roundtrip or some other minimum spend. Sometimes it is $80 one way on the acela. It is actually pretty frustrating to have that $40 minimum, for example I am taking NEC regional to New Haven next week from PVD and it is $36. That is a legitmate 2.5 hour trip - not just a point run between BOS - PVD - and very frustrating that it is almost always excluded from every promotion. Even acela PVD - NHV can be under $80.


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## AlanB

But for the $40 minimum, I'd have 6 of the 10 trips done by the time I get home from the Gathering in St. Louis.


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## Devil's Advocate

Although it may not be the best possible deal for us it's still a reasonable set of restrictions in my view. Although most of us may not receive the primary bonus we can still benefit from the double points portion and for those folks who would normally ride seven or eight times it might help convince them to take a couple more trips just for the heck of it. Any increase in Amtrak passenger numbers helps make the case for continued funding, but giving away points too easily can eventually dilute or even reverse the benefit entirely by hurting the bottom line. I'll sign up just for the system-wide double point offer, which is actually pretty generous compared to offers on other carriers.


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## rtabern

AWESOME!! WHAT AN AWESOME PROMOTION!!!! HATS OFF TO THE NEW AGR!!! :hi:

I think I had 6 of the 10 trips planned already!!

#1 & #2 : Riding CHI-STL on 10/15 and 10/16 to get in the rare detour miles back N/B on that Saturday morning (The only tickets I could snag for that were #422 which was at the highest bucket; over $40)

#3 & #4: Acela points run BOS-NYP and back on 10/28

#5: Lake Shore Limited BOS-CHI on 10/29

#6: Cardinal (with the dome car of course!!) CHI-NYP on 10/30

Only have to squeak in 4 more trips in Nov and early Dec... I think I can do it!!!

RT


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## NorthCoastHiawatha

So the double are available on all travel and the 40 and over only applies for the 10,000 bonus points. Also can this be combined with the 100 bonus points for business class. I am planning another one of my SEA-PDX points runs, normally I get 200 points, with double points thats 400 with the business class bonus I could get 600 points.


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## saxman

I'm also wondering what is considered a "one-way" over $40 dollars. Say you go from St. Louis to Milwaukee for a total of $50. That would count, but since you are using two tickets; STL to CHI and then CHI to MKE, one ticket might be only worth $28 and the other $22. Therefore it wouldn't count.

It does indeed stink about the $40 anyhow. I can see making it $20, but $40. This means a roundtrip from Chicago to Milwaukee normally costing $44 won't count toward this promotion. They should at least have some combination language in there. It would suck to spend $39 going one way and then another $39 going the other way, and not get the bonus.


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## AlanB

It's a $40 spend on a single ticket. Therefore your example STL to MKE would not qualify on either leg.


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## Steve4031

Still have to spend 40 each way to get double points. I'm 900 pts from select plus.


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## Devil's Advocate

Steve4031 said:


> Still have to spend 40 each way to get double points.


That's what I'm hearing from Amtrak customer support as well.


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## Cristobal

daxomni said:


> Steve4031 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Still have to spend 40 each way to get double points.
> 
> 
> 
> That's what I'm hearing from Amtrak customer support as well.
Click to expand...

Not according to the AGR website. When you click the link to register it actually shows it as a two-part promotion. Part 1 is the '10 trips for 10K' part with the $40/trip requirement and Part 2 is 'Double points for *ALL* Amtrak travel'


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## Devil's Advocate

Cristobal said:


> daxomni said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Steve4031 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Still have to spend 40 each way to get double points.
> 
> 
> 
> That's what I'm hearing from Amtrak customer support as well.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Not according to the AGR website. When you click the link to register it actually shows it as a two-part promotion. Part 1 is the '10 trips for 10K' part with the $40/trip requirement and Part 2 is 'Double points for *ALL* Amtrak travel'
Click to expand...

Both the website and the email are vague on this matter and it could be interpreted either way. That's why I called AGR before I responded to the other poster. According to what I was told, AGR considers the $40 minimum spend to be a requirement of _both_ offers. I made it very clear exactly what I was asking, so I'm assuming I received an accurate answer.



> Must be an Amtrak Guest Rewards member and register for this offer online or by calling 1-800-307-5000 to participate. Once registered' date=' [b']all qualifying travel[/b] during the promotion period *will be **eligible** to earn double points* and count toward the Take Ten and earn 10,000 points promotion. Cancelled or refunded reservations/tickets will be deemed ineligible. Members must include their membership number when making reservations for travel to qualify. Other terms and conditions apply. -Take Ten qualifying one-way trips on Amtrak between 10/1/10 and 12/14/10 and earn 10,000 bonus points. *Minimum spend of $40 per one-way trip **required*. Limit of two qualifying one-way trips per day. Travel with a monthly pass or using multi-ride tickets does not qualify for this promotion. Only one 10,000 bonus point award may be earned per member. Bonus points will be awarded within 4 weeks following your tenth qualifying trip. -Earn double points on qualifying Amtrak travel from 10/1/10 and 12/14/10. Double Points earned through the promotion will post with regular point-earnings. Allow up to 4 weeks from completion of travel for points to post to your account.


Now, the question I have for my fellow AU members is in regards to stacking. If I buy a ticket from SAS to SND and another from SND to ELP on the same day, am I able to then count that as two one-way trips for purposes of the 10,000 points so long as they were on separate ticket stock?


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## rrdude

daxomni said:


> Cristobal said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> daxomni said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Steve4031 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Still have to spend 40 each way to get double points.
> 
> 
> 
> That's what I'm hearing from Amtrak customer support as well.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Not according to the AGR website. When you click the link to register it actually shows it as a two-part promotion. Part 1 is the '10 trips for 10K' part with the $40/trip requirement and Part 2 is 'Double points for *ALL* Amtrak travel'
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Both the website and the email are *VAGUE* on this matter and it could easily be interpreted either way. However, if you bother to call you'll hear that AGR considers the $40 minimum spend to be a requirement of *BOTH* offers.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Must be an Amtrak Guest Rewards member and register for this offer online or by calling 1-800-307-5000 to participate. Once registered' date=' [b']all qualifying travel[/b] during the promotion period *will be **eligible** to earn double points* and count toward the Take Ten and earn 10,000 points promotion. Cancelled or refunded reservations/tickets will be deemed ineligible. Members must include their membership number when making reservations for travel to qualify. Other terms and conditions apply. -Take Ten qualifying one-way trips on Amtrak between 10/1/10 and 12/14/10 and earn 10,000 bonus points. *Minimum spend of $40 per one-way trip **required*. Limit of two qualifying one-way trips per day. Travel with a monthly pass or using multi-ride tickets does not qualify for this promotion. Only one 10,000 bonus point award may be earned per member. Bonus points will be awarded within 4 weeks following your tenth qualifying trip. -Earn double points on qualifying Amtrak travel from 10/1/10 and 12/14/10. Double Points earned through the promotion will post with regular point-earnings. Allow up to 4 weeks from completion of travel for points to post to your account.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Now, the question I have for my fellow AU members is in regards to stacking. If I buy a ticket from SAS to SND and another from SND to ELP on the same day, am I able to then count that as two one-way trips for purposes of the 10,000 points so long as they were on separate ticket stock?
Click to expand...

IF they are *not* on the same train #, then yes.

But in the case of the Sunset, you er, might be out of luck.....I think that's only a one train per day, EVERY OTHER day.


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## NorthCoastHiawatha

Well this promotion really doesn't sound that great anymore. My usual Seattle - Portland run won't qualify unless I do business class.


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## jacorbett70

rrdude said:


> daxomni said:
> 
> 
> 
> Now, the question I have for my fellow AU members is in regards to stacking. If I buy a ticket from SAS to SND and another from SND to ELP on the same day, am I able to then count that as two one-way trips for purposes of the 10,000 points so long as they were on separate ticket stock?
> 
> 
> 
> IF they are *not* on the same train #, then yes.
> 
> But in the case of the Sunset, you er, might be out of luck.....I think that's only a one train per day, EVERY OTHER day.
Click to expand...

You could book train #1 SAS-SND and #421 SND-ELP and it should come up on the system as two separate trips. However, it looks like Amtrak has blocked out all seats and accommodations on 421 (local travel) except for the highest bucket, e.g. SND-ELP is $100 on every train 421 (even testing May 2011) while on train 1 it is $51 even on trains later this month.


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## Steve4031

I'm going after this sucker. LOL My tentative plans

A round trip to STL on Veterans day 40 each incuding upgarde to BC. A trip to Cleveland to see a buddy. An out and back to Cleveland on a Friday Night.

A round trip to Carbondale on the CONO. Ill think of one more.


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## rrdude

Me too, I've got 6 booked between now and November 6th. And if I CANX my KCY-STL (O/W) MORR on Friday, and rebook, it will cost me about $4 more, but be over the $40 threshold.

Then all I'll need are three more over $40. It could happen!


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## Steve4031

I just booked a rt to Carbondale in a sleeper from Chicago, and a RT to STL on Veterans day. That is 4 segments. 3 round trips to go!!


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## Steve4031

And I just added up my points, and when I come back from St. Louis on 11/11 SELECT PLUS FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!! But not the last.


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## AlanB

Steve,

That won't work! You can only have 2 trips per day. So if you do 4 on the same day, only 2 will count for the promo. The other two will not count!


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## John Bredin

AlanB said:


> Steve,
> 
> That won't work! You can only have 2 trips per day. So if you do 4 on the same day, only 2 will count for the promo. The other two will not count!


Steve said he



> booked a rt to Carbondale in a sleeper from Chicago, and a RT to STL on Veterans day.


 A round trip to Carbondale *in a sleeper* is a two-day trip: south on train 59 on the evening of one day (leave CHI @ 8pm, arrive at Carbondale about 1:30am) and north on train 58 the next day (leave Carbondale @ about 3:15a, arrive CHI @ 9am). 
The only Lincoln Service train that would allow a same-day round trip CHI-STL after arriving on the City of New Orleans at 9am is #303, leaving CHI @ 9:25am. Since that's a pretty damned tight connection, I strongly suspect that Steve is talking about two separate trips, to/from Carbondale and to/from Saint Louis, on two different days.


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## Steve4031

They are all separate trips. I appreciate the heads up. My sentence was poorly written. I did think about something like that, but decided that was too much to do at once. I never got around to the connection issue which would have nixed the entire plan.


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## Roadfool

Ugh...AGR did a good job of putting this promotion right on the edge of being worth it or not. On paper, 3.33 cents/point doesn't sound that great, but I'd probably be thrilled to have a chance at buying another 10,000 points for only $58 more at the end of the year when I've already used my quota. At least this way I'd get to enjoy the 10 trips along the way.

If you add a second segment onto each one-way trip, the cost is only 2.86 cents/point, which is pretty close to buying the points. Throwing in the 25% bonus for Select drops it to 2.76/point and Select Plus drops it to 2.67 cents/point.

Of course, all of the math is based on each trip costing exactly $40, which is probably unlikely anyway.

Another thought...does the 25% Mastercard bonus stack on top of this one?


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## Bigval109

rrdude said:


> daxomni said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cristobal said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> daxomni said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Steve4031 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Still have to spend 40 each way to get double points.
> 
> 
> 
> That's what I'm hearing from Amtrak customer support as well.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Not according to the AGR website. When you click the link to register it actually shows it as a two-part promotion. Part 1 is the '10 trips for 10K' part with the $40/trip requirement and Part 2 is 'Double points for *ALL* Amtrak travel'
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Both the website and the email are *VAGUE* on this matter and it could easily be interpreted either way. However, if you bother to call you'll hear that AGR considers the $40 minimum spend to be a requirement of *BOTH* offers.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Must be an Amtrak Guest Rewards member and register for this offer online or by calling 1-800-307-5000 to participate. Once registered' date=' [b']all qualifying travel[/b] during the promotion period *will be **eligible** to earn double points* and count toward the Take Ten and earn 10,000 points promotion. Cancelled or refunded reservations/tickets will be deemed ineligible. Members must include their membership number when making reservations for travel to qualify. Other terms and conditions apply. -Take Ten qualifying one-way trips on Amtrak between 10/1/10 and 12/14/10 and earn 10,000 bonus points. *Minimum spend of $40 per one-way trip **required*. Limit of two qualifying one-way trips per day. Travel with a monthly pass or using multi-ride tickets does not qualify for this promotion. Only one 10,000 bonus point award may be earned per member. Bonus points will be awarded within 4 weeks following your tenth qualifying trip. -Earn double points on qualifying Amtrak travel from 10/1/10 and 12/14/10. Double Points earned through the promotion will post with regular point-earnings. Allow up to 4 weeks from completion of travel for points to post to your account.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Now, the question I have for my fellow AU members is in regards to stacking. If I buy a ticket from SAS to SND and another from SND to ELP on the same day, am I able to then count that as two one-way trips for purposes of the 10,000 points so long as they were on separate ticket stock?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> IF they are *not* on the same train #, then yes.
> 
> But in the case of the Sunset, you er, might be out of luck.....I think that's only a one train per day, EVERY OTHER day.
Click to expand...

Now I'm really confused :wacko: I just booked tickets for a trip today to quincy thinking I would get double points so I would be 400 points closer to my reward trip now I'm not so sure. :unsure:


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## AlanB

Bigval109 said:


> Now I'm really confused :wacko: I just booked tickets for a trip today to quincy thinking I would get double points so I would be 400 points closer to my reward trip now I'm not so sure. :unsure:


The minimum is only for trips that qualify for the 10,000 point bonus.

As long as you've registered for the promo, you should get double points.


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## ALC Rail Writer

The solution is simple.

Cancel your reservations and re-book.... in the HIGH buckets! :lol:


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## PRR 60

AlanB said:


> Bigval109 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Now I'm really confused :wacko: I just booked tickets for a trip today to quincy thinking I would get double points so I would be 400 points closer to my reward trip now I'm not so sure. :unsure:
> 
> 
> 
> The minimum is only for trips that qualify for the 10,000 point bonus.
> 
> As long as you've registered for the promo, you should get double points.
Click to expand...

Alan,

Have you confirmed this with AGR? Apparently AGR call center reps have told some AGR members that the $40 minimum applies to both promotions.


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## Bigval109

ALC_Rail_Writer said:


> The solution is simple.
> 
> Cancel your reservations and re-book.... in the HIGH buckets! :lol:


Well inorder for me to do that I will need your AGR credit card


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## AlanB

PRR 60 said:


> AlanB said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bigval109 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Now I'm really confused :wacko: I just booked tickets for a trip today to quincy thinking I would get double points so I would be 400 points closer to my reward trip now I'm not so sure. :unsure:
> 
> 
> 
> The minimum is only for trips that qualify for the 10,000 point bonus.
> 
> As long as you've registered for the promo, you should get double points.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Alan,
> 
> Have you confirmed this with AGR? Apparently AGR call center reps have told some AGR members that the $40 minimum applies to both promotions.
Click to expand...

I have not confirmed it with anyone, but it is quite clear in the wording of the promo that the minimum only applies to the 10,000 point bonus. And I put far more faith in that, than I do in agents who are telling people that they aren't having any problems with the conversion and switch-over when even AGR Insider admits publicly that they are having problems.


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## Devil's Advocate

AlanB said:


> I have not confirmed it with anyone, but it is quite clear in the wording of the promo that the minimum only applies to the 10,000 point bonus.


What wording? From which source? Have you seen double points post for an under-$40 ticket yet? I hope you're right, but your lack of any evidence isn't very reassuring.


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## AlanB

> Must be an Amtrak Guest Rewards member and register for this offer online or by calling 1-800-307-5000 to participate. Once registered' date=' [b']all qualifying travel[/b] during the promotion period *will be **eligible** to earn double points* and count toward the Take Ten and earn 10,000 points promotion. Cancelled or refunded reservations/tickets will be deemed ineligible. Members must include their membership number when making reservations for travel to qualify. Other terms and conditions apply. Note the start of the terms for the Take ten promo. -Take Ten qualifying one-way trips on Amtrak between 10/1/10 and 12/14/10 and earn 10,000 bonus points. *Minimum spend of $40 per one-way trip **required*. Limit of two qualifying one-way trips per day. Travel with a monthly pass or using multi-ride tickets does not qualify for this promotion. Only one 10,000 bonus point award may be earned per member. Bonus points will be awarded within 4 weeks following your tenth qualifying trip. -Earn double points on qualifying Amtrak travel from 10/1/10 and 12/14/10. Double Points earned through the promotion will post with regular point-earnings. Allow up to 4 weeks from completion of travel for points to post to your account.


Dax,

I marked the start of the terms for the Take Ten promo in green above. Please note that the first half of that paragraph deals with both promos and that no mention of the $40 minimum is made in that section. It's not until they specifically start the section dealing only with the Take Ten promo that any mention of a minimum is made.

As for knowning of anyone who has gotten double points, no, I'm not aware of anyone who has gotten them. And that would be because Amtrak isn't posting any AGR points until they have the problems with the conversion straightened out.


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## Ispolkom

AlanB said:


> Must be an Amtrak Guest Rewards member and register for this offer online or by calling 1-800-307-5000 to participate. Once registered' date=' [b']all qualifying travel[/b] during the promotion period *will be **eligible** to earn double points* and count toward the Take Ten and earn 10,000 points promotion. Cancelled or refunded reservations/tickets will be deemed ineligible. Members must include their membership number when making reservations for travel to qualify. Other terms and conditions apply. Note the start of the terms for the Take ten promo. -Take Ten qualifying one-way trips on Amtrak between 10/1/10 and 12/14/10 and earn 10,000 bonus points. *Minimum spend of $40 per one-way trip **required*. Limit of two qualifying one-way trips per day. Travel with a monthly pass or using multi-ride tickets does not qualify for this promotion. Only one 10,000 bonus point award may be earned per member. Bonus points will be awarded within 4 weeks following your tenth qualifying trip. -Earn double points on qualifying Amtrak travel from 10/1/10 and 12/14/10. Double Points earned through the promotion will post with regular point-earnings. Allow up to 4 weeks from completion of travel for points to post to your account.
> 
> 
> 
> Dax,
> 
> I marked the start of the terms for the Take Ten promo in green above. Please note that the first half of that paragraph deals with both promos and that no mention of the $40 minimum is made in that section. It's not until they specifically start the section dealing only with the Take Ten promo that any mention of a minimum is made.
Click to expand...

As usual, AGR's T & C are a mess. I edit stuff like this for a living and I'd have sent these back for another draft in a New York minute. Fortunately, the ad copy is a little more clear:



> Earn with Take Ten from 10/1/10 through 12/14/10 - 10,000 bonus points when you Take Ten trips - *Double points on all Amtrak® travel*- Plus, the points you already earn for Amtrak travel


So I'm expecting 200 points for my Slidell-New Orleans ticket next month.


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## Devil's Advocate

Seeing how screwed up AGR has become I'm beginning to wonder if Amtrak even has the resources necessary to run a frequent rider program.


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## AlanB

daxomni said:


> Seeing how screwed up AGR has become I'm beginning to wonder if Amtrak even has the resources necessary to run a frequent rider program.


It's been essentially about 3 weeks since a massive change that involves all new staff, a major database conversion, transfer of data and all functions from one company to Amtrak. Hardly a fair conclusion at this point.

If things are still this bad in 2 or 3 months, fine, your conclusion is warranted. But until then, no!


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## BeckysBarn

This is from the email my husband received (the emphasis is mine):

"Earn with Take Ten from October 1 through December 14, 2010

• 10,000 bonus points when you Take Ten qualifying trips*

• Double points on all Amtrak® travel**

• Plus, the points you already earn for Amtrak travel

We sincerely thank you for the last ten years, and look forward to rewarding you for the next

ten—join the Take Ten celebration today.

Register Me

Terms and Conditions: Must be an Amtrak Guest Rewards member and register for this offer online or by calling 1-800-307-5000 to participate. Once registered, all qualifying travel during the promotion period will be e_ligible to earn double points __*and *__count toward the Take Ten_ and earn 10,000 points promotion. Cancelled or refunded reservations/tickets will be deemed ineligible. Members must include their membership number when making reservations for travel to qualify. Offer expires at 11:59 pm Central Time on 12/14/10. Other terms and conditions apply.

* Take Ten qualifying one-way trips on Amtrak between 10/1/10 and 12/14/10 and earn 10,000 bonus points. Minimum spend of $40 per one-way trip required. Limit of two qualifying one-way trips per day. Travel with a monthly pass or using multi-ride tickets does not qualify for this promotion. Only one 10,000 bonus point award may be earned per member. Bonus points will be awarded within 4 weeks following your tenth qualifying trip.

** Earn double points on qualifying Amtrak travel from 10/1/10 and 12/14/10. Double Points earned through the promotion will post with regular point-earnings. Allow up to 4 weeks from completion of travel for points to post to your account."


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## jmbgeg

Ispolkom said:


> Wow, the fall promotion was worth waiting for. Take ten trips by 12/14 (limit 2 per day), and you get double points on each trip plus 10,000 bonus points.


More questions on definition of a "one way trip"... There has been lots of discussion of the $40 threshold, but I do not think my question has been asked and answered. If I travel SPK-LAX and that itinerary includes the EB SPK to PDX connecting to the CS PDX to LAX is that two trips? It appears to be. Am I wrong?


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## Shanghai

JMBGEG, I think your example would be 2 trips.

You have two tickets and two different train numbers.

I assume both tickets cost at least $40.


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## jmbgeg

Shanghai said:


> JMBGEG, I think your example would be 2 trips.
> 
> You have two tickets and two different train numbers.
> 
> I assume both tickets cost at least $40.


In a bedroom, yes. More like $725 each; average.


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## cavanaugh

I already booked some tickets; once I register for the fall promo do I need to cancel and re-book? (I'm hoping to get double points, not ten trips.)


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## rrdude

cavanaugh said:


> I already booked some tickets; once I register for the fall promo do I need to cancel and re-book? (I'm hoping to get double points, not ten trips.)


Doesn't (shouldn't, and hasn't with me in the past) matter if trip is already booked. As long as you DO register prior to your trip, you should be fine. As usual, hold onto your stubs until points / bonus points have posted.


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## Bigval109

Steve4031 said:


> Still have to spend 40 each way to get double points. I'm 900 pts from select plus.


I'm not so sure about that. Some of my trips were less than $40 and I still got double points. However, there were 2 that were less than $40 that didn't get double points. :blink: I've heard that others got double points for an $8 ticket. Go figure


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## rrdude

Bigval109 said:


> Steve4031 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Still have to spend 40 each way to get double points. I'm 900 pts from select plus.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not so sure about that. Some of my trips were less than $40 and I still got double points. However, there were 2 that were less than $40 that didn't get double points. :blink: I've heard that others got double points for an $8 ticket. Go figure
Click to expand...

I don't think so, the way I understand it is this: ALL trips during the time period qualify for the DOUBLE POINTS, and _any trip _ that cost over $40 will _also_ count towards the Take-Ten-For-10,000 points.

And that is the way my trips have posted too. I've taken 8 trips, but only 6 were over $40, but I got DOUBLE POINTS on all. And it shows that I need 4 more trips to qualify for the 10,000 bonus.


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## Rail Freak

I made reservations in June for my October SAV trip & registered for the double point promo months later. I've been back only 10 days & my double points have posted for the rail portion. I'm wondering if I'll get double points for the bus portion?


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## saxman

Rail Freak said:


> I made reservations in June for my October SAV trip & registered for the double point promo months later. I've been back only 10 days & my double points have posted for the rail portion. I'm wondering if I'll get double points for the bus portion?


You should get double points for the bus portion. That indeed counts as separate segment.


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## Shanghai

I traveled the Regional from NYP to WAS, then on the CL to CHI. Both trips were on the same reservation.

When returning, I took the CL from CHI to WAS, then the Regional from WAS to NYP, both on

the same reservation. I received double points for each of the legs, but the first Regional from NYP to WAS

was not eligible for the 10 Trip Promo, however, on the return, the Regional did count for the 10 Trip Promo.

The reservations and tickets did not divide the cost of the Regional service from the CL. Do you think I should

complain to AGR?


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## AlanB

How they divide the dollars for corridor trains connecting to long distance trains is interesting. You clearly got points, it's just that you didn't have $40 on that ticket. It might have missed that cutoff. In which case you would still have 100 points & double points. But it wouldn't have counted for the 10 trips/10K promo.


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## jmbgeg

Ispolkom said:


> Wow, the fall promotion was worth waiting for. Take ten trips by 12/14 (limit 2 per day), and you get double points on each trip plus 10,000 bonus points.


I don't know whether I will get to ten paid trips within the Take Ten promotion timeline but will at least enjoy some double miles during the promotion. Here is a glitch I am trying to solve. I travelled outbound on the EB on 10/1 and returned on 10/2 (short Seattle trip). For some unexplainable reason my 10/1 leg posted on AGR as the day before and didn't earn double miles or count towards my ten trips. Upon discovering that, I called AGR. A CSA told me that the erroneous entry would be reversed that evening and at the same time, they would post the correct 10/1 trip. It did not happen. I called the week after and a second CSA said that it should happen within a week. It did not, and still has not. Should I wait longer or call again? It's not the end of the world, but I am back down under 10,000 points after my last award redemption.


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## Ispolkom

I'd call again, based on the well-known axiom that third time pays all.


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## Rail Freak

I'd start calling frequently! I took a round trip STP-SAV 10/13 - 10/17 & that posted within 10 days>


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## MrEd

This has been extended till 12/31


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## ALC Rail Writer

Aye it has, it doesn't appear to be targeted. It was extended to everybody.


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## Devil's Advocate

ALC_Rail_Writer said:


> Aye it has, it doesn't appear to be targeted. It was extended to everybody.


Seeing as how the outage wasn't targeted I don't see why this extension would be either. I hope they're saving a lot of money with this in-sourcing since they're probably going to be handing out a lot more points than usual this x-mas.


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## ALC Rail Writer

What outage? You mean the whole "let's finally get AGR out of Canada"

Best decision they've ever made.


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