# Whats better?



## BLOND37 (May 31, 2009)

should i get a amtrak student discount card and get 15% off trips.. (i really dont use the other vendors very much)

....OR....

should i just not get a student discount because i'd get more points right, if i bought tickey with no stud discount?

but wait points are based on MILES, right?


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## AlanB (May 31, 2009)

Points are based upon dollars spent on the ticket.

They don't do it by mileage, as that would be unfair to someone paying say $800 in a bedroom to get the same number of points as somepne in coach with a $50 ticket.


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## diesteldorf (May 31, 2009)

BLOND37 said:


> should i get a amtrak student discount card and get 15% off trips.. (i really dont use the other vendors very much)
> ....OR....
> 
> should i just not get a student discount because i'd get more points right, if i bought tickey with no stud discount?


If your tickets are usually $50 or less before the discount, using the card will earn you the same number of points since each ticket will earn a minimum of 100 points regardless of price.

However, I would still take a discount anyway I could get one to save money even if the ticket was more than $50.

A $100 ticket will earn 200 AGR points.

That same ticket with a student discount would earn (100*85%) x 2=170

I would rather save $15 than earn 30 more points. It depends on where you live, but it would be entirely possible to take that $15 you saved and buy a ticket to somewhere and potentially earn another 100 points.

Of course, I know people on this board who have paid slightly more than they needed to in order to buy a ticket on Acela to a Select-City pair (NY-BOS, WAS-NY etc) and then got off early. The Select Pairs earn 500 points whereas the other station stops only get the standard 2 points per dollar spent.

Boston-Stamford, CT earns 500 points for an $89 ticket since it is a Select City pair

Boston-New Haven, CT is not a Select City pair and would earn ($87 * 2)=174 points In that case, I would gladly spend the extra $2.

If your dealing with Acela, I don't even think they allow a student discount but I could be wrong.

I would bet that most people on the board would also use a discount to save money even if it meant earning fewer points.


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## BLOND37 (May 31, 2009)

99% of the time my tickets are $86 buckeroos.

maybe once in a blue moon i'll have to pay the next higher fare of $130..

my trips are always PVD to NYP and back to PVD.


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## diesteldorf (May 31, 2009)

BLOND37 said:


> 99% of the time my tickets are $86 buckeroos.
> maybe once in a blue moon i'll have to pay the next higher fare of $130..
> 
> my trips are always PVD to NYP and back to PVD.


Is that $86 roundtrip or one way and before or after a discount?


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## BLOND37 (May 31, 2009)

diesteldorf said:


> BLOND37 said:
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> 
> > 99% of the time my tickets are $86 buckeroos.
> ...



$86 RT no student discount.


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## diesteldorf (May 31, 2009)

BLOND37 said:


> diesteldorf said:
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> > BLOND37 said:
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So, the individual tickets for each segment should be well under $50. It doesn't seem like you would have anything to lose by using the discount and saving a few bucks.


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## BLOND37 (May 31, 2009)

diesteldorf said:


> BLOND37 said:
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> > diesteldorf said:
> ...



correct... i wouldnt lose AGR points?


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## diesteldorf (May 31, 2009)

BLOND37 said:


> diesteldorf said:
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> 
> > BLOND37 said:
> ...


No, any ticket gets a minimum of 100 points, so a $2 ticket will get 100 points and a $49 ticket will get 100 points.

If a ticket is more than $50, it gets the standard 2 points per dollar.

If your tickets for each segment are under $50 BEFORE and AFTER the discount, you will still earn the same amount of points.


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## BLOND37 (May 31, 2009)

diesteldorf said:


> BLOND37 said:
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> > diesteldorf said:
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interesting...


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## the_traveler (May 31, 2009)

For me, a ticket KIN-BOS costing $20 full fare, KIN-BOS using AAA for $18, KIN-BOS using V174 for $16 and KIN-NLC using V174 for $9.60 *ALL* earn me the minimum 100 AGR points! So I will take the extra $2 or $4 from the BOS trip - and use that money elsewhere. (Maybe have a cheap meal instead! Hey I'm cheap! :lol: )


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## Upstate (May 31, 2009)

my opinion is that earning agr points by riding the train is a waste of money. i am earning 1600 miles on continental right now for 140 a/i. those miles are eventually going to get transfered to agr at one to one. if i spent that on amtrak i would get 280 pts.

save money on tickets and maximize your points other places.


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## BLOND37 (May 31, 2009)

Upstate said:


> my opinion is that earning agr points by riding the train is a waste of money. i am earning 1600 miles on continental right now for 140 a/i. those miles are eventually going to get transfered to agr at one to one. if i spent that on amtrak i would get 280 pts.
> save money on tickets and maximize your points other places.



well there's the rub... its cheaper and easier for me to take amtrak.. and since i "have" to go by train i might as well get points... i cant get them by using a credit card and i dont fly anywhere so...


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## the_traveler (May 31, 2009)

Upstate said:


> my opinion is that earning agr points by riding the train is a waste of money. i am earning 1600 miles on continental right now for 140 a/i. those miles are eventually going to get transfered to agr at one to one. if i spent that on amtrak i would get 280 pts.
> save money on tickets and maximize your points other places.


On 5/9, I earned 1,600 AGR points for $51.20 a/i on Amtrak!


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## diesteldorf (May 31, 2009)

Upstate said:


> my opinion is that earning agr points by riding the train is a waste of money. i am earning 1600 miles on continental right now for 140 a/i. those miles are eventually going to get transfered to agr at one to one. if i spent that on amtrak i would get 280 pts.
> save money on tickets and maximize your points other places.


I might agree. However, many people are enrolled in AGR because they would be riding the train for pleasure or to get somewhere anyway. If you need the rail points to maintain Select or Select + that is something you also can't get on Continental. However, if you need 1-2K in AGR points to reach some reward redemption, there are other cheaper ways than riding the train. However, the traveler has shown that sometimes you can definately do well riding the train for points.

How much, if you don't mind sharing, was your 1600 point Continental ticket?

Nevermind, I saw that you said $140 for 1600 points. That's roughly $8.75 per 100 AGR points. It is feasible, but more time consuming to achieve a similar ratio (or better) riding the train. It it all depends on what your objectives are.

Do you have status with Continental?


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## sechs (Jun 1, 2009)

diesteldorf said:


> No, any ticket gets a minimum of 100 points


*Up to four segments per day
Rarely a problem, but still....


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