# How to maximize my points



## C (Aug 26, 2014)

I have approximately 9500 AGR points. I will be traveling from SEA to CHI on the Empire Builder and then CHI to NOL on the City of New Orleans. Coming home I would travel from NOL to LA on the Sunset Limited and LA to SEA on the Coast Starlight. I will be booking roomettes for all four trains. I know I don't have enough points for the roomettes, but does anyone have any suggestions on what would be the best way to use my points for this trip?

Thanks,

C


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## TinCan782 (Aug 26, 2014)

I would use available points on the longest/most expensive routes first then purchase what remains. In terms of days, the shortest would be the Coast Starlight (36 hours/1 night).


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## AmtrakBlue (Aug 26, 2014)

If you're in roomettes on all trains, then those points won't do you any good. Keep them and use them on another trip with the ones you'll earn on this trip.


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## C (Aug 26, 2014)

Do points expire? Can I not use the points for the fare portion on each train and then pay for the roomette cost? Or does the whole fare have to be either purchased with points or cash, but not a combination of both?

C


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## Ryan (Aug 26, 2014)

It's either/or, no combining.

Points expire after 3 years of no paid travel, unless you have the AGR branded credit card (in which case they'll never expire). So, since you're doing paid travel now, your points are good for a while. Save 'em up for another trip.


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## JayPea (Aug 26, 2014)

Points expire if you haven't traveled on Amtrak for a period of three years unless you have the Chase AGR MasterCard, in which case if I'm not mistaken they don't expire at all. I don't believe you can use points for the rail fare and purchase a roomette with cash.


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## TinCan782 (Aug 26, 2014)

You have to pay the entire fare with either points or $$$...no mixing of payment methods.

I didn't even think about what AmtrakBlue pointed out. A one zone roomette redemption (Coast Starlight) alone is 15,000 points. Point "expire" after three years after last paid trip. You may take a paid trip to reset the timer, so to speak. Also, if you have a Chase AGR MasterCard, the points never expire.


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## Guest (Aug 26, 2014)

Thank-you so much for helping me with this. I think I will hold onto them and use the points from this trip towards another trip. My last Amtrak trip was in December of 2013, so I have plenty of time before the points will expire.

I'm from Canada...so I don't think there is a quicker way to build up points other than traveling on Amtrak as I can't get a Chase AGR MasterCard.

C


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## Ryan (Aug 26, 2014)

Sounds about right. Good luck on your trip.


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## AmtrakBlue (Aug 26, 2014)

One clarification for others who may be wondering. One way to use points w/$$ is to use your points for the number of zones you have enough points for then use $$ to pay for the rest of the trip. It's a bit hard to explain, so I'll use what I'm doing later this year as an example:

Traveling WIL to EMY - WIL to TOL (border city) in coach on a paid rez then TOL to EMY in roomettes on an award rez. I will switch from coach to a roomette on the LSL in TOL. And the AGR agent handled all of this.


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## fairviewroad (Aug 26, 2014)

RyanS said:


> It's either/or, no combining.





FrensicPic said:


> You have to pay the entire fare with either points or $$$...no mixing of payment methods.


OOps, Amtrak Blue beat me to it. That said, the OP doesn't have enough points for even a single zone roomette redemption,

so the overall advice about saving the points for a future trip holds. OP could purchase points to get up to 15000, but that

probably wouldn't pencil out in this case.


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## Rail Freak (Aug 26, 2014)

Myself being from Florida, I might fly to Albuquerque to use 15 k points for a one zone trip to West Glacier ( maximize train time). Then

15 k points to Denver from WGL & fly home from there! I did that last year & really enjoyed the vacation!!!!!

(Both Train & Glacier!!!!)


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## TinCan782 (Aug 26, 2014)

You can also earn points by shopping through the AGR online shopping portal.

No AGR credit card needed...just whatever you use.


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## oregon pioneer (Aug 26, 2014)

Is there a points bonus on right now? If so, you could purchase enough points to get a two-zone award, definitely worth it for the $275 maximum purchase (10,000 points plus whatever the current bonus is).

If there is no bonus on right now, a $275 purchase would get you 10,000 points, and another $500 purchase on the AGR shopping portal would put you over the top for a two-zone award. Might still be worth it (but the shopping points can take a while to come through).

When were you thinking of doing the traveling? If you are going to get more points between now and then, you can make award reservations right up to travel tiome as long as space is available.


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## me_little_me (Aug 26, 2014)

oregon pioneer said:


> Is there a points bonus on right now? If so, you could purchase enough points to get a two-zone award, definitely worth it for the $275 maximum purchase (10,000 points plus whatever the current bonus is).
> 
> If there is no bonus on right now, a $275 purchase would get you 10,000 points, and another $500 purchase on the AGR shopping portal would put you over the top for a two-zone award. Might still be worth it (but the shopping points can take a while to come through).
> 
> When were you thinking of doing the traveling? If you are going to get more points between now and then, you can make award reservations right up to travel tiome as long as space is available.


I agree about buying the points. It generally is a bargain (compared to paying cash). If any of those trips are combined (continuous travel), points could be used for a portion and the rest can be paid. E.g Going from NOL to LA then to Seattle. If the intention is to go from NOL to Seattle, then OP can pay for NOL to El Paso then buy enough points to reach 15K for 1 zone (ELP to Seattle) on the same SL train (including the CS). That is allowed.

Same with SEA to CHI to NOL. If continuous, pay to zone border from SEA (Fargo?) then use points on same train to CHI and on to NOL for 1 zone.

And if a friend is going with you, you can split cost of the paid part and your points cover 2 people in the Roomette.


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## the_traveler (Aug 26, 2014)

Continuing with what oregon pioneer said, you can buy up to 10,000 AGR points (not including bonuses) *per calendar year*! That means you can purchase 10,000 points on August 28, 2014 (or even December 31, 2014), and 10,000 more on January 1, 2015!


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## TinCan782 (Aug 26, 2014)

If you have a traveling companion (as in wife, husband, significant other, etc.) get them signed up for AGR. In fact, you could do a "referral" for that and receive a point bonus for getting them to sign up. The other person could also be a source of points.


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## VentureForth (Aug 27, 2014)

...which isn't a bad idea, considering the redemption of a sleeper reward is good for TWO people.


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## shelzp (Aug 27, 2014)

The trip from New Orleans to Seattle would involve two zones and 20000 points as long as you book straight through with no stop off anywhere (like in LA). So if you buy the 10000 and get 500 more to what you have now you could have an inexpensive trip.


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## Rail Freak (Aug 27, 2014)

This summer, I took advantage of the 50% bonus when purchasing points. I bought 10k for $275 w/ 5k bonus = 15k. Used those 15k for my upcoming trip PDX-DEN. 3 days & 2 nites on that scenic tour, w/bed,shower & meals for $275,  :huh:  !!!!


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## oregon pioneer (Aug 27, 2014)

I believe that on your proposed trip, the NOL to SEA segment for 20,000 points would provide the best value yield per point. That is, assuming you can use one of the above suggestions to come up with the 20,000 points. If you cannot, then ELP to SEA would be a very good value as well (and you'd just have to book the roomette from NOL to ELP for cash, and go on points from there). But a test booking on all one-zine or two-zone segments would tell you where to best use the points you can come up with.


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## Rail Freak (Aug 27, 2014)

oregon pioneer said:


> I believe that on your proposed trip, the NOL to SEA segment for 20,000 points would provide the best value yield per point. That is, assuming you can use one of the above suggestions to come up with the 20,000 points. If you cannot, then ELP to SEA would be a very good value as well (and you'd just have to book the roomette from NOL to ELP for cash, and go on points from there). But a test booking on all one-zine or two-zone segments would tell you where to best use the points you can come up with.


I agree! Just figure out maximum train time for minimum expense!!!

Have Fun


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## C (Sep 4, 2014)

Thank-you for all the great advise. Can someone verify if I have the following correct:

1. We will be traveling from NOL to LAX, arriving at LAX at 5:35am, then leaving LAX to SEA at 10:10am on the same day. Would this count as a 2 zone roomette trip for 20,000 points total for both trains?

2. The cost for both trains with roomettes is $1,159.00 for two people. I have 9,324 points, my sister has 700 points she can transfer to me for $10.00. I then could purchase 8,500 + 1,700 bonus points for $233.75, for a total of 20,224 points to purchase the 2 zone roomette, which I can use for both train. This brings the total to $243.75 for a roomette for both trains using my points.

Is this correct and a good way to use my points?

C


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## oregon pioneer (Sep 4, 2014)

1. If you book NOL to SEA _on a day when the Sunset Ltd is running_, you will be offered routing through _either _LAX or CHI. If booked as a through trip, it is a two-zone award (I did almost exactly this trip last Dec, but ended the trip at Bend, OR instead of continuing to SEA, and I did it as a two-zone award for two people, 20,000 points).

2. That looks like an excellent value for a combination of points, and not too much money. Good thinking!


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## Bob Dylan (Sep 4, 2014)

Excellent! Book it Danno!


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