# "train runs"/short trips for TQPs?



## SNJRider (Aug 25, 2022)

I'll be close to keeping Select Plus this year. Aside from the Bank of America credit card spend ($5,000 for 1,000 TQPs), are there any other ways to add TQPs? There are mattress runs and mileage runs for keeping hotel or airline status. I was wondering if anyone has done a train run? The main difference is that Amtrak calculates status by dollars spent (instead of nights stayed or miles flown).


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## Steve4031 (Aug 25, 2022)

It is a matter of spending the amount of money that you need to reach select plus. For example. If you need 100 points, then you could book a trip for 50 dollars. If you needed 1000 points then you could do a trip for 500. At one point during covid, they had TQP promotions that caused me to earn select executive without even knowing it.


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## AmtrakBlue (Aug 25, 2022)

Yes, there are people who do points runs for AGR points.


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## SNJRider (Aug 25, 2022)

Steve4031 said:


> It is a matter of spending the amount of money that you need to reach select plus. For example. If you need 100 points, then you could book a trip for 50 dollars. If you needed 1000 points then you could do a trip for 500. At one point during covid, they had TQP promotions that caused me to earn select executive without even knowing it.


Yes, the promos definitely helped last year.


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## SNJRider (Aug 25, 2022)

AmtrakBlue said:


> Yes, there are people who do points runs for AGR points.


High dollar tickets on First Class would be the fastest way, then?


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## joelkfla (Aug 25, 2022)

SNJRider said:


> High dollar tickets on First Class would be the fastest way, then?


Or sleepers.


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## trimetbusfan (Aug 25, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> Or sleepers.


Sleepers (while expensive) do not receive a point bonus by itself. Acela first is the only place to provide a 50% point bonus without needing to have status.


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## SNJRider (Aug 25, 2022)

trimetbusfan said:


> Sleepers (while expensive) do not receive a point bonus by itself. Acela first is the only place to provide a 50% point bonus without needing to have status.


Good point on the Acela 50%. I read somewhere in FlyerTalk that AGR fixed the status TQP bonuses we were getting in June.


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## joelkfla (Aug 25, 2022)

trimetbusfan said:


> Sleepers (while expensive) do not receive a point bonus by itself. Acela first is the only place to provide a 50% point bonus without needing to have status.


Does that bonus apply to TQP's, as well as regular points?

And does the 25% on regular business class also apply?


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## SNJRider (Aug 25, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> Does that bonus apply to TQP's, as well as regular points?
> 
> And does the 25% on regular business class also apply?


The bonus applies to both TQPs and points. Those are different than tier bonuses (for being Select, etc.). Those now only apply to points.





The free TQP ride is over - FlyerTalk Forums


Amtrak | Guest Rewards - The free TQP ride is over - Somewhere in the middle of the pandemic they started giving TQP's for things they hadn't in the past, like tier multipliers and business class bonuses. They've stopped as of 6/10, I called Amtrak to confirm since I stopped seeing it in my...



www.flyertalk.com


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## MARC Rider (Aug 25, 2022)

I still do it, but you have to take a really expensive trip to get a reasonable number of TQPs. I miss the old days when you got 100 points minimum for any ticket you bought, whether it was a $50 BAL-PHL or a $6 PHL-Paoli. You could rack up several hundred points from some really cheap rides. Now you just have to spend the money (and find the time for the trips.) When I do this now, it's mostly Acela rides to New York, but that kills a whole day.


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## SNJRider (Aug 25, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> I still do it, but you have to take a really expensive trip to get a reasonable number of TQPs. I miss the old days when you got 100 points minimum for any ticket you bought, whether it was a $50 BAL-PHL or a $6 PHL-Paoli. You could rack up several hundred points from some really cheap rides. Now you just have to spend the money (and find the time for the trips.) When I do this now, it's mostly Acela rides to New York, but that kills a whole day.


PHL to Paoli for $6? Wow, that would have been a great method. Would you just hop on and go back and forth, round trip, a few times?


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## BCL (Aug 25, 2022)

Sure I've done it, but way back when there was a 100 point per segment minimum, and a maximum of 4 minimum point segments per day. Taking advantage of the 100 point minimum became an art form. I didn't go to the Gathering in the Bay Area, but I remember discussions of how a dozen or so passengers tracked down a conductor between Berkeley and Emeryville, which is a whole 2 miles and scheduled for about 4 minutes. Then there were the legendary ones (before the limit of 4 minimum point accruals in a calendar day) where passengers would just buy 50 or 100 cheap tickets (all with the same passenger name) and insist that the conductor lift them on a ride that cost maybe $3 each ticket? But with live tickets they had to be processed and then the points would be counted.

I did a few where I got 400 points in less than 2.5 hours round-trip. I did that the first time I hit Select in December, and I think I made Select on Dec 30. Bus segments counted towards the 100 point minimum even if there was a nominal segment value of $1. I took advantage of the 50% Capitol Corridor advanced-purchase weekend discount. I think I needed to buy it 3 days in advance, but I did it for $12 for that round trip RIC-EMY-SFC-EMY-RIC. I think Berkeley would have been marginally cheaper, but Richmond Amtrak had a parking lot and there a better chance to get my ticket scanned. That was back when SFC had a "station building" next to the Ferry Building and I spend the 40 or so minutes there getting coffee at Blue Bottle and buying bread at Acme, and I still had about 20 minutes in the waiting room.

I don't think I did that in 2014 when I made Select Plus. But I did purchase and use a couple of multi-ride tickets to make it in December. I can't look up my AGR history since the transaction date select range is broken, but I checked my email and I got a Select Plus note on Dec 14, so it wasn't a last week run like I did in 2013.


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## Bob Dylan (Aug 25, 2022)

SNJRider said:


> PHL to Paoli for $6? Wow, that would have been a great method. Would you just hop on and go back and forth, round trip, a few times?


They finally had to limit it to 4 Segments a day. (400 Points)

There are some Legendary Riders who racked up Thousands of Points (before they Limited it)since they lived where there are lots of Trains.( NEC/NE,Chicago and the West Coast).


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## SNJRider (Aug 26, 2022)

Bob Dylan said:


> They finally had to limit it to 4 Segments a day. (400 Points)
> 
> There are some Legendary Riders who racked up Thousands of Points (before they Limited it)since they lived where there are lots of Trains.( NEC/NE,Chicago and the West Coast).


That is so awesome that riders could figure out a loophole like that!


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## SNJRider (Aug 26, 2022)

BCL said:


> Sure I've done it, but way back when there was a 100 point per segment minimum, and a maximum of 4 minimum point segments per day. Taking advantage of the 100 point minimum became an art form. I didn't go to the Gathering in the Bay Area, but I remember discussions of how a dozen or so passengers tracked down a conductor between Berkeley and Emeryville, which is a whole 2 miles and scheduled for about 4 minutes. Then there were the legendary ones (before the limit of 4 minimum point accruals in a calendar day) where passengers would just buy 50 or 100 cheap tickets (all with the same passenger name) and insist that the conductor lift them on a ride that cost maybe $3 each ticket? But with live tickets they had to be processed and then the points would be counted.
> 
> I did a few where I got 400 points in less than 2.5 hours round-trip. I did that the first time I hit Select in December, and I think I made Select on Dec 30. Bus segments counted towards the 100 point minimum even if there was a nominal segment value of $1. I took advantage of the 50% Capitol Corridor advanced-purchase weekend discount. I think I needed to buy it 3 days in advance, but I did it for $12 for that round trip RIC-EMY-SFC-EMY-RIC. I think Berkeley would have been marginally cheaper, but Richmond Amtrak had a parking lot and there a better chance to get my ticket scanned. That was back when SFC had a "station building" next to the Ferry Building and I spend the 40 or so minutes there getting coffee at Blue Bottle and buying bread at Acme, and I still had about 20 minutes in the waiting room.
> 
> I don't think I did that in 2014 when I made Select Plus. But I did purchase and use a couple of multi-ride tickets to make it in December. I can't look up my AGR history since the transaction date select range is broken, but I checked my email and I got a Select Plus note on Dec 14, so it wasn't a last week run like I did in 2013.


How many points did you need to get to Select (Plus)? I'm wondering how you figured the math so that the effort was worth getting the status.


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## MARC Rider (Aug 26, 2022)

Yeah, I made my trip to Philly right before they changed AGR to eliminate the 100 point minimum. I think one of my Baltimore to Philly tickets was $35 (a saver), the other was $46, and the round trip to Paoli was $12. Thus, I spent $93 to get 400 points (all TQP points).


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## bratkinson (Aug 26, 2022)

As others have noted, I've made a good number of trips simply to rack up points. In the 'good old days' of AGR 1.0, my trick was Springfield MA to Hartford CT for $7 or something like that and get 100 points. Why Hartford? It provided a 10 minute layover before catching a northbound train back to Springfield and the 'new' station under the tracks had restrooms and food, if I felt so inclined. In addition, I can't ignore the metered $0.25 on street parking for 2 hrs adjacent to the Amtrak SPG station as part of the cost of each trip.

However, last year, with the Double TQPs promotion, I used 4 round trips in Acela FC NHV-WAS (for the 50% bonus) plus a handful of other trips the rest of the year to reach Select Exec. I may have to do that again to reach Select Plus this year, especially as the $5000 CC spending gets 1000 TQPs has not worked for me for over 2 years. Repeated emails to AGR get zero response whatsoever. However, the email I sent them about a month ago did net me an undocumented, unexplained, untraceable 1000 TQPs as I quoted my CC monthly spending and it was over $12K since 1/1!


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## SNJRider (Aug 26, 2022)

bratkinson said:


> As others have noted, I've made a good number of trips simply to rack up points. In the 'good old days' of AGR 1.0, my trick was Springfield MA to Hartford CT for $7 or something like that and get 100 points. Why Hartford? It provided a 10 minute layover before catching a northbound train back to Springfield and the 'new' station under the tracks had restrooms and food, if I felt so inclined. In addition, I can't ignore the metered $0.25 on street parking for 2 hrs adjacent to the Amtrak SPG station as part of the cost of each trip.
> 
> However, last year, with the Double TQPs promotion, I used 4 round trips in Acela FC NHV-WAS (for the 50% bonus) plus a handful of other trips the rest of the year to reach Select Exec. I may have to do that again to reach Select Plus this year, especially as the $5000 CC spending gets 1000 TQPs has not worked for me for over 2 years. Repeated emails to AGR get zero response whatsoever. However, the email I sent them about a month ago did net me an undocumented, unexplained, untraceable 1000 TQPs as I quoted my CC monthly spending and it was over $12K since 1/1!


Were the NHV-WAS actual trips or did you do the runs only for the TQPs?
I don't understand why AGR or Amtrak is so unresponsive to emails. However, I'm glad you got 1000 TQPs but it sounds like they owe you more.


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## Bob Dylan (Aug 26, 2022)

Back in the Good Old Days of AGR1.0 with the CHASE Card, I did many AUS-TAY-TPL-TAY-AUS Day Trips for $28 and got 400 Points.

This,combined with 2 LD Trips along with some Point runs in places like the NE,NW and California ( Emeryville to Berkley was my favorite) allowed me to make Select Plus for the Last time.

I have not even made Select since the 100 Point Minimum was deleted by AGR2.0!(plus the Pandemic and the "downsizing/downgrading" of the Texas Eaglete causing Ultra High Fares has contributed to me using the Airlines on my LD Trips instead of Amtrak.)


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## BCL (Aug 26, 2022)

SNJRider said:


> How many points did you need to get to Select (Plus)? I'm wondering how you figured the math so that the effort was worth getting the status.



10,000. Got me AGR bonuses and lounge access. Never had a chance to use an Amtrak lounge, but the reciprocal United Club access was nice and I used it once.

Theoretically 100 of these 100 minimum point segments was enough to make it to Select Plus. However, I had to think a lot between how much I was spending on my commute vs trying to score more TQPs. For instance, I could just get 10-ride tickets, but TQP accrual was only dependent on the price. Also - when that was a "live ticket", it didn't accrue (for the first day of the ticket validity) until the entire ticket was used, and accounting received the ticket to process. Later when it to eTickets for multi-ride, once the first use was recorded, it would then take a day or so for the TQPs to accrue. Something like RIC-SCC; I would usually just go EMY/BKY to GAC, but the cost was the same so it was better to just cover more stations. I think that was maybe $112, although a one-way BKY-GAC was $18. But the 10-ride was worth 224 points, and 10 single rides was worth 1000 points. In addition to that there were discounts to bring down the cost of single rides, and multi-city to double the points. Technically it could even triple or quadruple the points, but that took time, and I ran into issues because Capitol Corridor had limited trains to San Jose - about half ended at the Oakland Coliseum station.

I took advantage of as many discounts as I could, plus multi-city if I could combine that. There was often a supposed 25% off 49ers Levi's Stadium promotion for rides to/from GAC, but it was odd in that it wasn't just on game days and didn't have any advance purchase requirement. Also a 25% Oakland A's discount at OAC, where I'd combine rides with BART. Then split it up with a stop at FMT, where there was a cafe at the old SP Type 23 station building.

My wife wasn't too happy about it since I was getting up really early and sometimes coming home late trying to add a segment. She did like the one time that we used my Select Plus membership to get our family into a United Club. But apparently that benefit is gone. There was really no math to doing that. I just wanted it, and almost never used the benefits other than the points bonus.

However, at its most basic I could have theoretically just made 50 round trips between Berkeley and Emeryville for maybe $700. However, points runs for the sake of points runs seemed rather pointless if there wasn't more utility such as a commute or leisure travel.


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## BCL (Aug 26, 2022)

SNJRider said:


> Were the NHV-WAS actual trips or did you do the runs only for the TQPs?
> I don't understand why AGR or Amtrak is so unresponsive to emails. However, I'm glad you got 1000 TQPs but it sounds like they owe you more.



I think a lot of people did those just for the points. I know I did. But I live in an area where bus runs were like magic when it came to accumulating 100 points for a $1/$2 incremental cost. They were also specifically attached to the trains, so there was usually only 2-3 minutes and if the train was late the bus would be waiting for it.

All I needed to do was book a short ride to San Francisco, where there could be that short turnaround. A few times I just did it when I would have otherwise just taken BART. It was usually Capitol Corridor, but a few times it was the San Joaquin.

But the real gaming of the system was when one could buy a bunch of cheap tickets and get the conductor to lift all of them without a limit on the number of minimum points that could accrue per calendar day. I'm thinking the the conductors probably complained. I do remember a conductor seeing my ticket and a 45 minute stop in Fremont, California. She specifically asked if I was "doing it for points".


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## SNJRider (Aug 29, 2022)

BCL said:


> 10,000. Got me AGR bonuses and lounge access. Never had a chance to use an Amtrak lounge, but the reciprocal United Club access was nice and I used it once.
> 
> Theoretically 100 of these 100 minimum point segments was enough to make it to Select Plus. However, I had to think a lot between how much I was spending on my commute vs trying to score more TQPs. For instance, I could just get 10-ride tickets, but TQP accrual was only dependent on the price. Also - when that was a "live ticket", it didn't accrue (for the first day of the ticket validity) until the entire ticket was used, and accounting received the ticket to process. Later when it to eTickets for multi-ride, once the first use was recorded, it would then take a day or so for the TQPs to accrue. Something like RIC-SCC; I would usually just go EMY/BKY to GAC, but the cost was the same so it was better to just cover more stations. I think that was maybe $112, although a one-way BKY-GAC was $18. But the 10-ride was worth 224 points, and 10 single rides was worth 1000 points. In addition to that there were discounts to bring down the cost of single rides, and multi-city to double the points. Technically it could even triple or quadruple the points, but that took time, and I ran into issues because Capitol Corridor had limited trains to San Jose - about half ended at the Oakland Coliseum station.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the detail. It seems like you were able to really work that angle. You must have been using a spreadsheet for all those variations!
I'm trying think of what Select Plus is actually worth in terms of TQP runs. For example, if I'm at 9,000 TQPs organically (just riding the train like I normally would), is it worth the time, effort, and money to get the other 1,000 TQPs? It certainly seemed easier when AGR was less restrictive. I suppose the other option is to do the $5k spend on the credit card for 1,000 TQPs.


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## JoshP (Aug 29, 2022)

You can easy reach Select+ or Select Exec if you basically book roundtrip on sleepers between CHI-SEA and choose the expensive room (Like the $2000 ones) and you can easy reach the top, fast. The more expensive, the more TQP you will earn, same for points.

I am still on Select and just moved to Select+ as of yesterday so it says I need at least 7,000 more to go to reach to the top. I'm not sure if I can make it by March 2023 to reach that level or just remain on Select+ status.


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## BCL (Aug 29, 2022)

SNJRider said:


> Thanks for the detail. It seems like you were able to really work that angle. You must have been using a spreadsheet for all those variations!
> I'm trying think of what Select Plus is actually worth in terms of TQP runs. For example, if I'm at 9,000 TQPs organically (just riding the train like I normally would), is it worth the time, effort, and money to get the other 1,000 TQPs? It certainly seemed easier when AGR was less restrictive. I suppose the other option is to do the $5k spend on the credit card for 1,000 TQPs.



If one lives/works near an Amtrak longue, the food and beverages might be worth it. I don’t know what the current policy is in transportation, but previously there was no transportation requirement for a United Club or Amtrak lounges. One could go with the status. If I lived near Penn Station I would have gone there every day I was home and maybe multiple times.

United Club had domestic alcohol included. And theoretically one could prove access and get past airport security.


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## joelkfla (Aug 29, 2022)

JoshP said:


> I am still on Select and just moved to Select+ as of yesterday so it says I need at least 7,000 more to go to reach to the top. I'm not sure if I can make it by March 2023 to reach that level or just remain on Select+ status.


The AGR T&C say TQP's are accumulated by calendar year. Why do you say you have until March?

_"Select membership is automatically achieved by earning 5,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) during a calendar year. Select Plus membership is automatically achieved by earning 10,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards TQPs during a calendar year. Select Executive membership is automatically achieved by earning 20,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards TQPs during a calendar year."_​


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## MARC Rider (Aug 29, 2022)

BCL said:


> If one lives/works near an Amtrak longue, the food and beverages might be worth it.


Why are so many folks fixated on the free food? As a frequent user of the Amtrak Lounge in Washington while I was working, the absolute main benefit of the lounge is that it gives one comfortable seats in a quiet setting while they wait for their train. Also, priority boarding and the ability to skip the cattle line. The food at Washington is not much to speak of, but the lounge was still worth it to me. In some ways, despite the better food and more spectacular setting, the lounge at Moynihan does have a limitation in that it doesn't have good access to the trains, and sometimes lounge denizens are stuck in the cattle line with everyone else.

Similarly, the point of the sleeper ticket is not the free food that's included. What you're paying for is a private room where you can sleep lying down in a bed. So to say that one is paying $600 for a Flex meal is not really accurate. (That said, I agree that they need to improve the quality of the food served on the eastern long-distance trains, but, still, this is not being billed as a culinary experience in a Michelin-starred restaurant.)


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## joelkfla (Aug 29, 2022)

BCL said:


> If one lives/works near an Amtrak longue, the food and beverages might be worth it. I don’t know what the current policy is in transportation, but previously there was no transportation requirement for a United Club or Amtrak lounges. One could go with the status. If I lived near Penn Station I would have gone there every day I was home and maybe multiple times.
> 
> United Club had domestic alcohol included. And theoretically one could prove access and get past airport security.


The website says:

Who is Eligible for Lounge Access?​
Amtrak Guest Rewards members traveling with a same-day Amtrak ticket and valid Select Plus or Select Executive member card.
Note "same day Amtrak ticket". This is also stated on signage, at least at Moynihan. There have been 1st-person reports here of members being denied access without a travel ticket, or even being challenged by overly zealous lounge attendants for having an arrival ticket or a same-day connection, which are valid for admission under policy.

Anyhow, I hardly think chips & a soda would be worth it.

If anything would make it worthwhile, it would be the points bonus, and perhaps the upgrade & companion coupons if you're in a position to use them.


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## BCL (Aug 29, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> The website says:
> 
> Who is Eligible for Lounge Access?​
> Amtrak Guest Rewards members traveling with a same-day Amtrak ticket and valid Select Plus or Select Executive member card.
> ...



I'm pretty sure that was recent. There were people talking about possibly just going in there to get coffee and a bag of chips, but that might have been at least 5 years ago. I could have easily done a couple of thousand dollars worth of "damage" at one if I just worked a block away.

United Club was really complicated though. They apparently had some sort of rule that was conveyed to TSA that club members could access them without any air travel. Later I think that changed to requiring air travel but it didn't need to be on United. Now I think it's required that they be on United since they're getting crowded. But Amtrak and United are no longer doing this.

Of course one could do any number of things to avoid this. One could just buy a cheap unreserved ticket and then just cancel it and buy a new ticket with any eVoucher value. I think eventually it would have to be used, but that wouldn't be that big a deal with most AGR members who ostensibly travel on Amtrak.

There were stories about people who bought fully refundable first class airline tickets to take advantage of lounge perks, or even complimentary meals. Just no show and then use it to buy another ticket. One story I heard they finally caught on and said that they'd refund the ticket but this guy was banned.


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## BCL (Aug 29, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> Why are so many folks fixated on the free food? As a frequent user of the Amtrak Lounge in Washington while I was working, the absolute main benefit of the lounge is that it gives one comfortable seats in a quiet setting while they wait for their train. Also, priority boarding and the ability to skip the cattle line. The food at Washington is not much to speak of, but the lounge was still worth it to me. In some ways, despite the better food and more spectacular setting, the lounge at Moynihan does have a limitation in that it doesn't have good access to the trains, and sometimes lounge denizens are stuck in the cattle line with everyone else.
> 
> Similarly, the point of the sleeper ticket is not the free food that's included. What you're paying for is a private room where you can sleep lying down in a bed. So to say that one is paying $600 for a Flex meal is not really accurate. (That said, I agree that they need to improve the quality of the food served on the eastern long-distance trains, but, still, this is not being billed as a culinary experience in a Michelin-starred restaurant.)



I'm not fixating on it per se, but it's something that was theoretically a perk for at least a calendar year, if not longer (when I made Select Plus my welcome email said that I was immediately eligible for lounge access well before the new year started), and one that didn't require travel.


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## jcastallack (Aug 29, 2022)

I wouldn't go for status just for the food but I can honestly say I only bother with the Moynihan lounge for the food, since I come from the east and it's a bit of an extra walk. I used to use the Acela lounge just for the early track announcements but in the Met lounge that's hit or miss. But I'm there every week and used to buy lunch in Penn Station and no longer have to, saving me around $10 a week. I also pick up snacks for the train. Moynihan and other NEC lounges (I've been in the DC, Philly, and Boston ones) are just not comparable foodwise.


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## SNJRider (Aug 29, 2022)

JoshP said:


> You can easy reach Select+ or Select Exec if you basically book roundtrip on sleepers between CHI-SEA and choose the expensive room (Like the $2000 ones) and you can easy reach the top, fast. The more expensive, the more TQP you will earn, same for points.
> 
> I am still on Select and just moved to Select+ as of yesterday so it says I need at least 7,000 more to go to reach to the top. I'm not sure if I can make it by March 2023 to reach that level or just remain on Select+ status.


I think that's what I'm questioning: What is Select Plus or Select Exec worth? If I'm 1,000 away from Plus, would I want to do $5k credit card spend or ride First on Acela to hit it? This is in addition to normal commutes and travel.
I thought we only had until year end to hit a tier? I know our status expires in March but do we have that time to gather TQP's?


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## SNJRider (Aug 29, 2022)

BCL said:


> If one lives/works near an Amtrak longue, the food and beverages might be worth it. I don’t know what the current policy is in transportation, but previously there was no transportation requirement for a United Club or Amtrak lounges. One could go with the status. If I lived near Penn Station I would have gone there every day I was home and maybe multiple times.
> 
> United Club had domestic alcohol included. And theoretically one could prove access and get past airport security.


Unfortunately, the United partnership doesn't exist anymore. 
I've used the Moynihan lounge many times since pandemic and the sitting area is very nice. However, the food (very little variety) has been the same for 12 months and the alcohol is NYC prices, not discount airport lounge prices. I would argue that airport lounges are "worth" more because you can be stranded at an airport for hours but that's less likely at a train station.


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## BCL (Aug 29, 2022)

SNJRider said:


> Unfortunately, the United partnership doesn't exist anymore.
> I've used the Moynihan lounge many times since pandemic and the sitting area is very nice. However, the food (very little variety) has been the same for 12 months and the alcohol is NYC prices, not discount airport lounge prices. I would argue that airport lounges are "worth" more because you can be stranded at an airport for hours but that's less likely at a train station.



The main problem I had the one time I visited the United Club was that we pretty much had to remain in the "sterile" area at SEA because they weren't going to let us back in. And we had checked-in baggage that we needed to collect before maybe some luggage thief got to it. We did end up spending about a good 45 minutes there enjoying the sodas, coffee, and cheese (they had lots of cheese) although I didn't realize that domestic beer was included as I'd only seen the price list for premium beers. But in the end we got to the baggage claim and found that our luggage had been moved by airport employees to a claim area and we picked it up.

I wouldn't say that I've been stranded at a train station, but I have been delayed a few hours. We just constantly monitored the train status and knew it was going to be 3 hours late judging by where the train was.


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## bratkinson (Aug 29, 2022)

Depending on how one 'values' the advantage of the next AGR tier vs the cost to get there makes all the difference in the world. Getting tier status strictly from credit card spending $5,000/1,000 TQPs is a very expensive way to do it. 

As for me, I enjoy sitting quietly on the train for enjoyment. Living in Springfield MA, I have easy access to the NEC and have taken numerous 'day trips' as a means of relaxation as well as enjoyment. It also permits me to spend a day away from my home phone and the annoyances that can come that way. I don't 'live for my cellphone' as many do. It's usually turned off and I do everything via wifi on my laptop. 

I also prefer the added legroom of business class. Sometimes the extra cost of BC seems a bit high, but the 25% point boost (including TQPs) makes it less painful. So having access to the lounges along the NEC is valuable in my opinion. Yes, I could buy lounge access cards with points, and have done so before reaching Select Plus in 2015 or so. The peace and quiet are why I'm in the lounge. Except for Monihan, chips and soda aren't much of a benefit at any of them. Chicago used to be nice before covid. It's still peaceful, except the hour or so before western LDs board.

I might note, too, that these days, Acela BC costs less than regional BC! So it's an easy choice for me to switch trains at New Haven. 

Oh, and don't forget, the bonus points based on AGR tier. I take a couple of trips on points every year!


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## Anderson (Aug 30, 2022)

I'd often pop out to Glenview on the lengthy CHI layovers between 29/30 and the Western trains to grab 200 "Rail Points" (as they were then called) and rather more redeemable points for like $12.


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## JoshP (Aug 30, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> The AGR T&C say TQP's are accumulated by calendar year. Why do you say you have until March?
> 
> _"Select membership is automatically achieved by earning 5,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) during a calendar year. Select Plus membership is automatically achieved by earning 10,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards TQPs during a calendar year. Select Executive membership is automatically achieved by earning 20,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards TQPs during a calendar year."_​


On my profile, it says it will expire 3/28/2023 so thats why I said March.


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## Ryan (Aug 30, 2022)

That's when your current status expires. You have until the end of the calendar year to earn status for the next "year" (which is actually more than a year).


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## AmtrakBlue (Aug 30, 2022)

SNJRider said:


> I thought we only had until year end to hit a tier? I know our status expires in March but do we have that time to gather TQP's?


Earning TQPs is by calendar year. Status changes are made in March (after they've added up your last month of the previous year's earnings).


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## MARC Rider (Aug 30, 2022)

You can only earn 4,000 TQP from credit card spending. That's a $20,000 spend, which, if you make a decent income and use your credit card for all your purchases (paying off in full every month, of course), is not too hard to do. To get to Select Plus, you would need an additional $3,000 Amtrak travel spend to get the remaining 6,000 points. You can reduce the spend a little bit if you travel business class (or First Class on the Acela) where you get some bonus points, unless they've changed the system and no longer count the bonus points as TQPs. If you take several long distance trips in sleepers every year, that's not too hard to do, but back here in the east with $50 - $200 NEC runs, it takes quite a few trips. On the other hand, they're shorter trips, so maybe it's easier to find the time to make more of them.


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## JoshP (Aug 30, 2022)

Suppose if I want to rake up points, I could just for pleasure, purchase several tix from Buffalo Depew to Niagara Falls, NY back/forth for few days and it says tix are $14 each and I wonder how many points I will earn or plain nothing? No more 100 points earn or will it be less?

Thanks


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## Bob Dylan (Aug 31, 2022)

JoshP said:


> Suppose if I want to rake up points, I could just for pleasure, purchase several tix from Buffalo Depew to Niagara Falls, NY back/forth for few days and it says tix are $14 each and I wonder how many points I will earn or plain nothing? No more 100 points earn or will it be less?
> 
> Thanks


Since you get 2 Points for each $1 your Point Total for each $14Ticket is 28 Points!


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## zephyr17 (Aug 31, 2022)

Well, at 28 points per one way, BUF-NFL, 2 round trips BUF-NFL-BUF should do just over 100 points (4 one ways @ 28 points each, 4*28 = 112). All TQPs.

Just did a TAC-PDX points run round trip. With my 4K AGR TQP points for 20K BOA spend, hoping with TWO-NYP Business Class. NYP-PHL, and PHL-NYP Acela, that'll be enough to retain Select status. Math looks okay.


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## Sidney (Aug 31, 2022)

In the days where you had the different zones across the country,100 points was the minimum number of points per trip. I recall going from Elizabethtown to Harrisburg or Lancaster Pa for $5.50 each way during double days once a week. I racked up quite a few points taking advantage of that. These days it's $8.50. The most you can get during double days is 34 points instead of 200.


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## AmtrakBlue (Aug 31, 2022)

JoshP said:


> Suppose if I want to rake up points, I could just for pleasure, purchase several tix from Buffalo Depew to Niagara Falls, NY back/forth for few days and it says tix are $14 each and I wonder how many points I will earn or plain nothing? No more 100 points earn or will it be less?
> 
> Thanks


It’s been years since the minimum 100 points rewards. Today it’s 2x the cost of the ticket. So a $14 ticket will earn you 28 points.


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## trimetbusfan (Aug 31, 2022)

If convenient, travel buisness class on any train or first class on Acela and you’ll get a 25 or 50% point/TPQ bonus as well.


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## JoshP (Aug 31, 2022)

AmtrakBlue said:


> It’s been years since the minimum 100 points rewards. Today it’s 2x the cost of the ticket. So a $14 ticket will earn you 28 points.



So basically if I want to either keep Select or move up to Select+, I would need at least 100 R/T for me to keep Select or almost 200 to move up to Select+. Amtrak would think I'm crazy if I ever done that.


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## Bob Dylan (Aug 31, 2022)

trimetbusfan said:


> If convenient, travel buisness class on any train or first class on Acela and you’ll get a 25 or 50% point/TPQ bonus as well.


And as we continously point out, what's missing from this Formula is the Most Expensive form of Amtrak Travel, Sleepers!


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## TinCan782 (Aug 31, 2022)

I use Pacific Surfliner Business Class for my local trips up and down the coast from LA.
If you have the BofA AGR credit card (fee card) you can get 3 points per dollar for Amtrak purchases (tickets and onboard purchases) which is in addition to what Amtrak gives you.
Hurry! Time appears to be very limited on this card. I've been hearing a cutoff of September 30 although, nothing official has been announced.
And if you don't have the card its a moot point since they are no longer taking applications.


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## MARC Rider (Aug 31, 2022)

The most effective way to earn lots of points with a trip of short duration is to book a sleeper for a very short ride, like say, Baltimore to Washington. Of course, the price is ridiculous (like $170 for a roomette on the Crescent, as opposed to $27 in coach), but you do get 340 points for a 40 minute, 40 mile trip. Acela First Class would be the next alternative, with a $65 BAL -WAS fare for 195 points (including the 50% first class bonus). 

(Actually, I'm amazed that they're showing fares that cheap in Acela for a train tomorrow afternoon -- Acela Business can be as high as $80, and I've never priced first class for Baltimore to Washington, because, well, it seems like a waste of money. But you do get a nice point haul from it. The Northeast Regionals are showing $8 coach fares - that's a cheap as a MARC ticket. Not sure what's happening here. Maybe a lot of people getting off at Baltimore, and thus a bunch of empty seats that need to be sold.)


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