Fall Double Points Promotion

[pennyk]

I just received an email from AGR announcing their Fall double points promotion.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I just received an email from AGR announcing their Fall double points promotion.

:hi: Thanks Penny! I forsee lots of Point Run Reservations being made by AU Members! Book it, Danno!

 

[Afsheen]

I just received an email from AGR announcing their Fall double points promotion.

And for monthly pass riders, note that the promo starts Wednesday, September 5th, which is only the second normal business day of the month (assuming you have Labor Day off). If you have an alternate means of getting where you need to go on Tuesday the 4th and can wait to buy your pass on the 5th, then you can squeeze three monthly passes during the promo period, since it runs through November 16th.

 

[Acela150]

September 5th... Great day.. My birthday.. Thanks for the Birthday Present Amtrak! Came just in the knick of time! I'm doing a Bday trip on the 6th.

 

[amamba]

I just received an email from AGR announcing their Fall double points promotion.

And for monthly pass riders, note that the promo starts Wednesday, September 5th, which is only the second normal business day of the month (assuming you have Labor Day off). If you have an alternate means of getting where you need to go on Tuesday the 4th and can wait to buy your pass on the 5th, then you can squeeze three monthly passes during the promo period, since it runs through November 16th.

Afsheen, it has been my experience with the monthly passes that the date always posts as the first of the month, no matter when the pass was bought.

Are you suggesting the if the pass is bought on the 5th that it will qualify for double points?

 

[Railroad Bill]

Thanks Penny

We are leaving on the 5th on the Cap Ltd & CZ for our Yellowstone trip.

Great Timing on Amtrak's part...smile

 

[Afsheen]

I just received an email from AGR announcing their Fall double points promotion.

And for monthly pass riders, note that the promo starts Wednesday, September 5th, which is only the second normal business day of the month (assuming you have Labor Day off). If you have an alternate means of getting where you need to go on Tuesday the 4th and can wait to buy your pass on the 5th, then you can squeeze three monthly passes during the promo period, since it runs through November 16th.

Afsheen, it has been my experience with the monthly passes that the date always posts as the first of the month, no matter when the pass was bought.

Are you suggesting the if the pass is bought on the 5th that it will qualify for double points?

Oh, you know what, I hadn't ever checked, but you're right - all my monthly pass points post dated on 1st of the month. I'll try buying mine on the 5th this time around and see if it gets double points.

 

[winterskigirl]

Excellent ! Joined AGR in May & love the points I'm already adding up over my summer travel. I got the email too

 

[Railroad Bill]

Just as a clarification of the rules for this promotion. You may take only two 1-way trips each day to gain the double points.

Therefore; if we ride from CLE to CHI for one trip and ride the Hiawatha up to Glenview for another trip, we could not count the return trip from Glenview to Chicago for double points. :unsure:

I know the group has discussed this issue several times before when it comes up, but would like to hear it again-- I am old and my mind is not as sharp as it was yesterday :giggle: :giggle:

 

[fairviewroad]

Just as a clarification of the rules for this promotion. You may take only two 1-way trips each day to gain the double points.

Therefore; if we ride from CLE to CHI for one trip and ride the Hiawatha up to Glenview for another trip, we could not count the return trip from Glenview to Chicago for double points. :unsure:

I know the group has discussed this issue several times before when it comes up, but would like to hear it again-- I am old and my mind is not as sharp as it was yesterday :giggle: :giggle:

You are correct, and it's important to point this out since the Email I received from Amtrak has this subject line:

Double points on all Amtrak travel this autumn

Granted, you can't expect them to cram all the fine print into the subject line of the email, but it's simply incorrect to say "All Amtrak Travel."

Edit to add: Actually, I see that it's not just the subject line of the email. The promotional material is full of references to "All Amtrak Travel."

Kind of misleading.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

I agree it is misleading.

I can hear the lawyers now... "Well it is on all Amtrak travel... as long as you only take two one-way trips a day..." :wacko:

It reminds me of when I was growing up, and my parents who would say: "Do what you want." But, the unspoken part was: "As long as we would approve." :huh:

 

[Anthony]

It says that terms and conditions may apply.

 

[Acela150]

Kinda ruins the deal though. I always would do four one ways. To max out that Double Points. I guess they figured out a lot of people do that.

 

[Bob Dylan]

As they say in the NFL, "Upon further review", looking @ the Fine Print that limits Double Points to Two One Way or One Roundtrip a day sort of puts a damper on the old Promos that allowed up to Four trips a day! In the case of the Gathering, if we ride Amtrak from PHL-WIL, and upon returning to PHL via Septa want to take a turn on the Keystone only one of the Legs will count for Double Points! Same thing on the Return Home on the Penn and Cap Ltd. from PHL on Monday,, a morning Point Run on the Keystone Wouldn't Work because of the Two Legs getting Double Points later in the day! Bummer!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Add me to the list of folks who don't think this promotion is worth the effort at this point.

 

[Anthony]

The promo is well worth signing up for if you are traveling like a normal person, and not a railfan...

 

[the_traveler]

I didn't get the email (for some reason), so thanks for letting me know about it!

And if someone did not notice, you need to register for the double points!

And yes, I wish it were like prior years that allowed 4 one way trips per day. If I make a day trip to (say) ALB, I have to take 2 trains each way. However, on the return, I'd only earn 1x points?

I don't like that!

 

[Railroad Bill]

But as my old daddy used to say. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" :giggle:

 

[pennyk]

I didn't get the email (for some reason), so thanks for letting me know about it!

And if someone did not notice, you need to register for the double points!

And yes, I wish it were like prior years that allowed 4 one way trips per day. If I make a day trip to (say) ALB, I have to take 2 trains each way. However, on the return, I'd only earn 1x points?

I don't like that!

Dave, I guess you are not "normal" according to Anthony's definition - and I am. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

and.... if you believe that I am normal, I have a bridge to sell you. :giggle:

 

[the_traveler]

Sorry already bought it - 37 times! I'm a slow learner.

But I did sell it 26 times - and made a profit!

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I didn't get an email either, but did register after seeing Penny's post. Thanks Penny for alerting us un-normal people.

Hmm, maybe we're paranormal. h34r:

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The promo is well worth signing up for if you are traveling like a normal person, and not a railfan...

Is it worth signing up for? Sure, we're talking maybe five minutes of work at most. Is it worth scheduling a brand new trip just to take advantage of the promotion? Not even close.

 

[the_traveler]

1346352468[/url]' post='390688']

1346284772[/url]' post='390510']The promo is well worth signing up for if you are traveling like a normal person, and not a railfan...

Is it worth signing up for? Sure, we're talking maybe five minutes of work at most. Is it worth scheduling a brand new trip just to take advantage of the promotion? Not even close.

Five minutes?

Pull up your AGR account, and click to register! That takes five minutes?

Are you going to the Gathering?

There may be some train riding there, and it's in the time period!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Five minutes?

Pull up your AGR account, and click to register! That takes five minutes?

If my computer is off then yes it can take up to five minutes for it to start up and reach the website. I don't generally leave everything running all the time so it's not uncommon for me to turn my computer on before making use of it. Oddly enough my Windows 7 computers tend to get going a lot quicker than my Macbook Pro. Not sure why that is.

Are you going to the Gathering?

There may be some train riding there, and it's in the time period!

I'm currently scheduled to be in Asia during those dates so I won't be able to attend the Gathering this year. -_-

 

[Afsheen]

The promo is well worth signing up for if you are traveling like a normal person, and not a railfan...

Is it worth signing up for? Sure, we're talking maybe five minutes of work at most. Is it worth scheduling a brand new trip just to take advantage of the promotion? Not even close.

Doesn't that apply to EVERY points promotion, though? Any "typical" trip where you're earning 2 points/dollar, plus a double points promo, plus buying with an AGR credit card, plus getting an S+ 50% bonus (so having the stars align to earn a total of 7 points / dollar), is still 14 cents/point, which is nearly 7x the price of just buying points outright.

Even in most extreme edge cases, travelling solely for the points doesn't really make economic sense. Looking at an extreme (and very cushy) example that comes in with a very, very low CPM: a low-bucket Acela ticket from BOS to WAS (which is $163, I believe) booked as a two-segment through fare to yield two select city pair trips (BOS-NYP, NYP-WAS) and upgraded to first for free the whole way through with one coupon still yields around 3.99 cents/point for 4076 points (1500 + 1500 2x bonus + 750 S+ bonus + 326 if bought with an AGR card), which is still more expensive than sitting at home and buying points for 2.75 cents/point, although you still get a lot of bang for your buck and it's a nice trip all the way in first.

I can, however, think of one example where taking the train yields better CPM than an outright points purchase: a $8 $6.5 PHL-PAO trip, booked as a two-segment through fare (PHL-ARD, ARD-PAO) yields 266 points 513 points (200 points at 100 minimum per segment, plus 200 bonus, plus 100 S+ bonus, plus 13 for buying on an AGR card) for a $8 $6.50 outlay, which is a great deal, coming in at a low, low 1.26 cents/point. It's not nearly as nice as the Acela ride in first, but it's a substantial savings over buying points.

My previous conclusion, when my math was off on the PHL-ARD-PAO journey, was that it's never economically justifiable to ride purely for points, but in this case, as long as you're not assigning any monetary value to your time, then sure, this ride is worth it purely for the points. There are probably some other trips like that out there, too, but I still think my earlier point makes sense: ride the train if you love riding the train or if it's your most economical option to get from one place to another or if it's the easiest way to get from one place to another or whatever other reason you have, and if you're already going to be on the train, though, these bonuses are exactly that - a nice bonus for doing something you were already planning to do. I just don't value the points highly enough, though, to go seek out train travel purely for more points.