Maximize 70000 AGR points from LAX

[Davids]

Hi all,

I just applied the chase ink plus business credit card and can get 70,000 points if I spend $5,000.00 in the first 3 months. Do you have any suggestion to maximize AGR points round trip from LA? My home station is LAX and planning to do it next year. I want the maximum train time possible and don't mind to spend the night on own dime between trains if needed.Oh, this is for roomette accommodation.

Many thanks in advance,

David

 

[Davids]

I misspelled the word "maximize" in the title. Mod, can you please fix it?

Thanks

David

 

[Railroad Bill]

With two 35,000 three zone awards you could:

LA to Denver via Coast Starlight and California Zephyr 1 Zone

Denver to Toledo via California Zephyr and Capitol Ltd 1 Zone

Toledo to Miami via CL and Silver Meteor 1 Zone

Miami to Washington DC to Atlanta via Silver Star, Crescent 1 Zone

Atlanta to El Paso via Crescent and Sunset Ltd 1 Zone

El Paso to LAX via Sunset Ltd 1 Zone.

I would also consider doing the Southwest Chief one way or the other via Chicago/LA.

 

[Davids]

If I break the trip into 1 zone each, as suggested by Railroad Bill above, then I would need 90,000 AGR points right?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Excellent idea. I did not think about breaking out into 1 zone trip each. Thank you so much

If you did each as 1-zone awards, you'd need 45,000 (15,000 * 3) vs doing a 3-zone award that is 35,000.

Bill was saying do 2 3-zone awards:

CS - CZ - CL - SM (35,000)

SS - Crescent - SL (35,000)

 

[Railroad Bill]

Excellent idea. I did not think about breaking out into 1 zone trip each. Thank you so much

If you did each as 1-zone awards, you'd need 45,000 (15,000 * 3) vs doing a 3-zone award that is 35,000.

Bill was saying do 2 3-zone awards:

CS - CZ - CL - SM (35,000)

SS - Crescent - SL (35,000)

Yes, Betty is correct. Sorry for the confusion. You want to book them as 3 zone trips to get the most from your points.

 

[Davids]

Got it. Thank you for the clarification.

 

[the_traveler]

To further clarify, for a roomette a 3 zone award is 35,000 points. A 1 zone award (example LAX->EMY->DEN) is 15,000 and a 2 zone award (example DEN->CHI->WAS->MIA) is 20,000 - or a total of 35,000 points!

 

[Bob Dylan]

If you want to go from LAX to Denver via EMY (15,000 Points for a One Zone Award LAX-EMY) you'll need to spend the night on your dime, and it will be another 15,000 Points for another One Zone Award from EMY to Denver since #14 arrives in EMY before Midnight and the CZ#6 doesn't leave until 9amish the next day!!

This segment would have to be on the SWC#4 or the SL-TE#422 or the CS#14 to PDX/EB#28!

 

[Davids]

Hi Jim,

I thought LAX to DEN via EMY is 1 zone award or 15,000 points based on this thread http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/55501-clarifications-on-rules-from-agr-insider/

I built my tentative itinerary, it is as follows:

Outbound:

LAX to NOL on SL (20,000)

NOL to ATL on Crescent (pay with my own dime/ coach) to spend more time in NOL

ATL to MIA via WAS on Crescent and Silver Star (15,000)

Inbound:

MIA to DEN via WAS and CHI on Silver Meteor, CL,and CZ (20,000)

DEN to LAX with overnight in SAC or EMY with own dime per rule in the thread above on CZ and CS (15,000)?

Do you think this itinerary will work?

Thanks

David

 

[crescent2]

Davids, I'm not sure the DEN-SAC/EMY-LAX portion is still allowed on a single award. I think I remember reading something about the CZ-CS connection being a problem now, or maybe something about having to connect only in SAC. ?? But I haven't been keeping up with it lately, so I could easily be mistaken.

Any published route shouldn't be a problem. "Published" means the entire route is offered without using the Multi-city function on amtrak.com. Otherwise, it has to be an approved exception to be done on one AGR award. I don't recall about this route.

:help: Hopefully someone currently more knowledgeable will post an answer to your question.

Your trip sounds great; good luck with it!

 

[SanDiegan]

Took the LAX-SAC-DEN trip last year and was charged only 15,000 points from Roomette. The night in Sac was spent at a friend's place. On the way back, I went DEN-SAC-PDX and was charged another 15,000 points. Hung out with friends while waiting for #14 in SAC. Of course, the PDX-LAX return was another 15,000 points.

 

[sechs]

You're going to end up with at least 75k points. If you spend in one of th 2x or 5x categories, you can get more.

Also keep in mind that you can spend those points on hotel, as well as transfer them to AGR. You can book directly through Ultimate Rewards, or transfer to Hyatt or Mariott.

Even with stop-overs, you could do a whole trip on points.