Redeem or buy?

[rms492]

Hello, this topic has come up, but need some advice.

I have reserved and paid a trip on the Empire Builder from SEA to CHI next March. I got the lowest bucket for everything...for two, the total came out to 746.00.

(270.00 AAA coach for two, plus 476 bedroom = 746.00).

Now, if I was to redeem, this would be a two-zone bedroom at 30,000 points. I use the "275.00 per 10,000 points" formula, so that means 275.00 x 3 = 825.00.

It is cheaper to buy the ticket, but not by much (79.00)

What I'm really trying to say is that with AGR, you are basically "pre-paying" your trips in advance. I always buy 10K points each year, so it doesn't seem like a burden to get charged 275.00 each year for 3 years, versus a one time 746.00 for one time ticket. Since I'm fairly new to this AGR thing, (less than 2 years), just trying to decide to "save for later" or "use now." Much like Scott, I plan on riding every long-distance (for the most part end to end), but only one-way.

I hope I'm making sense, if not sorry.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

There is a cap on how many points you can buy per year. It is 10,000.

So unless you have 20,000 other AGR points (earned) then you won't be able to afford that award. On top of that, you'd be squandering the points you've earned. It boils down to personality, but I'd never redeem an award that didn't get me 5¢ per point or more.

 

[rms492]

There is a cap on how many points you can buy per year. It is 10,000.
So unless you have 20,000 other AGR points (earned) then you won't be able to afford that award. On top of that, you'd be squandering the points you've earned. It boils down to personality, but I'd never redeem an award that didn't get me 5¢ per point or more.

I have a bit over 30K.

Please show me how to figure out the 5 cents per point or more formula.

 

[Ispolkom]

I personally consider that I'm using my AGR points efficiently if a trip nets out to be at least 3 cents per point at the lowest bucket. I've done much better, but generally if the return is below 3 cents per point I'll buy the ticket. Other people do things differently, say saving up points for a special trip that they'd not otherwise take.

The formula? Divide the cost of the tickets by the number of AGR points you'd need to book those tickets. $746/30,000 = $.0249. At 2.5 cents a point I wouldn't use AGR points on that trip. On the other hand, if you have the points and you don't have the cash, and you want to make the trip, you might come to a different conclusion.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

There is a cap on how many points you can buy per year. It is 10,000.
So unless you have 20,000 other AGR points (earned) then you won't be able to afford that award. On top of that, you'd be squandering the points you've earned. It boils down to personality, but I'd never redeem an award that didn't get me 5¢ per point or more.

I have a bit over 30K.

Please show me how to figure out the 5 cents per point or more formula.

Simple. Divide your cost of trip (as if you bought the ticket) by your number of points.

For instance if Bedroom X costs $1,203.00 -or- 30,000 points, then 1203/30000=0.0401, or $0.04 per point, or 4¢.

So X/Y=Z where X=cost of ticket, Y=cost of points for same ticket, Z=value of each point spent in dollars.

 

[the_traveler]

To compute the ¢/point value, take the TOTAL cost of the trip or segment and divide by the TOTAL amount of points needed!

In this case, you are redeeming a bedroom. A bedroom award includes the room AND the rail fare FOR 2! So I would divide the TOTAL ($746) by the number of points needed (30,000 points)! That would come to 2.487¢/point.

Since it is low bucket, I do not consider that a good deal to redeem! (Think about it - you BUY them for 2.75¢/point and REDEEM them for 2.487¢/point! :blink: That sounds like something the Government would do! :lol: ) I have redeemed points when it was HIGH bucket, and got 12¢/point value!

 

[jis]

Don't forget to account for the meals that are included in the Sleeper charges. That can add a few pretty pennies to your cost.

 

[Guest]

I booked the OMA-CBS 1 zone loophole in deluxe bedrooms for Nov. (20,000 points) and the total cost was $2500+,

or 12.5c per point redeemed which is a very good deal! Lots of my points came from using the AGR MC (you do use that one right?) like the traveler recommends, promo/bonus points and I am in Select status so I bought my points during the bonus point promo! As the traveler says you can buy on Dec. 31 and buy more on Jan. 1 if youre planning a winter trip, different calendar years!

 

[the_traveler]

The great thing about AGR awards is that as long as a room is available on the train - it's your's for the same amount of points (not double like the airlines)!So if you got a low bucket room with a total cost of $746, it would cost 30,000 points. But if you had a high bucket room with a total cost of $3,000, it would still cost 30,000 points! And you would have a much higher ¢/point value!

It is always better to redeem points when the tickets are in a higher bucket.

 

[Ispolkom]

It is always better to redeem points when the tickets are in a higher bucket.

This is a really great thing about using AGR points: you can make a last-minute change in an expensive sleeper ticket and it costs nothing. For instance, I changed a St. Paul-Boston trip to a Minot-Boston trip for free, since the zones didn't change.

 

[jmbgeg]

Hello, this topic has come up, but need some advice.I have reserved and paid a trip on the Empire Builder from SEA to CHI next March. I got the lowest bucket for everything...for two, the total came out to 746.00.

(270.00 AAA coach for two, plus 476 bedroom = 746.00).

Now, if I was to redeem, this would be a two-zone bedroom at 30,000 points. I use the "275.00 per 10,000 points" formula, so that means 275.00 x 3 = 825.00.

It is cheaper to buy the ticket, but not by much (79.00)

What I'm really trying to say is that with AGR, you are basically "pre-paying" your trips in advance. I always buy 10K points each year, so it doesn't seem like a burden to get charged 275.00 each year for 3 years, versus a one time 746.00 for one time ticket. Since I'm fairly new to this AGR thing, (less than 2 years), just trying to decide to "save for later" or "use now." Much like Scott, I plan on riding every long-distance (for the most part end to end), but only one-way.

I hope I'm making sense, if not sorry.

I travel in bedrooms, so the fare price point is higher for paid fares and the point requirements for awards is likewise higher. SPK-LAX and SPK-CHI round trips are two long distance routes that I have taken multiple times. In weighing whether to use points I look at what paid fares (rail and accomodations) are available for the desired travel dates. Low bucket one way fares in a deluxe room this summer were under $500 and high bucket almost hit $1,500. If the available fares are low bucket or slightly higher I buy the ticket and earn more points (especially during promo periods). If on the target travel dates the fare each way was high bucket at $1,472 I would be crazy not to use an award. If you travel with any frequency save your award points for travel dates when only expensive fares are available. Don't compare it to what you would pay to buy points.

 

[RRrich]

I think it is WRONG to look at low bucket prices when evaluating cents/point - I look at how much it will cost me versus the number of points to get the cents/point.

If I am booking 11 months out the cost to me is low so the number of cents/point is likewise low so I tend to pay with my AGR mastercard- but if wifey says to me, "lets go on a train ride in November" then it would be a high bucket situation and I would think AGR points