Transfers, AGR points, and upgrades

[bmjhagen9426]

I have an upcoming trip from SAC to SAS next year, and I have a few questions regarding it:
I know for sure that I have to take Sunset out of LAUS, but I have yet to decide how I will take the first leg. Should I take the inland route and avoid spending the night in DTLA, or should I just take the Starlite?
If I take the Starlite from SAC, is spending the night in LA a must?
If I purchased the coach ticket using AGR points, can I upgrade to a sleeper with dollars later on (assuming that they are not sold out)?
What is the difference between getting on Train 2 or 422 if I am getting off before the Sunset-Eagle split, and why are the sleepers on the latter cheaper?
If I have to travel on coach overnight, what should I know about, and prepare, and should I buy some snacks in DTLA prior to boarding the Sunset?
What about hurricanes (traveling late September)?
Will the CA (or SCA) wake me (and other SAS-bound pax) up for the 5am arrival (I do not want to miss my stop)?
Thanks in advance

 

[zephyr17]

- When last I looked, 11-2 was a guaranteed connection despite it being less than the 60 minute guideline with the Starlight's current schedule. That guarantee has come and gone over the years, check SAC-SAS to see if it is offered as a routing option now, if it is, it is guaranteed. If it is guaranteed, they make every effort to ensure you are on that Sunset, since it is only runs three times a week and they don't want to pay a couple nights hotel to lay misconnects over. If the train is severely late by NorCal, they'll rebook you on the San Joaquin anyway. If it loses time south of there enough to miss it, they'll usually do a bus bridge between Oxnard and like Ontario or Palm Springs.
- You cannot mix points and cash on a single reservation. Period. You will not be able to use cash to upgrade on an coach award ticket. Your options to upgrade will be to use points, or cancel and rebook with cash.
- As far as inventory and yield management go, 2 and 422 are managed as entirely separate trains. They'll have their separate inventories allocated to yield management buckets based on the projected demand. One can be cheaper than the other for a given departure, depending on expected demand versus inventory to Eagle points versus Sunset points for that departure. If there is more demand from points west of SAS to Houston and New Orleans than Dallas and St. Louis, occupancy LAX-SAS will block that space to the higher demand points and will likely be in a higher bucket. The buckets themselves are the same for both 2 and 422 LAX-SAS.
- Snacks are a good idea, but I'd buy them in Sacramento and take them with you.
- Late September is in hurricane season.
- The attendant or conductor will wake you up. San Antonio is a very major stop anyway, but even if you were getting off in Sanderson, they'll make sure you're up. No conductor wants a carry-by. It looks bad. If in coach, just make sure you're in your seat with your seat check above it.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

I think I might take the Starlite from SAC. And to play it safe, I will most likely spend a night in LA. What are some budget friendly (not too expensive, $150 or less per night) motels to crash in LA (ideally DTLA, but I won't mind further away from DTLA, as long as I can get there and back to LAUS via the Metro), or nearby?
As for late September being hurricane season, where do they usually hit (a hurricane with a path of Harvey or Ike would be undesirable, considering that I am going to SAS)?

 

[zephyr17]

Metro Plaza hotel is a short walk, and just across the street from Phillipes.

It is clean and decent, but far from 5 star.

I don't think anyone can give you a hurricane storm track 10 months in advance.

 

[jis]

I don't think anyone can give you a hurricane storm track 10 months in advance.

Or even ten weeks in advance. Even ten days is somewhat iffy, since many hurricanes develop within a day or two of striking the coast, and whether they will develop or not is not known for sure a week in advance, let alone its path if it does develop.

 

[zephyr17]

Or even ten weeks in advance. Even ten days is somewhat iffy, since many hurricanes develop within a day or two of striking the coast, and whether they will develop or not is not known for sure a week in advance, let alone its path if it does develop.

Even at 10 hours, there is still a considerable cone of uncertainty along a storm track as well.

 

[jis]

Even at 10 hours, there is still a considerable cone of uncertainty along a storm track as well.

Yeah. Ian which was supposed to go up the peninsula west of Orlando finally went right over my House. Even the previous night we had no idea it was coming our way. Fortunately by the time it came here it was Category 1 heading down to Tropical Storm, both of which are not that big a deal in the bigger scheme of things.

 

[GAT]

Even at 10 hours, there is still a considerable cone of uncertainty along a storm track as well.

10 months, 10 weeks, 10 days, 10 hours....do you think we'll have a good idea by 10 minutes? Just kidding of course, about how this conversation has played out. Seriously, though, I wouldn't worry about hurricanes in your trip planning. San Antonio is pretty far inland, and hurricanes tend to dissipate once they head inland. You might experience tropical storm conditions with heavy rain and flooding, but not high category winds. If that happens, there's a risk your eastbound train might be terminated before San Antonio ( at El Paso?) or cancelled before departing LA. But all this thinking is just part of the broader issue of Amtrak and weather conditions in general.

Like Mark Twain said, "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it."

Here's an interesting article about hurricanes and San Antone.

https://www.tpr.org/news/2019-05-31...to-know-about-hurricane-season-in-san-antonio

 

[bmjhagen9426]

I am riding the CS the day before my trip on the Sunset, and I chose Biz Class. Is there any advantage getting that over coach when traveling on the CS, and if so, what could it be?

 

[zephyr17]

I am riding the CS the day before my trip on the Sunset, and I chose Biz Class. Is there any advantage getting that over coach when traveling on the CS, and if so, what could it be?

Usually not as full. So, while there is no guarantee single travelers often get both seats to themselves.

The seats themselves are the same with the same seat pitch, but with faux leather upholstery.

Used to be dining car access, but rumor is dining car access is to become available to coach passengers on the Starlight.

I understand Starlight Business Class is being discontinued in the near future.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

Used to be dining car access, but rumor is dining car access is to become available to coach passengers on the Starlight.

I understand Starlight Business Class is being discontinued in the near future.

Is the rumored extension of dining car access to coachclass just for the CS?

As for the CS Biz class being removed, should I expect refunds (as that will be considered a downgrade, and hope it's not bumped off the train)? What if I booked that using AGR Points? And why did the online system allow me to book biz class?

 

[zephyr17]

Is the rumored extension of dining car access to coachclass just for the CS?

As for the CS Biz class being removed, should I expect refunds (as that will be considered a downgrade, and hope it's not bumped off the train)? What if I booked that using AGR Points? And why did the online system allow me to book biz class?

Just the Starlight at this time.

Based on looking at Amtrak.com, they stop selling BC as of the Seattle departure on 1/5.

The online system sold it to you because the reservation system still had BC inventory when you bought your ticket. If traveling after 1/5, it may have gotten yanked out from under you, like happened to many sleeping car passengers over this summer when cars with sold inventory were pulled off.

If you are traveling after 1/5, I suggest you look at your reservation on the app. If a QR code shows up, you are good, at least for the time being. If not, your original space was likely cancelled, but they haven't gotten around to notifying you yet. If no QR code, call and get your reservation modified. They may have done this already behind the scenes if no QR, but it will not show up until they confirm it with you. One of the many problems with Amtrak today is they are not notifying passengers proactively at the time a change is made, but rather wait until a couple weeks before departure. In your case, it isn't critical. There will almost certainly be coach seats available, and coach really isn't that different from BC on the Starlight.

Keep checking the app periodically. They may not have removed all the BC inventory at once. It is also possible that BC is being withdrawn temporarily for a reason like heavy shopping of the limited number Superliner BC cars used on the Starlight and BC will return by the time of your trip.

Business Class is sold as an accommodation charge over the rail fare. They'll refund/return the points associated with the BC accommodation charge at least. It is also a separate inventory from coach, and so the underlying rail fare can be at a higher bucket than coach inventory is, making the fare difference more than just the BC accommodation charge. If that is thr case, it will more advantageous to have them cancel and rebook so as to get the lower coach rail fare bucket. An AGR agent can do this waiving any penalties.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

Just cancelled and re-booked as coach. Better safe than sorry. As for where I'm staying in SAC, I know quite a bit as I lived around there for 4 years, but will likely call Lyft on the morning of my departure (especially if I stay away from the Downtown Grid, such as Arden, Natomas, West Sac, Carmichael, or Fair Oaks), as Regional Transit does not usually run buses early enough for the SB CS.

 

[zephyr17]

I think you jumped the gun for a September trip. If it were me, I'd have checked my reservation every week or two on the app to see if it was intact and then call if it wasn't.