I'd like to book a trip from Seattle to Syracuse with deluxe accomodations for two people. The price, $3400, nearly knocked me off my chair. Is there any way, time of the year, or special programs I can use to get this price down?
Debbie in WA state shop99er@prodigy.net
Posted by reggierail (Member # 26) on :
You could bring it down to about $2000 if you went for the standard bedroom instead of the deluxe. You also need to consider you will both be having 8 or so meals in a full service dining car each way on your trip. That adds up to about 30 meals. depending on your time schedule you could also do a trip to Boston, New York City or even Montreal for an additional charge of next to nothing. You are allowed up to 3 stopovers on an All Aboard fare. For example you could travel Seattle to Syracuse spend some time there & then travel to Montreal. After some time there you could then travel to New York City or even Wash. DC. You could return to Seattle via a different route adding greatly to the country you'd be seeing on your trip. Yours Reggie
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
Whatever you end up doing, be sure to sign up for Amtrak's Guest Rewards program. If you sign up on-line at http://www.amtrak.com you get bonus points, and even more bonus points if you travel within 90 days.
If you are a member of AAA or NARP you can get 10% off of your rail fare. That discount doesn't apply to the sleeper portion of the fare.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
Posted by shop99er (Member # 678) on :
I did sign up, both myself and the husband, for the rewards program. Unfortunately we are not members of AAA or anything else.
Traveling that distance without the deluxe accomodations is just not an option for us. We'd only condider booking a standard room from the Syracuse to Chicago run.
I noticed, I looked into traveling by train in Feb. that the same trip was only $2300. Are there times of the year that the prices go higher? Like in summer?
Since we do want deluxe accomodations should we book right away while they are available or do the more expensive tickest not sell as fast?
Thanks for all the help! I really appreciate the information.
Posted by yummykaz (Member # 475) on :
I picked this up off somewhere:
Train peak season june 16-aug20...dec 15-jan 1
hope it helps!
Becki
ps try and compare to 1st class airfare not crappy air coach fare
Posted by shop99er (Member # 678) on :
Becki,
Thanks for that little tid-bid of information. I wondered if they had an off season or not.
Getting on an airplane is not in our future anytime soon. I've flown as much as I intend to and I don't mind spending more on a ticket to travel by train. However, I'd still like to get a good deal and not pay top dollar for a ticket.
Posted by JAChooChoo (Member # 723) on :
[QUOTE]Originally posted by shop99er: I noticed, I looked into traveling by train in Feb. that the same trip was only $2300. Are there times of the year that the prices go higher? Like in summer?
Amtrak (like the airlines and even Greyhound) does practice yield control. Amtrak knows when demand is higher and boosts the price accordingly. If the price is lower, they are trying to fill up expected empty space. Also, offering lower prices for advance ticket payment, effectively allows Amtrak to bank the money and collect interest until you us thee service.
One more tip, check the Amtrak website for "Rail Sale" available only on the web.
Posted by yakima15 (Member # 739) on :
In addition,on the Amtrak web sight,click on "special offers": Amtrak offers special student,as well as senior citizen discounts:@ if you"re traveling with a large group(I'm not sure of the minimum required)you can receive a discount.
[This message has been edited by yakima15 (edited 04-20-2001).]
Posted by lakeshorelimited (Member # 576) on :
If you join the National Association of Rail passengers (NARP) you get a %10 discount off of SOME Amtrak travel. You can join the NARP for as low as $28 dollars per family. If that 28 dollars saves you considerably on our railfare, I'd go for it if I were you. And you're supporting a good cause! http://www.narprail.org/join.htm
Posted by reggierail (Member # 26) on :
Group travel on Amtrak involves a minimum of twenty people. If checking for lowest fare, the time of the year & how many rooms or seats are left also affects the price. For example a train with 2 sleepers would have 10 Superliner deluxe rooms, as the deluxes sell the price on the remaining rooms would go up to the next higher bucket. So, a train leaving Tuesday with 7 deluxe rooms left would be much cheaper than the Wednesady train with only 2 deluxe rooms left. Hope this helps, it's easy for me as I am a travel agent & deal with this all the time. Yours Reggie
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Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
quote:Originally posted by lakeshorelimited: If you join the National Association of Rail passengers (NARP) you get a %10 discount off of SOME Amtrak travel.
AAA members can get the same discount. It applies to the basic "rail fare" (i.e. coach) but not to additional costs like sleeping accomodations. Still, joining NARP is a good idea if you want rail service to iimprove.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy