James (Jamie) started The Forward Cabin blog to educate readers about points, miles, and loyalty programs. He’s spoken at Princeton University and The New York Times Travel Show and has been quoted in...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
5 comments
ReVeLaTeD
August 18, 2019
“These upgrade coupons are valid for one-segment, one-way trips on most trains, except long-distance services.”
That’s disappointing and (from my perspective) completely eliminates the primary value. On the West, Coast Starlight is the primary method for most people going south and it’s a long-distance service by design, not by choice. I’d rather do 703 (which is regional) for a part and Coast Starlight for the other part but that’s only an option northbound. That means you’re booking multiple separate segments just to be able to use coupons you earned.
What they really SHOULD do is get rid of what they call “Business” class, because it isn’t, move that car behind Coach and call it “Coach Plus” or something, move the dining car behind that and have the Roomettes become the “Business” class, move sleeper cars behind the dining car and set up a dedicated sleeper car cafe. That way, sleepers don’t have to walk through three cars to get something to eat and add value to being in “Business” class, because right now there’s no value for long hauls.
Rod Grafton
November 18, 2019
I read something about being able to get a free companion ticket when I signed up for this credit card. How do I go about getting this ticket?
Jarrod West
November 19, 2019
Hi Rod,
You should receive the companion ticket on the anniversary date of your account, 1 year after it was opened. Have you had the card open for a year yet?
Rod Grafton
November 18, 2019
How much in dollars are 12,000 points worth toward an Amtrak train ticket from Alliance Ohio to Riverside California?
Jarrod West
November 19, 2019
Hi Rod,
The value of Amtrak points varies depending on which type of train and ticket type you select. With that said, you can generally get somewhere around 2 cents per point in value out of Amtrak points. This would make the value of 12,000 points somewhere around $240.
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