AMTRAK - LESSONS LEARNED - PART 2

This is part two of my Amtrak – Lessons Learned Post. In my last post, I recapped many of the lessons Learned during my recent Cross-Country Trip to Phoenix. In this post I will highlight some of the things that I would do differently when I decide to embark on another Amtrak Journey.

1.       USE AMTRAK POINTS: Be sure to sign up (which I have) for the Amtrak Rewards Program.  My recent Trip netted me about 6000 total points. Points can be used for upgrades or free trips. They can also be used for discounts on rental cars and hotels.  Also, if you are a Reward Member you will receive advanced information on promotions before they are available to the Public.  Plus, if you achieve a certain level you can use the Metropolitan Lounge.  For my past trip while I was already a reward member.  I evidently received an e-mail that would have allowed me to take advantage of a discount on my already booked trip.  I let it sit in my in-box for a couple of day before I opened it and the offer had expired. The offer would have allowed me to receive either a $50 credit on my trip from Chicago back to Washington or Rewards Point on that leg of the tip plus an additional 250 points. LESSON LEARNED – Not only sign up for an Amtrak Reward account but open and review all e-mails and offers.

2.       BREAK UP LONG TRIPS: This is perhaps the most valuable lesson learned.  While the trip going out to Arizona (4-days and 3-night) was uneventful. The fact that Amtrak’s schedule is dependent on the freight railroad. Long and lengthy delay are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Example was on my return trip I had broken down up the trip into two leg. The first leg was from Phoenix to Chicago. Upon arriving in Chicago, I opted to spend a couple of days in the Windy City before continuing to Washington finally home.  I booked the Chicago-Washington and Washington – Roanoke all in one reservation knowing that I had just slightly less than 4-hours between trains in Washington.  As luck would have it, the train from Chicago to Washington more than 6-hours late getting in and I missed my train to Roanoke.  Because I had booked both legs in one reservation Amtrak (to their credit) assumed responsibility to get me to my destination. The problem being their plan was not ideal for me. Upon arriving in D. C., I was met by a customer service agent Who quickly ushered me to another Train bound for Lynchburg Virginia where, as the agent explained to me, I would be met by a Taxi cab and taken to Roanoke. The train from Washington to Lynchburg was delayed 6-hours in Charlottesville and I didn’t arrive in Lynchburg. Until almost 5 a.m. and by the time I arrived by taxi in Roanoke, it was close to 7 a.m. I advised the customer service agent in Washington that I would be just a happy to spend the night in a hotel in D. C. and travel the next day provided Amtrak would make my existing ticket valid for next day travel. The agent told me that that wasn’t an option, they Amtrak policy was to put me on the next available train or bus and since there was a train to Lynchburg, I would be required to accept that. My current ticket from Washington D. C. to Lynchburg, I was listed as a NO SHOW and that ticket was no longer valid and could not be updated for next day travel. She further explained that if I choses to decline train to Lynchburg that I would not receive a refund on my NO SHOW ticket (even though it was Amtrak’s problem that caused me to miss by connection) and that I would just have to purchase another ticket at my expense for travel the next day. LESSON LEARNED – Amtrak is at the mercy of the Freight Companies and are almost always late. Break up your travel into legs, spending the night and starting each leg fresh the next day or a couple of days later.

3.       RESEARCH HOTELS ALONG THE WAY: A little research goes along way especially when you are dependent on Public Transportation. First, I knew I wanted to stay at a hotel that was within walking distance of Union Station during my Chicago stop over.  I have said before I am not a fan of the third-party hotel booking services like Hotels.com or Priceline.  I would rather deal with the hotel directly either through their online booking platform or through their 800 number.  Most of the hotel in downtown Chicago that were within walking distance of Union Station had rates that were over $200 per night.  But through a little research I found the Club Quarter Hotel was about a half a mile from the station and was offering a base rate of $184 per night. This was almost $50 less than anything else in the area. So, I took to sites like Yelp and Trip Advisor to see what Kind of reviews this hotel was getting. To my surprise it was getting excellent reviews. The biggest fault was people complaining about that small rooms.  So, after looking at the hotel and surrounding area on Google Maps I signed in to their website and started the rather simple booking process.  To my surprise I discovered that because I was a first-time guest my rate was being further discounted from $184 to $164.  This was $70 off the rated quoted by other hotels in the area so I decided to book two nights and found that my rate was being further discounted to $134 per night. This is a hotel right on Adams street in the Heart of Chicago. I could walk to Union Station, to restaurants and to many of the tourist attractions. LESSON LEARNED: Don’t be shy about researching Hotels and looking at their online discounts.

4.       RENTAL CARS: Just as you research hotels, be sure to research WHERE you rent your car from.  Here are a couple of examples of what I am talking about. My friend who routinely flies into Phoenix told me that you can save a substantial amount by renting at a branch away from the Airport. So, when making my rental car reservation with Enterprise I check the rates at the airport as opposed to some of the off-site locations.  My car rental in Arizona was for about 10 days. I rented it at a Scottsdale Location and opted to turn it in at a location in Tucson. The total was a little over $560 including all the taxes and a $55 fee for the Tucson Return.  Just for a comparison I checked on renting from the Phoenix Airport with the same return in Tucson. My total cost for the same length of time and the same type of car was $824. That’s a savings of just under $300.  So, when I got to Chicago, had considered renting a car but talked my self out of it and decided to spend my day and a half exploring the area on foot or by taking a Lyft.  But I did compare rental car rate.  Union Station has onsite rental car agents. I checked a two-day rental from the Union Station Agent and on off site agent.  A two-day Mid-size Enterprise rental from the Union Station agent was quoted as $120.54.  The off-site Enterprise mid-size rental was $66.33, A short $10.00 Lyft ride to the off-site agent would have save me almost half. LESSON LEARNED – By renting at transportation hubs such as airports and Train stations you are play a substantial fee for convenience. A short Lyft or cab ride can save you a substantial amount of money.

5.       CONSIDER AMTRAK USA RAIL PASS: For my next Amtrak Trip I may consider an Amtrak See America Rail Pass. The See American Pass can be purchase for a period of 15, 30 or 45 days of travel. A 15-day pass allows you 8-segment of travel. Basically, a travel segment is anytime you get on an off the at train. So, you will be permitted to get on and off the train 8 times in 15 day.  Your travel must be completed within the 15 day from the time of your first boarding.  A 30-day pass allows 12- segments and the 45-day pass allows 18 segments.  It should be noted that your rail pass is NOT a ticket, you must secure a separate ticket for each boarding. There are only a select number of tickets available for rail pass holders for each train.  Rail Pass ticket are only good for coach seats, but you can up grade to business class or sleepers by paying the up-charge. LESSON LEARNED – For extended travel the Rail Pass may be an option to consider, especially for trips with multiple stops.

6.       CARRY SOME CASH: If you are traveling in a sleeper your meals in the dining car are included. But just because meals are included does not mean you don’t have to tip. The same rules apply to the dining car staff that applies at any other restaurant. A tip of between 15% and 20% of the menu price is the norm for good service. A tip of 10% to 15% is acceptable for mediocre service and No tip to Less than 10% for poor or inadequate service.  For the most part all the dining car attendant during my trip provided excellent service so I tipped accordingly.  The menu price for a steak dinner, including salad, desert, baked potato, green beans and drink is $25.00 so my tip was at least $5.00.  A breakfast omelet with juice, coffee and potato’s list for $12.50 so I usually tipped 3 or 4 dollars. Yes, some say I tip too much, but I do believe in taking care of these hard-working folks and found that most people on the train tipped along the same lines.  Also, be sure to tip your sleeping car attendant.  As I said earlier, I had a couple of attendants that Provided excellent service and one that did only the minimum.  For excellent service I tipped between $10 and $15 per night.  For the attendant that did only the minimum I tipped $5.00 per night. There are not ATM’s on the train and you probably are not going to have enough time to find one during stations stops. So, get enough cash to tip the crew before your first boarding. LESSON LEARNED -Most of the Amtrak service staff really do care about customer service and should be tipped accordingly.  They will soon know who tips well and will cater toward the good tipper who reward good service.

7.        BRING SOME SNACKS:  As a sleeper care passenger my meals were included, and I can assure you that you will not go hungry. However, I am someone who must have a snack before I go to bed.  Some people complain about the cost of snacks in the lounge care, I didn’t find them that much out of line. They are more than store and vending machine prices, but they are less than ballpark and arena concessions.  A soft drink will run you $2.50 as will a candy bar.  A small microwaved pizza with run you $5.50 as will a breakfast sandwich. The lounge car closes at 10 p.m.  so, if you want a snack after that you will have to have your own or buy before the lounge café closes.  Your sleeping car attendant will provide you with all the ice and water you want but if you want soft drinks you will have to buy them from the lounge.  LESSON LEARNED: While I didn’t really mind paying the $2.50 for soft drinks, the next time I will pack some snack like M&M or other candy bars just, so I will have something before I turn in.

8.       THE SIGHTSEER LOUNGE:  The Sightseer lounge car has large floor to ceiling windows and is an excellent place to meet and visit with new people and to watch the scenery. I enjoyed passing the time there and rarely found it to be overly crowded.  However, at night after about 10 p.m., many of the coach passengers will migrate to the lounge car and sleep there. The double seats made a good bed for small children. While technically they are not supposed to do this, the attendants usually turn their head.  The attendant will usually start waking them up and moving them back to their coach car before breakfast, usually around 5:30 a.m. LESSON LEARNED – Don’t plan on using the sightseer lounge during the over night hours. On the morning I woke up early and ventured into the Sightseer car the only place to sit was at one of the Booths which really wasn’t that big of a problem. The dinning car attendant even brought me a cup of coffee (without me asking) on his way through. The perks of being a good tipper.

When all was said and done, my first long distance Amtrak trip was a great experience. Would I do it again, Yes definitely. Am I going to do it again, yes. I don’t know when or where but I don’t think it will be in 2019. I have a couple of ideas for my next Amtrak Trip but it will be awhile I get it planned out.  In the mean time I am excited to see where 2019 will take me. I have just started looking at some interesting places and it looks like 2019 is going to be fun.