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I suppose it was bound to happen eventually, but I think I’ve started to become the Amtrak booster around here. When you live in the Northeast, Amtrak is a great way to get between cities on the cheap, and I guess that’s why a good deal of my posts (with another one on the way soon!) are centered on Amtrak. Earlier today, I discovered 4 new Amtrak promotions available to me in my Guest Rewards account, and if I’m able to use all four, I’ll earn 800 bonus points. Let’s take a look at the 4 new Amtrak promotions below.
Promotion Details
- Promotion 1: Book a business class ticket on the Cardinal (NYC to Chicago via Washington D.C.) between 1/1/2017 and 12/31/2017 and earn an additional 200 points.
- Promotion 2: Book a business class ticket on the Crescent (NYC to New Orleans) between 1/1/2017 and 12/31/2017 and earn an additional 200 points.
- Promotion 3: Book a ticket on amtrak.com and travel between 1/1/2017 and 12/31/2017 and earn an additional 200 points.
- Promotion 4: Book an Acela ticket and travel between 1/1/2017 and 12/31/2017 and earn an additional 200 points.
4 new Amtrak promotions, plus two from earlier this week.
Two of the four above are pretty easy to use: if you book an Acela ticket on amtrak.com, you’ll earn an additional 400 points. Take this sample trip below:
On this $116 fare, you’ll earn 232 points for travel, 58 points for Business Class travel, and 400 bonus points with the two promotions above, netting you 690 points. And, if you use your Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard, you’ll earn an additional 348 points, for a grand total of 1,038 points
(READ MORE: Amtrak NYC to Boston Review)
The other two promotions are giving me a harder time. Given that the Cardinal and the Crescent travel from NYC to Washington D.C. before continuing onto Chicago and New Orleans, respectively, I should be able to book a ticket to Washington D.C. Should being the operative word here. I can’t for the life of me get these two trains to show up when selecting New York and Washington as my itinerary. If you can figure it out, I’d be eternally grateful for your assistance!
4 New Amtrak Promotions Conclusion
Given that these promotions all run for a full year, and that they’re free to register for, signing up for them is a no brainer. Signing up is easy as well, following these steps:
- Log into your Amtrak Guest Rewards account
- Select “My Promotions” from the dropdown on the left
- Click “View All Promotions”
- Register for any/all available promotions
Simple as that! Will you be signing up for these 4 new Amtrak promotions?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
The long distance trains are board only betweenNewYork and DC. You can book to the next stop south, which is Arlington or Alexandria, and then just detrain in WAS when they change the engine.
You can’t book a ticket from NYP to WAS on the Cardinal or the Crescent because those are long-distance trains, and Amtrak is reserving those seats for long distance customers.
Someone traveling from NYP to ATL only has one train to choose from. Someone traveling from NYP to WAS has dozens of trains to pick.
So letting someone book a short ticket could deprive Amtrak of a longer-distance rider, who would bring in more revenue.
That being said, if you really want to book the Cardinal or the Crescent, book to a city south of Washington. ALX (Alexandria – King Street) may be possible. If not, MSS (Manassas) probably is. Then just get off the train at Washington.
Amtrak blocks booking a ticket NYP-WAS on the long distance trains to preserve those seats for people traveling further.
You can book a ticket NYP-ALX and get off when you get to DC without issues.
Thanks, all! I knew the internet would have the answer.