Amtrak Guest Rewards - Planning a City of New Orleans trip

I am a lone traveler & have never traveled a long distance on a train. Just short jaunts between Philly to Pgh. Any assistance in my September planning would be appreciated. As it stands, I am planning on flying to Chicago & taking the 800PM train to NOLA. Would like to book a roomette. My question is should I purchase the ticket today or can I wait? I've been waiting for airfares to drop, yes I know, I'm delusional. But I think this would be a great adventure.

I've been searching on line & have not had much success in finding info. Some questions would be what's the best way to get to Union station from the airport? Will my carryon bag fit in the roomette? Would appreciate any links for trip reviews & tips info. Thanks

I am a lone traveler & have never traveled a long distance on a train. Just short jaunts between Philly to Pgh. Any assistance in my September planning would be appreciated. As it stands, I am planning on flying to Chicago & taking the 800PM train to NOLA. Would like to book a roomette. My question is should I purchase the ticket today or can I wait? I've been waiting for airfares to drop, yes I know, I'm delusional. But I think this would be a great adventure.

I've been searching on line & have not had much success in finding info. Some questions would be what's the best way to get to Union station from the airport? Will my carry-on bag fit in the roomette? Would appreciate any links for trip reviews & tips info. Thanks

Did a Google and found http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,1337776 looks like pretty simple trip.

Your carry-on should fit in your room, but there will also be luggage storage in the car as well. Since you are single, using the upper bunk might work as long as you're not too tall.

Waiting for a fare drop is scary at best. I'd suggest purchasing now and if there is a significant drop, call and ask for a refund of the difference.

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Are you sure that you wouldn't rather take the Crescent from PHL?

Regardless of which train you choose, have you thought about redeeming Amtrak Guest Rewards points for the trip? There are often substantial sign-up bonuses available for the Chase/AGR MasterCard, as well as for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa, whose points can be converted to AGR points on a 1:1 basis.

If you do fly into Chicago, be aware that you have a choice of airports: ORD and MDW. Not sure which one is easier to get to Union Station from.

Thanks for the prompt response. I did check into the train out of DC & it gets into NOLA much later than I would like. The airfare to Chicago is/was
$87 & the rail was reasonable. I am in the planning stage but I think your right about purchasing the rail now. I'm just afraid of pushing the button.

As far as getting the CC, not sure if I need another one right now but I did sign up for the reward program.

As a general rule, prices only tend to go up as more and more rooms get sold. Yes, occasionally one can get lucky and spot a price drop, and if you act quickly you can call up and get the cheaper price. So I would not wait to pull the trigger if you are indeed serious. The longer you wait, the greater the risk that it will cost more later.

As for airports. ORD is slightly easier when it comes to getting to the Amtrak station via public transportation. But it's only a block longer of a walk from the subway train that serves MDW. The ride is a bit longer from ORD on the train however.

If your carryon is a true carryon, then it should fit in your room without trouble. You can just set it on the steps that are used to reach the upper bunk.

Next, if you do indeed book a sleeper, know that your sleeper ticket entitles you to use the Metropolitan Lounge in the station to await your train. If you fly in early enough, they'll even hold your bag for free (other than a tip for the Redcap) so that you can go out and explore Chicago a bit. And then upon your return, they board you via a special back door that avoids the long line for coach passengers.

You will also get dinner on the train that night so they try to board around 7PM to facilitate that.

You just show your sleeping car ticket to gain entry to the lounge. Then you can relax, use the nice over stuffed chairs, use the free but slow WiFi, have access to soda, and nice clean bathrooms.

Not to toot my own horn, but I did just write a report on riding the Crescent from BAL to NOL. It may give you an idea about long distance train travel. I agree that the Crescent does arrive into NOL very late, but it really was a gorgeous ride. Do let me know how the City of New Orleans was, it's on my list of routes to ride.

Report: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1349172-best-time-son-can-have-his-father-amtraks-crescent-new-orleans.html