Making The Booking
The intention was to make use of an Amex 2-4-1 voucher and fly business class to New York or Chicago and back from the other.
We had flown every class with BA (albeit not down back for 5 years) but had never flown the London City to New York route, something I was keen to try out and one of my main reasons for including New York in the trip. It was also an opportunity to get boarding pass with BA1.
We were able to get two seats on BA1 on the day we wanted and as we couldn’t get Club World seats coming back from Chicago we would have to slum it in First. Oh the hardship! Actually I’d have preferred CW (25,000 miles less!) but such is life. As we were returning from a different airport I had to call and make the booking, all of which was done with ease and seats selected thanks to my fiancés Silver status.
The next job was to get us from New York to Chicago. There were ample flights throughout the day to Chicago with a variety of airlines. The alternative was to travel with Amtrak on the overnight train which departs New York at 4pm and arrives into Chicago at 10am the following morning.
Whilst the fight would have been quicker, it meant going back to the airport, etc and would only give us a small amount of time more in Chicago or New York given the timing of the trains. The train also worked out considerably cheaper than flying by the time you take into account air fares, transport to/from airport, additional nights hotel and meals. Travelling by train would also be a more relaxed experience and would let us see other parts of the country.
We booked our train tickets 8 months in advance and got the cheapest fare, $86 each for our coach ticket and $188 for the accommodation upgrade which was a Viewliner Roomette that included a toilet and sink but no private shower. The cost of the accommodation also included our meals (dinner and breakfast) and drinks, with the exception of alcohol.
As for hotels we decided to try something a bit different in New York and opted for the small Library Hotel. My fiancé wanted a view over the lake in Chicago so we went for the W Lakeshore.
Last edited by Euan; Aug 3, 2011 at 2:54 am