Originally Posted by
darben
Since your ticket was not lifted you probably could get a refund. Talk to Amtrak and tell them you will trade them your theoretical credit for some points.
If they will not budge get a refund and then buy points with the refund
The big issue is that I want the rail points, not the money. With the travel I've got planned, I'm currently on track to end the year with 9278 rail points (not counting the 750 I should have from this trip). So, if I can get the points, I'll be able to hit S+ status. While one can always convert money + time into rail points, I'd rather not have to spend time making rail runs.
Since I'm based out of WAS, Club Acela lounge access is a big quality of life improvement due to the gigantic lines/general madness. (I don't care much about Club Acela in NYP, since I use the mezzanine anyway to avoid the crowds.) When you add in the value of the S+ companion passes, I'll almost certainly make rail runs if I need to. I just don't think I should have to, given that I did, after all, take the train and would have gotten the points if it weren't for the "train hitting someone in metro park" chaos.
The ticket price is also only $139 as I used a coupon (one of the pack of 5 you can purchase for 10k points) to upgrade to first.