romlevy

Hello all,

New on this forum and looking for some advice.

I just hit 60,000 AGR points that I have been saving up for many years for a coast-to-coast bedroom trip (we live in Boston). As you can imagine, I was pretty bummed when they increased the award from 50 to 60K points... in any case, I'm there now.

I just generally love seeing the scenery from outside trains or planes, so this would be a bit of an accomplishment for me.
So far I haven't been on any Amtrak train other than in the Northeast corridor...

The plan would be to go from the East Coast to the West Coast and then take a plane back.

I have been reading through many threads regarding coast-to-coast award redemption.
Here are some questions I have and partial responses that I could find or infer based on the forum. Any help confirming or filling out missing info would be great!
(You can also feel free to point me to great threads that I may have missed)



1. How much flexibility do I have regarding the routing? For example, can I go from Boston to Seattle via Chicago/Denver/SF?
Can I go down to DC (or even further South) before heading West?

2. What do you consider as the most beautiful/scenic routes to travel on a coast-to-coast Amtrak trip? In the Western zone, I would assume that the Denver/Salt Lake City/Reno is pretty breathtaking, but wonder what the ND/Montana route, or the routes through NM/AZ, are like. Same question in the Central zone...
Basically, if you have a preferred East-to-West routing (to the extent it is an allowable redemption), what would you suggest? In which areas should I make sure that I travel during the day?

3. How many stopovers can I make? Can I make stopovers only in major cities (ie, at the end of the major train lines, like Chicago) or also in the middle of a line (say, SLC).
[I believe that the answer to this is that I cannot make any stopovers and can only take the "next available train" in between lines... or I have to use several separate awards]

4. How is the food (included in the redemption, I believe) and the bedroom? My gf would be happy to come along, but is a bit of a picky eater / doesn't like camping-like conditions...

5. What do I need to consider regarding which room to choose? I've read about the bottom ones being quieter in general (less traffic) and having a bit more room due to the curvature of the train.. but the top-floor ones providing a better view (although I understand that there are dedicated cars that provide better views and it is nicer to hang out there during the day).





Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!!