I did this for about 2 years. If your schedule is fixed, the low bucket Saver fares are your best bet and it doesn't matter if you're a student.

-Get the Amtrak CC and run your travel charges through that. Obviously make sure you have a Amtrak Guest Rewards account and watch for promotions to earn extra points.
-Just pick a day to sit down and just book all your train trips for the foreseeable future. Prices are based on how much of the train has sold, so it will almost never go down from what you are seeing that day. If you're booking ahead and can get Saver fares, it will be less than the 10-ride book.
-When you run into cancelations or have a schedule change, you can dip into the points
-Also get familiar with your alternate options (BoltBus, Greyhound, etc) so you can adjust quickly if train service is completely out

If it's related to a job or school work, you should be able to deduct it, so save all of your receipts