Originally Posted by jackal

$399/14,000 points is 2.85 cents per point.

For redemptions, Amtrak points are worth a fixed value (as set by Amtrak) of that amount (2.85 cents per point). This is a fixed value per point set by Amtrak, so there is no such thing as "a good deal on points." If you find a $399 fare, it'll be 14,000 points; if you find a $199 fare, it'll be 6,982 points; if you find a $99 fare, it'll be 3,473 points, etc. So if you had 14,000 points to spend, then redeeming them for your trip was absolutely the right thing to do--waiting for a different price would not have given you any advantage, since the value is fixed.

(FWIW, I tend to value Amtrak points as worth slightly less, about 2.4 cents per point, for the purposes of considering credit card reward earnings and other promo bonuses, after factoring in things like the fact that points can't be redeemed towards saver or affiliation discount fares and the fact that you don't earn any points on a trip booked as an award. But Amtrak's math assigns the fixed value of 2.85 cents per point for the purpose of calculating how many points a given fare will cost if you choose to pay with points instead of cash. Don't tell anyone at Amtrak, but it's a generous value that makes my Amtrak BofA card my go-to card for most of my spend, except where spend bonuses make other cards exceed 2.4% effective cashback.)