Originally Posted by
the_traveler
Yes and no. You would be
arriving on #49
FROM SYR-CLE on Jan 2, and
departing on #49
FROM CLE-SOB on Jan 2 - so it can be shown it is the same train.
A better example would be CHI-SEA, a trip of 3 days. You leave CHI on Jan 1, but you do not arrive in SEA until Jan 3. True, you could buy a ticket from CHI-MSP on Jan 1 and SPK-SEA on Jan 3, but how do you get between MSP and SPK without a ticket?
I wouldn't want to lose the points for not buying a ticket without my AGR # on it!
How about this?
Buy a ticket for CHI-MSP and SPK-SEA with your AGR number and a third ticket for MSP-SPK without your number. That way, from AGR's perspective, you were not continually on that train and can therefore get two segments' worth of credit.
One thing, though--you'd actually earn fewer points this way than by getting the ticket straight from CHI-SEA ($141=282 points, vs. $237=206 points--interestingly, it's the same cost to go from MSP-SPK as it is to go from CHI all the way to SEA, so the extra two segments actually make the total cost more).
This could work better, though, on two-day itineraries--just buy a ticket without your AGR number for the segment of the train that bridges the two dates (e.g. Toledo to Sandusky on the Capitol Limited). Then, as far as AGR is concerned, you took that train on two separate days, since it doesn't know about the middle ticket.
If they were a little less stingy with giving AGR points for LD travel, I'd probably feel guilty about trying to help ClimbGuy "cheat" Amtrak, but as it is now, it's impossible to earn any decent amount of points unless you take Acela... (but let's not get started arguing about that again...
)