Autotrain... the cheapest way to disney?

[PIERCEDRN]

We wanted to take the autotrain for our Nov. trip with our DD6 and DD4, but the price for the autotrain is generally pretty high. It seems that you do pay for the "experience" to go on the train, and unless you are booking 12 months ahead you can pay much more than airfare + car rental. Add a room and the price skyrockets, there is no way to "break even".

Well with some maneuvering I may have found the cheapest fare for the route, since JetBlue's legendary $10 fares.

1. I got the Continental Mastercard with no annual fee and 30,000 bonus miles, and
2. opened a checking acct. with chase with a Continental tie-in with 25,000 bonus miles for a $25 annual fee.
3. After a few extra bonuses for continental onepass (read about this, watch this video etc.), I had accrued enough to have 60,000 onepass miles.

I transferred those miles 1-1 to amtrak guest rewards, which is enough to book a roundtrip ticket for a family of 4 in a family bedroom with our own vehicle for free... This would have cost at least $2000 cash.

Total cost to me... $25

Hope someone else can take advantage of this deal, and keep an eye out for when the united/CO merger goes thru and maybe the miles will merge too.
BOB

 

[duffy]

Wow! Fantastic!!

I've also looked into the Autotrain and concluded it's too expensive, but this seems very easy and so worth it.

Thanks!

 

[Cleocat]

This is great info to have. We started taking the auto train last year and love it. So much easier and less stress than flying. But I had no idea i could transfer cont. points. It's to late for this trip, going thanksgiving week. But will come in handy for next years trip. Thanks for the info.

 

[skiingfast]

Hope someone else can take advantage of this deal, and keep an eye out for when the united/CO merger goes thru and maybe the miles will merge too.
BOB

I'm sure the miles will merge very soon. When Delta and Norwest merged I got about 1,100 miles dumped into my Delta Skymiles. The odd thing was I hadn't been on Northwest for 7 or 8 years and figured they were expired and gone but the merger brought them back.

 

[Stephen121795]

Amtrak is my favorite way to fly and there is no better way to see the sky then from the bunk of a sleeper coach.

 

[happymommy]

Wow - that is a great deal!

Did you have to call Amtrak to book it?

I have Amex Membership Rewards points, which can convert to Continental Airlines.

Only 60,000 for a family of 4 is great.

Edited to add: I don't see online how you can transfer FROM Continental TO Amtrak.

 

[PIERCEDRN]

here's the info about the continental to amtrak transfer.
Also the auto train cannot be booked for points on the website anymore, so you will have to call Amtrak Guest Rewards. For a family of 4, the family bedroom is cheapest - 20000 pts. Coach is 5500 is X4= 22000.

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/onepass/transfer/rail.aspx

Amtrak Guest Rewards® member with Select or Select Plus status who are also OnePass members can transfer Amtrak Guest Rewards points to OnePass miles. In addition, Amtrak Guest Rewards® members who are also OnePass members and holders of an Amtrak Guest Rewards® MasterCard® issued by Chase Bank with $200 of annual travel on Amtrak can transfer Guest Rewards points to OnePass miles. All transfers must be in increments of 5,000 points for 5,000 miles. To transfer points, contact Amtrak at 800-307-5000.

OnePass members who are also members of Amtrak's Guest Rewards frequent traveler program can transfer OnePass miles to Amtrak Guest Rewards points in increments of 5,000 miles for 5,000 points. To transfer miles, contact the OnePass Service Center.

 

[PIERCEDRN]

This is great info to have. We started taking the auto train last year and love it. So much easier and less stress than flying. But I had no idea i could transfer cont. points. It's to late for this trip, going thanksgiving week. But will come in handy for next years trip. Thanks for the info.

Hint: Book your room as soon as you set a date for next year. Train fees make common sense, the cheapest rates are booked farthest out. Last minute costs more. Booked by phone, you can cancel 24hrs. ahead. A much more civilized fare plan than airlines policy if you ask me.
Once you have your amtrak points you can change the reservation from cash to points and not worry about availability of a family bedroom. There were no family bedrooms left on our outgoing trip, and the supervisor was nice enough to let our dd4 and dd6 stay in a standard bedroom with us. A little tight, yes, but we have our own potty on the way down!

After my initial gloating about getting the best use of points ever, it has finally set in how much more excited I am about this trip than I have been in the past! 14 more sleeps till the Choo Choo train!!
BOB