Getting a Free Ride on Amtrak

A lot of us are into the various awards programs run by the airlines. I’ve been in American’s Aadvantage program for years and we have used the miles earned for several free flights to the U.S. mainland and once for a round trip to Europe.

Amtrak also has an awards program – called Amtrak Guest Rewards – and I’m using some of the points I’ve earned during a cross country rail trip in July when I go back to Boston to see the Red Sox in a three-game series at Fenway Park.

I’ll use American Airlines mileage to get to the west coast, and am paying for my Amtrak tickets from there to Boston, from Boston down to Baltimore (where I’ll see two Red Sox-Oriole games), and back to Chicago. But my Chicago-to-Seattle ride in a sleeper on the Empire Builder comes at no cost this time, thanks to points I have accumulated in the Guest Rewards program.

Definitely worth the effort.