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Members of AAA regularly get ten percent off the price of Amtrak rail tickets.
Now, Amtrak is running a promotion for AAA members that offers a double discount of 20 percent off!
This deal is good for bookings now though September 30, 2015 for travel between September 1 and October 31, 2015.
I was at the local AAA office today to purchase a couple of fee-free ViSA gift cards.
The Mid-Atlantic chapter of AAA typically sells fee-free VISA gift cards in May and June of each year as a courtesy to their members.
With graduations and June weddings, lots of people are purchasing gift cards.
Travel hackers may find gift cards useful if to meet the minimum spend requirement on a new credit card, or to rack up spending to earn points.
While I was a AAA, I took five minutes to take advantage of another offer. By learning about the benefits of membership, I earned two free tickets to the movies.
I had my choice of tickets to Regal, Cinemark, AMC, or Bowtie Cinemas.
AAA also sells discounted movie tickets. You can see the complete list of eligible theaters here.
We maintain an AAA membership for the roadside assistance. We also take advantage of the 10 percent discount on Amtrak tickets and on hotels.
Do you remember the days when you could request a custom Trip-Tik in advance of a road trip?
If a trip to Niagara Falls is on your bucket list, listen up!
Every Tuesday through Friday, Amtrak publishes its weekly SmartFares.
These fares offer discounts of 25 percent off the regular one-way fare.
This week, you can find discounts on about a dozen classic train routes including the Maple Leaf from Utica, New York to Niagara Falls.
Also available this week: discounts on the Crescent line from Atlanta to New Orleans; the Coast Starlight from Sacramento to Los Angeles; Lincoln Service, from St. Louis to Chicago; the Cascades, from Vancouver to Seattle; and several other regional routes.
I was married in Garratt Park, Maryland, a small railroad suburb of Washington, DC.
We wanted to flag down the train after the wedding, to begin our honeymoon in style:
To Niag’ra in a sleeper,
There’s no honeymoon that’s cheaper,
And the train goes slow.
Ooh ooh ooh!
Off, we’re gonna shuffle,
Shuffle off to Buffalo.
Amtrak’s SmartFares
There are some important rules and limitations on these SmartFares.
The most obvious things to watch out for are the advance purchase requirements, the inability to use the tickets for a weekend trip (no travel on Fridays or Sundays), and the fact that the fares are nonrefundable and non-changeable.
Historic Union Station in Los Angeles is hosting a 75th birthday celebration in honor of the iconic art deco train station, which has been restored as a multi-modal transit center.
If I lived in Los Angeles, I’d head over to Union Station on May 3, 2014, for this free family event!
The celebration, sponsored by Metro, in partnership with National Train Day, Amtrak and Metrolink will commemorate all things rail on Saturday, May 3, 10 am to 4 pm.
There will be dozens of exhibitors at the station, tours, entertainment on four stages, as well as free Metrolink rides, a guided bike tour, and discounts at museums, restaurants, and theaters in half a dozen nearby neighborhoods.
Events at Union Station
Events at the station will include:
Entertainment on Four Stages
Free Metrolink Rides and Neighborhood Discounts
My daughter is a junior in high school and we have been bombarded with colorful brochures.
How to choose?
The best advice we have been given is to scope out several campuses this spring — a state school, a small college, a large urban campus.
Amtrak offers a buy one – get one 50% off campus visit program to high school juniors and seniors and their parents. Children over age 13 must buy “adult” tickets on Amtrak, so this deal amounts to 25 percent off of two fares.
This seems like a good deal…but you won’t find it on Amtrak’s deal page!
The discount tickets must be purchased between December 17, 2013 – December 16, 2014, and are valid for travel from January 1 – December 19, 2014. There are a large number of blackout dates, though, include around spring break and other holidays.
There are some restrictions:
Double Points on Amtrak Travel