How to Take a Free Train Trip across the USA (for 2 People)
As a child, I dreamed of embarking on a Hollywood style train trip across the American continent. One in which I would hop on and off as I pleased without the thought of money and time holding me back. However, as I grew older, the inevitable reality of life in the USA set in. As Americans, our most common means of long distance transportation is by air travel. We are ingrained with the concept of doing things by way of the fastest and most convenient route. By doing so, we take for granted an old and advantageous mode of transportation. For most, neglecting the locomotive wonder that this country possesses has proven to me to be an unfortunate modern American mistake. Traveling across the USA by train gives one an entirely new perspective and is one that everyday Americans should not avoid.
A large part of the reason why embarking on such a trip is frowned upon is due to the relationship between time and money. In this country, train travel isn’t always exactly cheap when you consider how much time it takes one to reach a destination. However, we must remember that the faster the travel time, the more we miss. Although 5 hours of flying around 3,000 miles across the country is faster than 4 days by train, how much do you really see from an airplane seat thousands of feet high in the sky? Aside from seeing and experiencing more, I think it serves as a good reminder of the importance of slowing life down every now and then. There is no denying that most Americans live a little too fast paced. Also, in terms of cost, I have found a way to bypass the price of train travel. I recently booked a train trip from West coast to East coast for absolutely FREE. To make things even better, I was able to bring someone along with me for no additional fee and I was able to book fairly luxurious accommodations compared to the typical basic economy seats. For two of the three legs, this lack of a price included having our own sleeper car with shower access and free meals. Check out the three trip videos below and then keep scrolling for details on how I was able to accomplish booking this affordable adventure.
Part 1: San Francisco to Denver
Part 2: Denver to Chicago
Part 3: Chicago to New York
The Route
For this trip, I wanted to make it across the USA and also stop a couple places along the way. I decided to book three separate legs. The first from Emeryville/ San Francisco to Denver, the second from Denver to Chicago, and the third from Chicago to New York. Previously, I had only visited Denver on a layover and, out of all of the cities in the US, I have always had a strong desire to see Chicago. I always told myself, however, that I would hold off on seeing Chicago until I was passing through on this particular epic train trip. Since my family is originally from New York, I had been there many times. This time, I decided to stay with some friends in Brooklyn, which was a nice change from the typical Manhattan experience. The plan was to take a train from the West Coast of the US to the East Coast of the US and then fly back to the West Coast.
**It is important to note that the train stops at many other locations along this route across the country. It is possible to change the locations to stop and spend time in different and/ or additional places. Obviously, it is also possible to reverse the direction.
As I have discussed in previous posts, it has been a recent goal of mine to include close friends and family members on my trips whenever possible. Sharing these experiences and learning opportunities has become an important part of my hobby of traveling. I have seen the power and benefit of travel and I feel it is my duty to unveil it to others. Also, given my recent strategies, I have found a way to significantly cut travel costs, which makes it even easier than ever to do so. I decided to take my older brother along with me on this journey. Since this trip symbolized the very essence of an adolescent dreamer, I thought it would make sense for me to include someone that I spent most of my childhood with. It also helped that he always shared a similar goal of crossing the country by train. Also, at this point in my life, I had lived away from my home town for about 6 years. My older brother and I didn’t stay as close as each of us would have liked to. I figured this would be a perfect way to catch up on so much time that was lost due to life’s everyday distractions.
The Research and the Strategy
In order to make this trip possible, I began researching Amtrak, the company of the trains that we would be utilizing. While searching their website, I noticed that they offered credit cards. This immediately sparked my attention. After looking at the products they offered and the benefits that they came with, I realized that I might actually be able to figure out how to do this journey for much cheaper than expected. Currently, Amtrak and their partner, Bank of America, offer two products:
- Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard
Notable Details and Benefits
-$79 annual fee
-20,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months after account opening
-One free Companion Coupon (after account opening and each year after anniversary)
-One complimentary class upgrade
-One complimentary station lounge pass (only at particular locations)
-No foreign transaction fees
-Points don’t expire as long as account remains open - Amtrak Guest Rewards Platinum Mastercard
Notable Details and Benefits
-No annual fee
-12,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months after account opening
-One free Companion Coupon (after account opening and each year after anniversary)
-One complimentary class upgrade (after account opening and each year after anniversary)
-One complimentary station lounge pass (only at particular locations)
-No foreign transaction fees
-Points don’t expire as long as account remains open
After searching the Amtrak website and looking into the point costs of each leg of the trip, I realized that it would be possible to cross the United States by train and FOR FREE! To make things even better, I realized I could do it even more luxuriously than originally anticipated! Let me explain..
I immediately decided to sign up for their credit cards and to start working towards accumulating enough points in order to book the trip without any cost. I signed up for the Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard and the Amtrak Guest Rewards Platinum Mastercard over the span of about five months. I was instantly approved each time I applied. I met the minimum spending requirements and unlocked the 20,000 and the 12,000 point bonuses. In the process of meeting these spending requirements, I racked up an additional 2,128 points due to the point accrual rates on each card (you will get a minimum of 2,000 points from spending $1,000 on each one of the cards). This left me with 34,128 points. At that time, I saw that I had more than enough points to get across the USA for two people in economy/ coach seating for free, but I wanted to strive for an even better scenario. I decided to work towards a more comfortable accommodation and save enough points to book a small room for two of the legs.
Amtrak has three types of seating arrangements on the trains for this trip. The cheapest is economy, which gives to basic sets similar to that of an airplane with a bit more room and a bit more comfortable. The next is a roomette, which is a small room with two chairs (both fold down into a bed), one overhead fold down bed, a fold out table, a small closet, access to showers, and complimentary meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Last option is a bedroom, which a decent size room that is larger than the roomette and also has its own personal shower and bathroom in it. I decided to not even try and go for the bedrooms, because they were way too costly whether with money or with points.
After running the numbers on the point rates for roomettes, I was fairly deficient in points. Due to this, I started using my Amtrak World Mastercard for all of my day to day purchases and bills in order to rack up some more points. I also made sure to shop through Amtrak’s online shopping portal whenever possible as an additional way to ramp up my points. Over the span of about four months, I accumulated just over 43,000 points total. After running the numbers on Amtrak’s website once more, I had reached the minimum I needed for this trip. As you can see, I decided to book the first two legs with the more comfortable roomettes. On the last leg, I decided to give the basic economy seating a try simply for the purpose of comparing the two.
**Please note: I plan to cancel both credit cards next year (around 11 months) before the fee for the World card is due. With that said, please know that a lot of people have many misconceptions when it comes to the effect of opening and closing credit cards. If done responsibly and correctly, it can actually benefit your credit score! Click here for my experience and to learn more about how to use credit cards for the benefit of travel.
The Breakdown
Leg 1
Route: San Francisco/ Emeryville to Denver
Train: California Zephyr
Length of trip: 32 hours
Type of Seating: Superliner roomette
Cost in points: 19,805 for two people
Leg 2
Route: Denver to Chicago
Train: California Zephyr
Length of trip: 18 hours
Type of Seating: Superliner roomette
Cost in points: 15,249 for two people
Leg 3
Route: Chicago to New York
Train: 48 Lakeshore Limited
Length of trip: 20 hours
Type of Seating: Economy seats
Cost in points: 7,314 for two people
Total cost= 42,368 points and $0 for two people
**Please note that the amount of points needed for a particular ride fluctuates quite frequently. Similar to airfare, it is best to book early and during off peak times for the best deals. I booked pretty close to the time of departure (less than a month) and in a popular summer month. I probably ended up paying fairly high prices.
Booking the Rewards
In order to book these awards, you can log into your Amtrak account online and book using points, or you can call Amtrak and they can do it all for you. I decided to call to book so that I could ask some questions I had while in the process. The phone representatives were very pleasant and helpful and it was extremely quick and easy. I gave them the routes and times and I was emailed tickets within hours.
It is always nice to receipts with a $0 cost! (click to enlarge)
Alternative Methods
For this trip, I decided to sign up for my own set of credit cards to achieve this goal. However, if two people are going on such a trip, it would obviously be wise for both people to sign up for 1 or 2 Amtrak credit cards each. This would enable the two passengers to reach a higher accumulation of points at a much faster rate. Also, this would make it easier to save the amount of points to book the more comfortable roomettes instead of regular economy seating. On the other hand, if a single person decided to do this trip on their own, it could easily be done by booking all economy seating at a fairly low rate. You should be able to get away with signing up for only the Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard for this route. It is important to note that, in order to book a roomette, you have to purchase both seats in the room. With this in mind, it might make more sense to just book economy rather than paying so much in points. Of course, for some, booking a roomette as a single passenger may still be a viable option. Lastly, keep in mind that Bank of America is currently very lenient with it’s credit card application rules. It is known that they will typically allow a single person to be approved for multiple of the same card. The only current rule is that you can’t get the same card again if it’s within 90 days of the first one. For example, if I wanted to, I could sign up for 3 Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercards within a year as long as I waited at least 90 days between each. That would give you a minimum of 60,000 points after meeting the minimums on each! Now this method is not for everyone. I didn’t want to chance getting denied so I played it safe and only got one of each type of card.
Amenities
My favorite type of trains were on the first two legs. The California Zephyr trains each have what are known as viewing cars. These cars have scattered lounge seating arrangements with windows along the sides and part of the ceiling. These areas are always open and we hung out in these most of the time when we weren’t in our assigned rooms/ seats. They were a great way to relax, soak in the views, and to mingle with others. Each train on the trip had a snack bar with alcohol (available at all times) and also a dining car (open only during meal times). The dining cars served food during the main 3 daily meal times: breakfast, lunch, an dinner. Best of all, if you are staying in any of the roomettes or bedrooms, any food and basics drinks in the dining car are completely free! To make things even better, those in the sleeper cars also get first choice when it comes to making reservations for meals.
A side story…
When my brother and I sat down for our first meal on our first leg, we were expecting to pay for our meals. As we were contemplating our orders, a couple mentioned to us that if we were staying in any of the rooms that our meals were entirely free. I had no idea that this was the case beforehand and this was an absolute pleasant surprise. Needless to say, my brother and I ordered the steak and shrimp special every night! When we spoke to other passengers about how we were riding the train, riding in a sleeper car, and given free meals all for free, they were absolutely appalled. They explained how expensive the trains can be when paying cash and most seemed upset that they didn’t do the same! It was at this point that I realized just how much value I would be able to get out of this trip.
I can honestly say that we were more impressed with the quality of food than we thought we would be. Another nice part of dining is the fact that, since the tables are booth style arrangements that seat 4 people, any party with less are placed with other passengers. So for every meal, my brother and I sat and talked with another train traveling duo. Everyone we came across was very pleasant and had interesting stories to tell.
Roomette VS Economy Seating
After doing two legs in a roomette and one leg in economy, I can honestly say that the roomette is the way to go. Although the rooms are not very big at all, it is so nice to have a place to get away whenever you want. Also, you simply can’t beat the fact that the roomettes come with free meals and shower access. Not having a shower in economy is tolerable, but just didn’t compare to being able to wash up when needed. Also, the cars in economy can get a bit loud at times from passengers boarding and disembarking throughout the trip. Overall, I highly suggest splurging on the roomettes. Spend the extra time and effort on accumulating the extra points needed. It is undoubtedly worth it.
Highlights
My favorite leg of the trip was the first, San Francisco to Denver. Nothing beats the views of Northern California, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the Rockies in Colorado. I just couldn’t get enough of every turn and I couldn’t stop taking videos and photos. As for Denver, my brother and I decided to rent scooters to tour the city and it ended up being a great choice. We laughed the entire day and I think it was the most fun we had on the whole trip. On the leg from Denver to Chicago, we obviously came across a lot of flat land that isn’t the most visually appealing, but the sunset we encountered was definitely one to remember. I was very much impressed overall with the City of Chicago. It was very clean for being so compacted and chaotic and, best of all, it truly was an architectural spectacle. Also, I still have dreams about their Italian beef sandwiches! On the leg from Chicago to New York, my favorite part was when we reached upstate New York. There was so much beautiful lush greenery paired with calm and tranquil waters. As for New York city itself, you can never go wrong. There is never a dull moment in that city and never a shortage of good things to see and good places to eat. We stayed with some friends in Brooklyn and got to see a different side of New York City. Overall, my favorite things about this trip was that it forced me to hit the brakes for a bit. All too often, I am constantly on the move. I have found that it was refreshing to have had so much down time for thoughts and self reflection. It is no wonder so many writers can be found aboard these trains. It is a perfect way to force yourself into a sort of solitude with a given task (a task such as this post!).
Getting Home
I decided that I wanted to cross the US by train only once. The thought of having to take a train all the way home seemed grueling. I came to the conclusion that, since it was such a long trip by train, that it would be best to just fly home. As you may know by now, I also had to figure out the cheapest and most advantageous way to do that as well. By taking advantage of Southwest credit cards, I had, at the time, what is called a Southwest Companion Pass. I knew that utilizing that would be my best option. You can read all about what this pass does and how to obtain one here. I previously wrote another post called “Get 2 For the Price of 1 Southwest Flights For 2 Years!” where I explain how valuable such a pass can be. Basically, if you have one of these passes, you are able to add anyone to a Southwest flight for only the cost of taxes, which typically equates to $5.60. So I logged into my Southwest Rapid Rewards account online and designated my brother as my companion. I then booked a flight for myself from New York back to San Francisco for $196. After this flight was confirmed, I logged back into my account and added my brother to the flight for only $5.60. Therefore, in the end, we each paid $100.80 each (splitting the $196 flight cost and $5.60 in taxes) for the flight home, and for all of the transportation from coast to coast and back for that matter.
Cost Analysis
If I payed cash for all of the train tickets for this trip, I estimate I would have had to pay around $1,200 total. This cash price is high due to having multiple passengers and from booking roomettes instead of basic economy seats. That is a huge savings! However, when looking at absolute cost of coast to coast transportation by train using this method, there is one thing that are important to consider. One of the cards comes with a $79 fee. I don’t include this because the other perks that come with the cards more than offset it. If you consider even only one of the companion coupons, you can see there is actually a surplus of value. I plan to use one of those companion passes to take someone with me on a train ride somewhere along the West Coast. I have heard that it is another beautiful route. Using only one of the coupons could save me at least $100.
Final Thoughts
After looking back on this adventure that I strategically embarked on, I am astounded by just how unique and unforgettable it turned out to be. I always say that it’s much more fun booking adventures rather than vacations and this trip was the perfect way to exemplify such a concept. How many people do you know can say that they crossed the country by train? How many people do you know that can say that they crossed the country by train for free? Ultimately, the fact that I was able to fulfill a childhood goal, take my older brother along for some much needed bonding, and to do it all for such an insanely low cost feels like a true accomplishment. Aside from saving money on the transportation itself, we also saved on accommodations. Being able to sleep on the train most of the time helped us avoid hotel and/or hostel fees. Also, as discussed above, we also saved a significant amount of money by having the free meals that came with booking roomettes for two of the legs. Those meals, especially given the fancy selections we indulged in, would have really added up to a fairly significant cost. All it took was signing up for 2 basic credit cards and utilizing them responsibly to unlock the bonuses. I put a bit of effort into something and was rewarded with an experience that my brother and I will be talking about for the rest of our lives. In my opinion, that’s something to be proud of.
If you are new to using credit cards for the benefit of travel, click here to read my post dedicated to the basics of it all.
