The Offer
- Amtrak is offering the USA Rail Pass for $399, save $100
The Fine Print
- Book from March 22-29 to get the USA Rail Pass for just $399 – valid for 10 segments over 30 days of travel
Our Verdict
This lets you book 10 segments over 30 days of travel. Last year it was $299.
View Comments (7)
Rail pass is now back up to $499
What kind of unit of measurement is a segment
From Amtrak: "A travel segment is anytime a rider gets on then off of the train."
It can be as short as consecutive stops if you board and then get off to switch trains (e.g. Joliet, IL to Chicago), or as long as the run from Chicago to Los Angeles (as long as you stay on the same train).
Fairly common for travel
Wonder how much this dude's trip across the country by train would be today - https://dereklow.co/across-the-usa-by-train-for-just-213/
For September, New York to San Francisco (at Emeryville) via the Lake Shore Limited + California Zephyr in Coach is $197. (You could also take the Cardinal to the Zephyr for the same price).
Closer in (example date: April 15th departure), you'll find the first option at $315 (90% sold) and the latter at $251 (70% sold).
It's nice to be reminded that some good fares are still available!
This is not a great deal. If you are able to use all segments in 30 days it's $40 per segment. Coach travel only also.
If you're doing coach on Amtrak I suggest short segments only. Anything else longer than a few hours a private roomette or bedroom is the way to go. I suggest waiting for sales.
Amtrak is also constantly delayed due to having to yield to other trains. It's 19.5 hours from NYC to Chicago but expect it to be a little longer.
The good thing about train travel is it is often city center to city center so sometimes you're within walking distance of where you need to go upon arriving.