October 21, 2004 -- Amtrak re-did their web site recently, but they kept the old ways to save. Unless you're traveling around holiday time, there's really no reason to pay full price for your rail journey. Between the fire-sale fares and discount codes, you'll find cheap rides from sea to shining sea.
Your first stop when booking a train ticket should always be Amtrak's weekly specials (https://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/WeeklySpecials), where they sell fares on specific routes from a few days to a month in advance at up to 90% off. A ride between Atlanta and D.C. right now, booked through that page, is $32 -- $50 off the regular price.
If you can't find your route on the weekly sale page (and remember, it changes every week), don't despair. Discount codes can give you up to 20% off regular fares. Sometimes they're also combinable with senior, children's, or AAA discounts. So pile on the discounts to get the absolute lowest fares.
To use a discount code, start booking a ticket on www.amtrak.com. On the page with the list of trains, marked "2 -- Select Train" -- there's a promotion code field near the bottom. Enter the code before you click the "View Fare" button. If one code doesn't work, try another.
There are a slew of codes, so we'll give you only the best.
If you're traveling between Boston, D.C., Albany and Harrisburg (and any points in between), V855 gives you 20% off all fares in the Northeast between now and Nov. 22, from Dec. 1-17, and from Jan. 3-9. It works on all unreserved trains and even works on weekend Acela and Metroliner trains, as long as they depart before 1 pm or after 6 pm. This is a great code that will save you big bucks.
V814 is good on the same dates, in the same area, but with unreserved trains only. Still, try it if V855 doesn't work. In case you're curious, V822, V618 and V805 also deliver 20% discounts on some Northeast Corridor trains -- but there isn't anywhere those codes work that our favorite two codes don't.
In the rest of the U.S., V148 is the code to use if you're traveling between now and Nov. 19. It'll get you 20% off most trains outside the Northeast Corridor, including trains to Toronto and Vancouver, Canada. This code is so luscious and hush-hush that Amtrak doesn't publicly advertise it, so snap up the discounts before they disappear,
Traveling later? H431 is your all-purpose code for an easy 10% off throughout the country. It works for travel between now and Nov. 22, from Dec. 1-17, and from Jan. 3-Feb. 17. You must book three days in advance to get this discount.
Alas, none of these codes apply during holiday periods. If you're traveling around the Northeast near Thanksgiving and you're short on cash, consider the various Chinatown bus lines (www.ivymedia.com/bus) instead; they may not be as comfortable as the train, but they're a whole lot cheaper.
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