Looking to cash in on the summer’s coming travel boom, Amtrak is offering another buy-one-get-one-free discount for its roomette sleeper accommodation, which allows you to book a companion for free. The sale discounts fares up to $100 per person depending on the route, and is applicable to travel between June 1 and Sept. 30. Here’s what you need to know.
How the deal works
Normally, if someone is traveling with you in a roomette, you both have to pay a basic rail fare. The sale does away with that charge, so long as you use the discount code “C645" during the checkout process on Amtrak’s fare finder site. If you’re interested, you’ll have to book before April 16, when the deal expires.
In terms of what you can expect when it comes to pricing, longer haul journeys are around $500 (Philadelphia - Miami: $489) while shorter routes are close to $200 (Chicago - St. Paul/Minneapolis: $193). The deal applies to 15 train lines, including the California Zephyr, The Capitol Limited, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Coast Starlight, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Northeast Regional, Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle and the Auto Train (which ferries vehicles and their passengers between Washington, D.C., and Orlando).
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Since a roomette is a private room, it’s also a good way to stay socially distant when traveling the rails. Your purchase of a roomette includes the following items and services:
Two seats by dayUpper and lower berths by nightFresh towels and linensAccess to a private restroom and shower in your carA dedicated sleeping car attendantLounge accessPriority boardingComplimentary mealsIf you’re new to train travel or sleeper cars, this video gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect.
Following CDC guidelines, stick to essential travel
As explained in this Lifehacker post from last week, it’s currently only safe-ish to travel. The CDC recommends delaying all non-essential travel until you are fully vaccinated, as travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. If you are not fully vaccinated and must travel, please follow CDC’s recommendations for unvaccinated people.
