If you want to travel from one city to the next in the USA, you will usually decide to fly or rent a car. The railway as a means of transport is a niche product, especially outside of the metropolitan regions in the west and east.
However, a train ride can be quite attractive. Amtrak operates a route network consisting of various long and short-haul routes. Given enough time, you can travel from San Diego on the Mexican border to Portland, Maine in the far northeast of the country. Or to Seattle in a day and a half – a distance of more than 1,000 miles.
Especially those who book at short notice have to dig deep into their pockets with Amtrak. That’s where the USA Rail Pass comes in, a kind of Interrail for travelling across the United States. This pass entitles you to any 10 Amtrak trips across the United States within 30 days. The USA Rail Pass currently costs only US$299 (~€279) instead of the regular US$499 (~€466).
The offer is valid until January 20, 2023. After purchase, the pass is valid for 120 days (30 days from the first ride). If you decide not to use the pass, you can get a refund free of charge, but only within 120 days of purchase (or 48 hours before the first trip booked).
Each of the 10 journeys corresponds to a segment without changing trains. It doesn’t matter whether the journey is from New York to Philadelphia (1 hour 20 minutes) or from Seattle to Chicago (45 hours). You should book longer trips in particular at least several days in advance. More on the pitfalls in the Conditions section.
Conditions
The offer for US$299 (~€279) is valid until January 20, 2023. After that, the regular US$499 (~€466) will apply again.
The USA Rail Pass is valid for 120 days after purchase. After starting the first ride, you have 30 days to use the remaining 9 rides. Given the enormous distances, this is no easy task. The pass covers ten segments. A segment means a train journey without changing trains. If you have to change trains, two segments will be charged, etc.
As a Travel Pass holder, you must also book a ticket for the desired train before departure. It is not possible to just get on the next train.
The USA Rail Pass is only valid for economy class (and therefore generally not in Acela). It is also important that a ticket in the Coach Value or Coach Saver fare is available on the desired route. On short routes, this is usually the case up to a few hours before departure, while longer trips can be fully booked days in advance. You can check availability at any time on Amtrak.com – even without purchasing the pass.
The main limitations are as follows:
- Cancellation conditions:
- A full refund is possible if the pass has not yet been used (within 120 days) or up to a maximum of 48 hours before the first booked journey
- For refunds between 48 and 0 hours before the first ride, a fee of 25% charged
- No refund is possible after the first trip
- Each ride counts as one segment. When changing, several segments are deducted from the ticket
- Individual segments can be rebooked and returned free of charge up to the scheduled departure
- The Rail Pass only allows you to book Coach Value and Coach Saver rides for $0. No flex fares!
- You may complete a maximum of four one-way trips or two round trips between the same cities
- Unfortunately, upgrades are not possible
- Valid on all Amtrak trains and buses except:
- Acela (East Coast fast train) as there is no coach class there
- Auto Train (car train from Virginia to Florida)
- Maple Leaf (on the Niagara Falls – Toronto route)
- Adirondack (on the Canadian portion of the route if it resumes)
- Thruway buses 7000 – 7999
How to Book
To take advantage of the offer, you must first purchase your Travel Pass by January 20, 2023. You can find the purchase button somewhat hidden at the bottom of this site:
After entering your personal data, you can then pay by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, …) or PayPal. You will now receive a confirmation by email.
There is a link in the e-mail confirmation that you can use to book individual trips. Alternatively, you can go to Amtrak.com or the Amtrak app (iOS/Android) to make reservations and then book all segments. You only pay $299 once, the individual trips are then “free”.
Route Network
You can find an overview of all Amtrak routes along with their highlights here on the website. Highlights include:
- The Pacific Surfliner from San Luis Obispo to San Diego along the famous Highway 1
- The California Zephyr from Chicago through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast (Emeryville, near San Francisco)
- The Coast Starlight from Seattle to San Diego
- The Empire Builder from Chicago through the Rockies to Portland & Seattle
- The Southwest Chief from Chicago through the Great Plains to Flagstaff (Grand Canyon) and Los Angeles
- Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle from New Orleans / Texas to Los Angeles
- The Lake Shore Limited from New York via Buffalo (Lake Erie) to Chicago
On many of the routes listed, Amtrak operates scenic cars and real dining cars. You can use the former for free and talk to other passengers there.
You can see all current Amtrak train routes in the following map. It is even possible to see where the trains are live on Amtrak.com:
In addition, there are various bus routes to connect cities such as Boise, Buffalo or Nashville. Here is the complete map as a PDF, including all bus routes.
Price Check
Similar to many European trains, Amtrak trips usually become more expensive the later you book. This is not always the case on long-haul routes.
The Rail Pass is therefore a particularly good deal if you don’t want to plan your trip carefully for months. Although the flexibility is limited by the obligation to book in advance, you can still rebook trips that have been booked at any time.
An example: Are you looking for a trip from New York to Washington, D.C. today? Tomorrow, Thursday, the cheapest value fare already costs US$115 (~€107):
Those who booked 3 months in advance could have booked tickets for $31. Admittedly, this is an extreme example. Due to cancellations at short notice, there are always last-minute places for 50 dollars. But you can’t rely on that. The flexibility of the Amtrak Pass is a good thing.
On longer routes, the price difference is not quite as great. For Emeryville – Salt Lake City you can expect at least $84 without a pass, but sometimes the prices rise to $200.
Whether or when the pass is worthwhile depends heavily on your travel habits. Sometimes you start saving with the pass after 3 trips, sometimes much later (or in exceptional cases nothing at all). If you really want to travel through the USA for a month, you will hardly find a better deal.
Looking for Flights?
Tickets to North America can be quite expensive these days. However, there are also affordable offers. Below is an overview:
