In honor of the soon to come 2012, here is my list of Top 12 Articles of 2011. (See list of Top 11 Article of 2010). This list is based on traffic to their pages. I have excluded article that were posted in 2010 (The post – Air India switches to all non-stop routes to North America was the 3rd most read article and Boeing 747 Piano Bar article was the 6th most read article in 2011, despite both being written in 2010!). I also excluded all articles related to …

Just like the breakup between Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries, the not unexpected breakup between Continental OnePass and Amtrak Guest Rewards is here. As of the end of this year, with the merger of Continental OnePass Mileage program into United MileagePlus, one will no longer be able to earn Continental Miles on Amtrak train trips or transfer miles between the two programs. According to Amtrak, they are in talks with United, but no deal has been reached yet to transition the relationship between the two programs from Continental to United.
For …

Yeah, I know there are websites that will track it for me all in one place – I have accounts with points.com and gomilies.com , but they just don’t seem to be right or enough. … Staying at a hotel (duh, again, but this can become complex if one earns hotel points, airline miles or hotel points AND airline miles) Credit cards eMiles.com eRewards.com MyPoints.com TopGuest Car rentals (for rental rewards or airline miles) Other sundry events, like filling out a survey, earning miles as compensation for a customer service event, etc.

As I get ready for another trip on Amtrak’s Acela to Philadelphia tomorrow, I can’t help but wonder what ails Amtrak and why it seems to struggle to make a profit? It is a provider of a much needed form of Mass transit, especially with todays fuel costs and high airline ticket prices. Other countries, including large countries like Russia, China and India have thriving railways. (As an aside, the Indian Railways is the largest employer in the world! Even bigger than WalMart). If Amtrak can get its act together, …

In a recent article I reviewed my recent trip on Amtrak. In this article I continue my train story with reviewing Amtrak’s Frequent Traveler program – Amtrak Guest Rewards. It is actually a pretty good program with good earning rates, good redemption options and several partners – including an airline.
Earning Miles
Trains:
Earning Miles on Amtrak is pretty straightforward. You earn 2 points for every $1 spent. No difference in earning based on class or service. The only exception are the Acela Express trains. They earn 500 points for each trip for …

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to travel between Washington DC Union Station (WAS) and Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station (PHL) on Amtrak. Back in the day, I travelled Amtrak a lot, all on this same route, but I had not made an inter-city train ride in the last five years. It was a welcome change. Usually I drive to Philadelphia. This time around, because of the timing of my meeting there, I was going to end up being stuck in traffic in either direction. Napping on a train seemed …