kalouts1 wrote:Just checked for a "room" for CHI ==> REN, it is kind of expensive: I have to add $382 on top. More expensive than the whole trip...
Although it may not be ideal, I think it may be cheaper to do the sleeper ("Superliner Roomette" with access to common showers) for one "leg" rather than the whole trip. I coerced the online ticketing system by making a multi-city trip (if you do one leg at a time, it's a lot more).
CHI-RNO = $140 + $485 for roomette = $625
CHI-DEN-RNO = $67.80 + $72.20 + $381 for roomette CHI-DEN = $521
CHI-DEN-RNO = $67.80 + $72.20 + $298 for roomette DEN-RNO = $438
Curiously, it's 18 hours from CHI-DEN (so $21/hour for the roomette) and 25.5 hours from DEN-RNO ($12/hour) so clearly the DEN-RNO leg is the better deal.
I have heard rumors from travel advice people that you can ask on the train to get upgraded to a roomette and it's far cheaper. I seem to remember $100 kicking around, and I seem to remember it being for a bedroom which would be astonishing.