Student advantage card. Pros and cons?

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>I was looking to purchase an amtrak ticket for DS to come home for Thanksgiving and they offer 15% discount (about $32 off total) if the student has an advantage card. Fee for the card is $50 for 4 years. I thought it was a very good deal. He can also get discounts at an array of stores.</p>

<p>Has anyone tried this? </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Does your DS have a AAA membership? If so, AAA offers a 10% discount on Amtrak and discounts on various stores as well. Might not be worth a $50 membership fee for the extra 5%. If no AAA, your SAC membership will be paid off after spending $335 on Amtrak tickets.</p>

3

<p>My D has an advantage card since she often uses it to visit friends or her sister- here is what I found re: Amtrak.</p>

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4

<p>SnLMom,</p>

<p>$50 is for all 4 years combined. If he buys it each year it would be $20 per year. He already saved $32 for this trip. </p>

<p>emeraldkity4,</p>

<p>Thank you for pointing out the limitations. Luckily we bought the tickets yesterday and he is traveling on wednesday, so he was eligible for the discount.</p>

5

<p>We bought a 4 year pass for D. The fare from her school ranges from $52 - $72 one way so with 15% off it’s $7.80 to $10.80 off. We have definitely saved more than the $50 even though as an upperclassperson, she gets rides on occasion now. She has also been able to use her SAC on some buses as well which has helped when she’s visited friends at other schools.</p>

6

<p>My son used his exclusively for Amtrak and it paid for itself and then some. If Amtrak is in your child’s future, there is no downside.</p>

7

<p>My D got her money’s worth just in Amtrak discounts. (I’m not sure she used it for anything else.)</p>

8

<p>I think this card also works on Greyhound for a 20% discount. I’m not sure if that’s in addition to the discount you get for reserving online in advance.</p>

9

<p>I thought there was an annual fee?</p>

10

<p>You can get it for different periods of time.</p>

11

<p>Both my kids more than made back the 4-year purchase price in bus fares alone.</p>

12

<p>My daughter had one for her four years, and used it on Amtrak and lots of other stuff too. The $50 fee more than paid for itself, so it was totally worthwhile. Besides, after the first year, we kind of forgot that we paid for it, so it was very nice to see that savings. She used it to save on the bus fares too.</p>

13

<p>I purchased it for DD also. She’s only a sophomore and it has already paid for itself. She has an Amtrak station basically on her campus so she’s used it to come home as well as to visit friends in other cities.</p>

14

<p>Always check the fare. We have found several times that the regular fare was cheaper than the Student Advantage fare.</p>