Discussion:
Fares and Points
marcrail1-H+0wwilmMs3R7s880joybQ@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
2014-08-27 18:17:25 UTC
Permalink
On a trip from Toronto to Vancouver with a stopover at Jasper I assume the fare is a combination of the Toronto-Jasper and Jasper-Vancouver fares rather than the through fare?

Are the # of redemption points for Privilege travel on the Canadian the same for summer and winter?

Yes guys, I know that the Manor and Chateau cars were built by Budd (although my first trip on the Canadian was 50 years ago this summer in a Tourist Upper). Generally Budd sleepers had the same room dimensions as other builders although the number of streamlined cars with sections was limited. In the absence of being able to find anything referring to the dimensions of the CPR cars, I had only the VIA numbers and the Pullman numbers to rely on. I personally have found the lower berths extremely comfortable and I am 6'2'. However if you have only the VIA numbers to rely on the bed would seem short for a six footer. I was hoping someone would have some published CPR document which gave another number than VIA's. Thanks.

Ira Silverman
Rockville
Brian Gilhuly brianlgilhuly-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
2014-08-27 19:00:20 UTC
Permalink
My comments are interlined below.

Brian Gilhuly
Post by marcrail1-H+***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
On a trip from Toronto to Vancouver with a stopover at Jasper I assume the
fare is a combination of the Toronto-Jasper and Jasper-Vancouver fares
rather than the through fare?
No. The through fare allows for one stopover en route at no extra cost,
provided you don't change the class of travel.
Post by marcrail1-H+***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
Are the # of redemption points for Privilege travel on the Canadian the
same for summer and winter?
Generally, yes, but there are often 'points sales' in the off-season that
allow you to use up to 40% fewer points. As you probably know already, the
rewards program is called VIA Preference and 'Privilege' is one of its
reward levels.
Post by marcrail1-H+***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
...
Ira Silverman
Rockville
Tom Box tbox-7i5HoP2kWQc@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
2014-08-27 19:16:26 UTC
Permalink
Post by marcrail1-H+***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
On a trip from Toronto to Vancouver with a stopover at Jasper
I assume the fare is a combination of the Toronto-Jasper and
Jasper-Vancouver fares rather than the through fare?
No, you're entitled to one free stopover, so you'd only pay the
through fare. You have to book in the same fare category for
both legs to get the through fare.

You only get one free stopover, so if you did Toronto - Vancouver
with stopovers in both Winnipeg and Jasper, then you'd have to pay
either Toronto - Winnipeg plus Winnipeg - Vancouver, or Toronto -
Jasper plus Jasper - Vancouver. If you do it as a single booking,
it's the longest stopover that's the free one. So if you stopped
over for a week in Winnipeg and four days in Jasper, the Winnipeg
stopover would be the free one, and the fare would be TRTO-JASP
plus JASP-VCVR. You could get around that by doing two separate
bookings, for TRTO-WNPG and WNPG-VCVR (with a free stopover in
JASP). You'd have to try it both ways to see which would be
cheaper. You can do that using the multi-city option in Reservia.
Post by marcrail1-H+***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
Are the # of redemption points for Privilege travel on the
Canadian the same for summer and winter?
In principle yes, but for the past few years VIA has had a
wintertime sale for points redemptions. Toronto - Vancouver in
sleeper was 7800 points instead of the usual 13000. It's usually
announced in January and valid for travel through April 30.
There's no guarantee that it'll happen again next winter, but
it might.

Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada


------------------------------------
Posted by: Tom Box <tbox-***@public.gmane.org>
------------------------------------

For help, send an email to Canadian-Passenger-Rail-help-***@public.gmane.org
Tom Box tbox-7i5HoP2kWQc@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
2014-08-27 23:52:46 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tom Box tbox-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
Post by marcrail1-H+***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
Are the # of redemption points for Privilege travel on the
Canadian the same for summer and winter?
In principle yes, but for the past few years VIA has had a
wintertime sale for points redemptions. Toronto - Vancouver in
sleeper was 7800 points instead of the usual 13000. It's usually
announced in January and valid for travel through April 30.
A points sale began today. 25% off for points redemptions on the
Ocean or the Canadian, in either coach or sleeping car. Trip must
be completed by Nov 30. That's not as good a deal as the sale I
mentioned above, which was 40% off, but there's probably more
demand in Sept-Nov than in Jan-April, so not as big a discount.

This sale is mentioned at
<https://www.viapreference.com/en/offers>, but you have to be
logged in to the VIA Preference site to see it. If you're not
logged in, you get a different page that doesn't show the sale.

The sale "prices" don't appear in the points redemption charts
on the VIA Preference site. They have in past sales. Perhaps
the charts just haven't been updated yet.

Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada


------------------------------------
Posted by: Tom Box <tbox-***@public.gmane.org>
------------------------------------

For help, send an email to Canadian-Passenger-Rail-help-***@public.gmane.org
Loading...