Jaunted

To score the elite piece of plastic you’ll need to travel aboard the train enough to earn more than 20,000 qualifying points. After that your ride gets a little bit better, as you’ll score unlimited access to ClubAcela and Amtrak Metropolitan Lounges. Swanky! You’ll even get access to United Club lounges when you’re stuck at the airport rather than the station. Other benefits include a priority phone number for reservations and, for when things go wrong, faster earning of award points and one upgrade for every 3,000 points that you earn.

It might not be as enticing as going for the best of the best elite status like aboard some of the world’s airlines, but it’s at least a start. With the way points are usually calculated you’re looking at spending—or at least your company is looking at spending—around $10,000 to get all those qualifying points. However, if you’re doing the traveling anyway you might as well try your best to score the Select Executive Benefits.

[Photo: THE Holy Hand Grenade!]