Amtrak's Leap Year Sale Has 50% Off Train Tickets & Some Are Just $8

Nobody's perfect -- even the Earth. We have leap days because our perfectly imperfect planet doesn't orbit the sun in the exact amount of time it takes for it to complete 365 rotations on its axis. If you do a bunch of math, you're left with an extra quarter day each year. Thankfully, you don't have to do much math to appreciate Amtrak's big leap year sale, featuring 50% off train tickets. 

Amtrak announced the sale on Friday, offering half-price tickets if you book before midnight on Saturday, February 29. The discounted one-way fares are good for trips between March 7 and April 8 of this year. We're looking at deals like Champaign to Chicago for $8.50, Fresno to Sacramento for $15, and Portland to Seattle for $18.

The passenger rail service said the discount applies for all segments of its Cascades, Heartland Flyer, Hiawatha, Illinois Services, Michigan Services, Missouri River Runner and San Joaquins, and on some segments of the California Zephyr, City of New Orleans, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Southwest Chief, and Texas Eagle.

PS: Amtrak may be the only exception to "nobody's perfect": The railroad service allows you two personal items and two carry-on bags, plus it's offering buy-one-get-one-half-off train tickets all spring and recently announced that its soon-to-be-implemented rules will make tickets cheaper than ever. 

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