Often when people think “travel points,” airline frequent flier miles come to mind. But Amtrak, too, has a loyalty program, and if you regularly find yourself taking the train—or you’re dreaming of seeing the country by rail—it shouldn’t be overlooked.
Earning Amtrak points
If you’re a regular Amtrak passenger, racking up points is easy. Join the Amtrak Guest Rewards program and you’ll earn two points per dollar spent on your fare, plus a 25 percent or 50 percent points bonus for travel in business class or Acela first class, respectively.
Amtrak also offers two co-branded Bank of America credit cards—the $79-per-year Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard and the no-fee Amtrak Guest Rewards Platinum Mastercard—that can expedite your points-earning. In particular, with the World card, you’ll earn three points per dollar spent on Amtrak purchases, including those made onboard, and two points per dollar spent on other qualifying travel purchases. You’ll earn one point per dollar on everything else. Platinum cardholders net two points per dollar on Amtrak purchases and one point per dollar on everything else.
And now is a great time to give the World card a look. Amtrak is currently offering its biggest-ever sign-up bonus on the World card. Until September 30, new cardholders can earn 50,000 points after putting $2,500 or more in purchases on the card within the first 90 days of account opening.
Like most airlines, Amtrak also provides a host of other ways to earn points that don’t involve travel, including through shopping portals and hotel, car rental, and retail partners.
Redeeming Amtrak points
Amtrak makes it extremely easy to use your Guest Rewards points on train tickets. Before starting a search, toggle the “Use Points” button to the right to display prices.
After you have clicked “Find Trains,” you’ll see a list of options on the next page, and for each one, you’ll find prices in points listed by fare class.
Amtrak Guest Rewards pros and cons
Amtrak ties its award ticket prices roughly to a ticket’s cash value, which, simply put, means that the more a ticket costs in money, the more it will cost in points. On any given route, prices are dynamic rather than fixed, so you’ll see them fluctuate based on train type, time of day, and availability.
Unfortunately, that means you’re unlikely to snag a deal by using points. If you’ve waited until the last minute and need to grab the last remaining seat on a train, you may have to pay a hefty sum no matter which currency you decide to use.
But that doesn’t mean you won’t get incredible value using Amtrak points. Tickets start at just 800 points. As an example, you can score a ticket on the Empire Builder, which runs from Chicago to Portland, Oregon, for just 6,710 points instead of laying down $151.
Of course, you may want to save your points for a splurge. You can take that same Empire Builder journey in a Superliner Roomette—a private room with towels and linens, turndown service, and access to a private restroom and shower—for just under 39,000 points, which would save you the cash rate of $1,076.
Amtrak Guest Rewards also offers the opportunity to redeem points for gift cards covering everything from retail to entertainment to dining to rental cars. But you’ll get much less from your points if you choose to spend them this way; for example, while 6,000 points would get you most of the way from Chicago to Portland on the itinerary above, it’ll only get you a $50 gift card to CVS.
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September 07, 2021 at 07:08PM
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Amtrak Guest Rewards: Everything Train Travelers Should Know About Amtrak's Loyalty Program - Condé Nast Traveler
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