Skip to content
Go to Home Page
Deals

Good Deal Alert: Amtrak Buy Points 50% Bonus

Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly
Founder + "The Points Guy"
Since launching TPG in 2010, founder Brian Kelly has expanded the team to include a distinguished editorial staff and an extensive network of freelancer contacts from around the globe. Today, TPG reaches 11 million unique monthly visitors and more than 3 million followers across social media platforms and has offices in New York City, Charlotte and the U.K.
Sept. 12, 2011
•
2 min read
Good Deal Alert: Amtrak Buy Points 50% Bonus
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Update: The current sign-up bonus for the Amtrak Guest Rewards World MasterCard is 12,000 points after spending $500 in the first 3 months, 2 points per dollar spent on Amtrak, and one point per dollar on everything else.

Amtrak Guest Rewards is running a 50% bonus on purchased miles until September 30, 2011. The maximum purchase is 10,000 per year, so the maximum amount you can get is 15,000 miles (which includes the bonus) for $275. Simply log-in to your Amtrak Guest Rewards account, and then click Earn Miles-> Buy points.

Why is this a good deal? Because Amtrak only charges 3,000 points for a one-way ticket for all travel within the Northeast zone. So for $275 you can get 5 trips between Portland, Maine and Virginia Beach, for example. Those trips are usually well over $100, so this deal can save you over 50%. Even New York to DC trains can cost over $200 each way, so this can make a lot of sense - especially if you book last minute. If your one way trips cost less than $60, then I would not recommend this promotion.

Amtrak Zones

This deal is also great for people who can take advantage of their 1,000 point "Special" routes. These routes include Blue Water, Wolverine, Cascades, Pacific Surfliner, Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin, Hiawatha, Downeaster, The Lincoln Service, Illini Service, The Carl Sandburg, Missouri River Runner, The Illinois Zephyr, The Saluki, The Hoosier State, The Pere Marquette, The Piedmont, and The Heartland Flyer.

Amtrak points can be transferred to airline miles at a 1:1 ratio, but you need to be an Amtrak elite or Chase Amtrak cardholder and the yearly maximum is 15,000 points. Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the Sapphire Preferred and Ink Bold Business cards can be transferred to Amtrak at a 1:1 ratio.

Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts

[card card-name='Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card' card-id='22125056' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.