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The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Guides
Amtrak Guest Rewards: How to earn and redeem points with train travel
Augusta Stone is a credit cards writer for TPG. She joined the TPG team in 2023 and is excited to take points and miles beginners with her on a journey toward maximizing rewards.
also contributed to this story
March 19, 2024 • 10 min read
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.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.
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Quick summary
Amtrak Guest Rewards is the primary loyalty program for train travel in the U.S., allowing members to earn and redeem points for train tickets and other rewards.
Points are most valuable when redeemed for Amtrak travel, with a fixed value of about 2.67 cents per point per TPG's valuations as of June 2024.
Elite status within the program offers benefits like bonus points, upgrades, companion coupons and lounge access, based on annual qualifying activity.
Points can also be earned through select partners, promotions and an online shopping portal, but transfer options from major credit card programs are limited.
What to consider
Points expire after 24 months of inactivity unless you have qualifying activity or hold a cobranded card.
Redemptions for non-train rewards, such as gift cards or hotel stays, provide significantly lower value than using points for Amtrak tickets.
Some offers and promotions mentioned in the article may no longer be available.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed guide to maximizing Amtrak Guest Rewards, including elite status perks, lounge access and strategies for earning and redeeming points.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Whether you want to save money on expensive airline tickets or experience a different mode of travel transportation, you might consider taking the train. While the American train system pales in comparison to many European and Asian train systems, it can still offer a convenient alternative to flying.
If you do decide to take the train in the United States, Amtrak, which operates most of the medium- and long-haul passenger trains, offers its own loyalty program to reward frequent customers with free rides.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know to maximize the Amtrak Guest Rewards program, including how to earn points, elite status, lounge access and more.
What is Amtrak Guest Rewards?
Amtrak operates the vast majority of intercity passenger rail routes in the U.S. From short-haul to cross-country routes, you can take the train to over 500 destinations in 46 states and Canada. Amtrak’s fleet includes a mix of trains with standard coach, business-class and first-class seating, private rooms, and auto trains.
If you want to earn rewards on your train rides, your only option is to credit your points to Amtrak’s own Amtrak Guest Rewards program. You earn and redeem points primarily based on ticket price and seating class. Depending on how much you spend or how often you travel in premium cabins, you may be able to earn one of three elite status levels.
Amtrak doesn't use an award chart but instead prices its award tickets at a fixed valuation of about 2.67 cents per point.
Most of the time, you'll earn Amtrak Guest Rewards points for riding trains or spending on cobranded credit cards, but there are multiple ways to earn and redeem within the program.
Coach class on the Northeast Regional train. BENJI STAWSKI/THE POINTS GUY
How to earn Amtrak Guest Rewards points
There are various ways to earn Amtrak points, including ones that don’t require you to leave your home. Amtrak points expire after 24 months of inactivity, so be sure to keep your points active with any qualifying activity discussed below.
Earn Amtrak points by taking the train
The most common way to earn Amtrak points is from your paid train tickets. Members earn 2 points per dollar spent, plus a 25% bonus for business-class travel and a 50% bonus for Acela First class. You can also earn a 500-point bonus for referring a friend to the Amtrak Guest Rewards program.
Amtrak routinely offers promotions for discounted tickets and extra points. There’s often no limit to how many bonus points you can earn with these promotions, but registration is typically required.
You can also buy points, but we typically only recommend doing so if you’re just short of the points you need for a specific award.
Transfer points to Amtrak
While Amtrak doesn’t partner with any major programs with transferable currencies like Chase or Amex, you can transfer points to and from Audiece Rewards ShowPoints. These points can be transferred at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000 both ways.
Earn points with Amtrak credit cards
If you find yourself frequently traveling on Amtrak, you might want to consider applying for one of two cobranded credit cards issued by First National Bank of Omaha.
The no-annual-fee Amtrak Guest Rewards® Mastercard® offers 12,000 points after you spend $1,000 in the first three billing cycles of account opening.
Meanwhile, the Amtrak Guest Rewards® Preferred Mastercard® comes with a $99 annual fee but offers 40,000 points after you spend $2,000 in the first three billing cycles of account opening. This welcome bonus is valued at about $1,068, based on Amtrak's fixed award valuation of about 2.67 cents per point.
The information for the Amtrak Guest Rewards Mastercard and the Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Earnings on Amtrak travel, including onboard purchases
2 points per dollar spent
3 points per dollar spent
Additional bonus earnings
2 points per dollar spent on dining
2 points per dollar spent on dining, travel, transit and rideshare
Earnings on all other purchases
1 point per dollar spent everywhere else
1 point per dollar spent everywhere else
Rebate on onboard food and beverage purchases
10%
20%
The Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard includes a round-trip companion coupon upon account opening and at each card anniversary, a one-class upgrade, a station lounge pass and 1,000 tier qualifying points for every $5,000 in qualifying purchases each calendar year.
Both cards include a 5% rebate when redeeming Amtrak points for travel and no foreign transaction fees. Points don't expire on either card as long as the card account remains open.
CHRIS DONG/THE POINTS GUY
How to redeem Amtrak points
Amtrak points can be quite valuable, and searching for award space on Amtrak’s website is very easy. To search for an award ticket, select "Use Points" in the upper right-hand corner.
Though Amtrak doesn’t use a fixed award chart, much like Southwest Airlines or JetBlue, the reward prices are roughly tied to the ticket’s cash cost, and you'll get a fixed value of about 2.67 cents per point.
Redeem points for Amtrak train tickets
For example, let's say you want to book a popular train route, such as this one from New York to Washington, D.C.
Looking at a sample date in June, the standard Northeast Regional train starts at 750 points for a coach seat or 3,113 points in business class. This corresponds to cash prices of $20 for a coach ticket and $83 for a business-class ticket; therefore, you'd be getting a fixed valuation of 2.67 cents per point.
AMTRAK.COM
Amtrak runs dozens of trains on this route each day, with the price varying, depending on the type of train (Acela versus Northeast Regional), fare class and departure time.
If your travel time extends beyond a few hours, you may consider using your points to book a private room on some of Amtrak’s lengthier, more scenic routes. For example, you can book this 46-hour journey from Chicago to Seattle. A sleeper compartment on this nonstop journey costs just under 37,000 points versus $980 cash.
AMTRAK.COM
If you’re curious about what 45 hours on a train feels like, make sure to check out TPG’s review of the Superliner Roomette from Chicago to Portland, Oregon. Senior writer Katie Genter booked the tickets on sale for $448 per person for the one-way trip. Besides the subpar dining experience, she enjoyed the scenic journey (though she admits that spending that long on a train certainly isn't for everyone).
A $50 gift card for Airbnb, Hotels.com, Uber or Disney will set you back 6,000 points. That means Amtrak is valuing your points at 0.83 cents apiece for these redemptions, which is subpar compared to the 2.67 cents per point you can get when redeeming your points for train travel.
Basic members earn 2 points per dollar spent, plus a 25% bonus for business-class tickets and a 50% bonus on Acela first-class tickets. Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard cardmembers can also earn 1,000 TQPs for every $5,000 spent on their card.
Perks for earning elite status with Amtrak Guest Rewards are as follows:
Select
Select Plus
Select Executive
Tier qualifying points needed
5,000
10,000
20,000
Bonus points on Amtrak travel
25%
50%
100%
One-class upgrades
2
4
4 (plus one more with every additional 3,000 TQPs)
Companion coupons
N/A
2
2
Access to Amtrak lounges
2 single-visit passes
Yes
Yes
All elite tiers come with two 10% discount coupons, priority call handling and exclusive offers. Select Executive members are automatically registered for promotions.
You can find Metropolitan Lounges in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Portland and Washington. Amtrak also offers unstaffed waiting rooms in New Orleans, St. Louis, St. Paul-Minneapolis and Wilmington, Delaware.
Access is available to those with a same-day ticket and one of the following:
Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Plus or Select Executive elite status
Amtrak Guest Rewards station lounge pass
First-class ticket
Private-room ticket
Business-class passengers (Portland and St. Louis only)
Business-class passengers can purchase daypasses for lounge use for $35 at select locations — Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston — or spend $50 for a daypass to access New York's location. Pacific Surfliner business-class passengers have the option to purchase a $25 daypass for the lounge in Los Angeles.
Amtrak may not be quite as popular as airlines in the U.S., but the company is working on turning that around. Amtrak can be a solid alternative to flying for many short trips, especially up and down the coasts.
Amtrak points can also be valuable, especially for trips where the cheapest tickets are already sold out.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
