Your complete guide to Amtrak Guest Rewards

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

Editor's note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

If you’re not ready to take to the skies yet but are still planning to travel, you might be considering taking the train.

While the American train system pales compared to many European and Asian countries, it can still offer a convenient alternative to flying. Amtrak, which operates most of the medium- and long-haul passenger trains in the US, offers its own loyalty program to reward frequent customers with free rides.

Today, we’re going to take a look at everything you need to know to maximize the Amtrak Guest Rewards program. We’re going to cover everything from earning and redeeming points to elite status, lounge access and more.

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About Amtrak

Amtrak operates the vast majority of intercity passenger rail routes in the U.S. From short-haul to cross-country, 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, sleeper cars, and auto trains.

Unlike airlines, Amtrak doesn’t have partner programs you can credit your points to.

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 prices. 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 has made several customer-friendly changes during the pandemic including extending elite status and point expiration. Amtrak also said all employees will be required to be vaccinated against the coronavirus (or be subject to testing) and requires face coverings. Additionally, Amtrak is sharing how full a train will be, with a passenger volume number next to each train on the search results page.

Related: What is it like to take Amtrak during the pandemic?

Earning Amtrak points

There are various ways to earn Amtrak points, including ones that don’t require you to leave your home. Amtrak points normally expire after 24 months of inactivity, though point expiration has been paused through Sept. 15, 2021. Outside of this temporary extension, you can 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 new 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.

Related: Amtrak offering 15% student discount through the end of 2021

Earn Amtrak points through partners

Amtrak also has several other retail and commercial partners that let you earn bonus points on hotels, car rentals and more. Amtrak even operates an online shopping portal, which offers up to 18x points per dollar spent at select merchants.

You can also buy points, but we typically only recommend doing so if you’re just short on the points you need for a specific award.

Transfer points to Amtrak

While Amtrak doesn’t partner with any major transferable points currencies like Chase or Amex, you can still transfer points from the following programs into your Amtrak Guest Rewards account. Some of the partners even offer transfer bonuses from time to time.

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 Bank of America.

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Amtrak is now offering a whopping 50,000 points after making at least $2,500 in purchases within the first 90 days on The Amtrak Guest Rewards® World Mastercard®. You’ll need to spend more to trigger the bonus, but this new offer can get you well over $1,250 in travel, according to TPG’s valuations.

The no-annual-fee Amtrak Guest Rewards® Platinum Mastercard® is offering 12,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days of account opening.

The information for the Amtrak Guest Rewards card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: Best credit cards for train travel

Here’s a breakdown of each card’s benefits:

The Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard includes a Complimentary Companion Coupon at account opening and each year you renew your card, a one-class upgrade, lounge pass and 1,000 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) for every $5,000 spent per calendar year (up to four times). Both cards also include a 5% rebate when redeeming Amtrak points for travel.

Redeeming Amtrak points

Amtrak points are some of the most valuable around. Redemptions start as low as 800 points and searching for award space on Amtrak’s website is very easy. Search for a ticket as you normally would and select points instead of dollars.

Amtrak doesn’t use a fixed award chart anymore. Much like Southwest or JetBlue, the reward prices are roughly tied to the ticket’s cash cost. To get the best value from your points, you’ll want to use them on trips when the cheapest saver-level tickets are sold out.

Redeem points for Amtrak train tickets

Take the popular route from Washington D.C. to New York as an example.

Looking at a sample date in December 2021, the standard Northeast Regional train costs 2,450 points for a coach “value” fare seat or 2,982 points for a business-class seat. This corresponds to cash prices of $61 and $75, respectively. Note that the cheapest coach “saver” seats aren’t eligible for award redemption.

Amtrak runs dozens of trains on this route each day, with the price depending on the type of train (Acela vs. Northeast Regional), fare class (value, flexible, etc.) and departure times.

You can even use your points to book a sleeper room on some of Amtrak’s longer and more scenic routes, like the 46-hour journey from Chicago to Seattle. A sleeper compartment on this nonstop journey costs just over 23,000 points versus $650 cash.

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. Reporter 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 won’t be for everyone).

Related: 11 mistakes people make when taking a cross-country Amtrak

Redeem points for non-train travel

Amtrak also gives you the option to redeem your points for other travel experiences, such as hotels, rental cars and cruises.

A $100 gift card to Barnes and Noble, Disney or Nike will set you back 10,000 to 12,000 points. That means Amtrak is valuing your points at 0.83 to 1 cent apiece for these redemptions, which is sub-par. You’ll get roughly the same rate if you opt for dining or entertainment gift cards instead (like Applebees, AMC or Starbucks). All of the $50 denomination cards cost 6,000 points.

Elite status

Amtrak Guest Rewards offers three elite status tiers, including bonus points, upgrades, and lounge access. Qualification is based on your yearly total of Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs).

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 World Mastercard cardholders can earn up to 4,000 TQPs a year — 1,000 for every $5,000 spent on their card.

Related: Why I’m (temporarily) switching my loyalty to Amtrak

Amtrak lounge access

You can find ClubAcela and Metropolitan lounges in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Portland and Washington D.C. These lounges have continued to operate during the pandemic.

Access is available to passengers traveling in first-class or sleeper cars. Business-class passengers can use the lounges in Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland and St. Louis.

Depending on your elite status, you may even be able to access the lounges when traveling in coach. Select Plus and Select Executive elites get unlimited lounge access, while Select members get two single-visit passes each year. Additionally, the Amtrak credit card currently includes a complimentary single-visit lounge pass upon account opening

Related: Free lounge access for select Amtrak credit cardholders this summer

Bottom line

Amtrak might not have the best reputation, but the company is working on turning that around and restoring reliable service. Amtrak is an excellent alternative to flying for many short trips, especially up and down the coast. Amtrak points can be incredibly valuable, especially for trips where the cheapest tickets are already sold out.

Additional reporting by Ethan Steinberg.