Buy Amtrak Guest Rewards Points With a 10% Discount

It’s nearly impossible to find a company without an award program. While Amtrak is a staple of many Americans’ travel, it isn’t at the top of people’s minds when they think about rewards programs.

If you’re a frequent patron of Amtrak, signing up for its Guest Rewards program should be a no-brainer. But is it worth buying Guest Rewards points?

Let’s take a closer look at the promotion Amtrak is currently running, which lets you purchase points with a 10% discount, to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Promotion Details

This Amtrak Guest Rewards promotion currently does not have an end date, and it has a tiered bonus, meaning you’ll get a better bonus when you buy more points. You’ll need to buy at least 1,000 points to receive the full 10% discount.

Here are the available bonus tiers:

• 500 points: No bonus
• 1,000 to 50,000 points: 10% discount (3.39 cents each)
• Direct link to purchase

Here are the terms you should know for this offer:

• The bonus has just 1 tier.
• You can purchase points in increments of 500.
• To receive the bonus, you must purchase at least 1,000 points.
• This promotion currently has no end date.
• Purchased points do not count toward elite status.
• You can purchase up to a maximum of 50,000 points each year.
• Points expire if there’s no activity in your account for 24 months.
• It may take up to 72 hours to receive the points you purchased.

Is It Worth It?

The value of Amtrak Guest Rewards points isn’t fixed; it varies based on your specific redemption. For example, we found a one-way ticket from New York to Boston in business class for either $72 or 2,700 points.

Using 2,700 points to save $72 means redeeming points at 2.67 cents each.

With the current promotion, you can buy points for 3.39 cents each, so you’d be purchasing points for more than you can redeem them for. In which case, we’d recommend skipping this promo unless you have a higher value redemption lined up.

Amtrak sells points through Points.com, so buying points won’t code as a travel purchase on your credit card. Thus, if you decide to purchase points from Amtrak, use your best credit card for everyday spending.

Final Thoughts

This new promotion allows you to buy Amtrak points with up to a 10% discount, purchasing points for 3.39 cents each. That said, it is probably one worth skipping, as we’ve seen opportunites to purchase Amtrak points for far less in the past.