Price of fare and points

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MiniMax

Train Attendant
Joined
May 25, 2004
Messages
82
Hi all, I used to use my Chase credit card to rack up Amtrak points, but that amenity is now only available with a Bank of America credit card. I'm thinking of changing cards in order to get Amtrak points again. Question: Which is cheaper, buying points and applying them or just buying the standard fare on line? Has anyone had good experience with Bank of America credit cards? Thanks
 
I've had no problem with BOA.

With AGR 2.0, there is no advantage to buying points "to save for a rainy day". Since award tickets are now based on the cash price of that ticket, it is best to buy the lowest fare ticket possible. And if you "just need a few points to get your award", you can buy them at that time. (They cost the same!)

There is no more zone system for awards. Some trips may cost less while some trips may cost more then before.
 
Buying points, even with the promos I've seen to date, aren't significantly cheaper than cash. I think one of the promos put it either equal to cash or a very small savings, but unless it's a large savings I'd pay cash for the flexibility over points, and I'd never buy them just to stock up.

The one time where it's good to buy points is if you have an immediate redemption in mind and you have most of the points needed but you're a few hundred to couple thousand short. The points, especially with a promo, aren't a crazy amount more expensive than cash, and since most of the points are earned already it'd still be a significant savings over a cash fare.
 
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