Amtrak Guest Reward
- Thread starter thedude
- Start date
Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:
- Status
Amfleet
Engineer
It is for all passenger riding any train. For every $1 you spend on Amtrak travel, you earn 2 points. Acela has set pointage, 500 pts. one-way, I beleive, per passenger or point holder.
Absolutely not! Guest Rewards works for anyone on any Amtrak train.thedude said:
Yes you can build your points much faster if you ride on the Acela's, and the program probably does favor those who ride Acela a bit more than anyone else. But again, anyone can join.
Now for a few facts. At present, it costs nothing to join. Unlike airline frequent flier programs, your points never expire and there are very few blackout periods. As long as you give Amtrak at least a month to a month and a half warning, odds are you will get your trip as you want it. They don't play games with you, unlike most airlines.
If you sign up on-line and then take a trip within 90 days, any Amtrak trip will do even a short one, then you will receive a 500 points sign up bonus.
As for earning points, you get 2 points for every dollar that you spend on your ticket. So if your coach trip cost you 50 bucks, you'll get 100 points. If you book a sleeper, then you will also get 2 points for every dollar spent on the sleeper. You however will not get points for someone else traveling with you, although they can sign up and collect their own points too.
You cannot combine or transfer your points with someone else though.
Now if you ride the Acela's between certain cities, then instead of the normal 2 points per dollar, you'll get 500 points for your trip. If you travel in First class on the Acela, then you'll get 750 points. You can also earn points by signing up for the Guest Rewards Credit card. There you'll get a point for every dollar you charge, 2 if you charge your Amtrak tickets to that card.
I won't try to explain how many points you need for a trip, as that depends on how and where you are traveling. You can however click here to see the redemtion chart on Amtrak's website.
Hope that helps.
Amfleet
Engineer
Yes, or if you just have gotten back from a trip I think you can send in your ticket stubs to earn points.thedude said:
You can only get points if you sign up with in 90 days of your trip, I think. It might be 30, I'm not real sure right now, but I will try and look tomorrow.Amfleet said:
You would have to xerox the stubs and send in the copies, along with a letter that includes your GR account number. Under no circumstances should you send in the actual ticket stubs.thedude said:
I don't know if they've gotten better, but early on in the program they were notorious for loosing mailed in point requests.
The general rule is, if your GR account number does not appear on the stubs, then you will not get automatic credit. So any time you book a trip, make sure that your number shows up on the ticket. If it doesn't get a new ticket issued before you start your trip if at all possible. Otherwise you will have to do a mail request for points. That can take up to three months to process.
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2002
- Messages
- 743
>>The general rule is, if your GR account number does not appear on the stubs, then you will not get automatic credit. <<
Sorry, but I would dispute this. I have traveled numerous times in the past year without ever having my GR number on the stubs. In every situation I was automatically rewarded the points. By following the point balance online, I found that the points were added every few weeks without my even saying anything. :lol:
Sorry, but I would dispute this. I have traveled numerous times in the past year without ever having my GR number on the stubs. In every situation I was automatically rewarded the points. By following the point balance online, I found that the points were added every few weeks without my even saying anything. :lol:
I can't begin to imagine how that is possible. If your number is not on the original Amtrak ticket, then there is no way for the computer to pick up the fact that you made a qualifying trip. When the conductor lifts your ticket he turns it in when he goes off duty.Chatter163 said:
Those tickets all have a bar code on them. When that barcode is scanned into the computer for various purposes (ridership, revenue, ....), the system picks up your Guest Rewards number and forwards the info to the GR system. If your number is not on that ticket, then the GR system does not receive any info about that ticket. They don't match by name, only by that number.
If your number is printed on the main ticket, then it is always on the stub. That 10 digit number will show up on the line right below your name, but off to the right hand side of the stub.
AMTRAK-P42
Conductor
One thing I have noticed about guest rewards, atleast in my circumstance, is how increadibly long it takes for the points to be offically counted on the card. I do not have the credit card, just the plain guest rewards card, and it has taken up to three weeks before they offically count the points.
battalion51
Engineer
Well if you do it on line you can use three different Guest Rewards accounts for three different people. You however have to have seperate reservation numbers if you want to use the same card for all three people.
I wouldn't try using the same card for three people, as the computer will match both the GR number and the name on the ticket stub.battalion51 said:
However if you have three cards, then you can book all three tickets in one reservation and apply each number to the correct ticket.
- Status
