Business AGR

[RailFanLNK]

Our church uses Amtrak once or at least this year twice. We had 42 people to CHI and 11 to GSC. Can our church become an AGR member and get points for 42 people or is this just open to individuals? Thanks!

Al

 

[PRR 60]

Our church uses Amtrak once or at least this year twice. We had 42 people to CHI and 11 to GSC. Can our church become an AGR member and get points for 42 people or is this just open to individuals? Thanks!
Al

An Amtrak Guest Rewards for Business (AGRB) account can be opened by any business with a Federal Tax ID and with at least three employees who are individual AGR members. Once the eligibility of the business is confirmed, the AGRB member business will earn 25% of the points earned by the linked individual members. For example, if you take a $100 trip on Amtrak and your account is linked to a business account, you will get your normal 200 points, and the business will get 25% of what you earned: 50 points. The points earned by the business can be cashed in for travel just like with an individual account.

Now for the tough question. Is a Church group eligible for AGRB? Answer: I don't know. It would seem not. A church group is not exactly a business, and the members are certainly not employees (unless you are paid by the church), but there is nothing explicit on the website that says no. Here is what in in the AGRB FAQ's:

How do I determine if my company is eligible for Amtrak Guest Rewards for Business?
To qualify, you must have your company's Federal Tax ID number and a minimum of three company travelers, each of whom must be a current Amtrak Guest Rewards member at time of enrollment. Businesses should have an anticipated annual Amtrak travel spend between $5,000 and $75,000. Businesses already receiving an Amtrak corporate discount do not qualify for this program.

Best bet. Call AGRB at 1-800-267-9323 and ask.

 

[the_traveler]

The first question that you have to answer is:

1) Does the church group have an EIN (Employer ID Number) assigned to it?

If the answer is no, then it is not eligible for the AGRB mentioned.