New Orleans To Chicago Questions continue (reward points related)

[Chicago Crooza]

I did more research yesterday and found out that I can do a 1 to 1 point transfer from my SPG to Amtrak guest reward program, and that the route from NOL to Chicago is only one zone travel.

Now i know it requires 25,000 points to get a bedroom, is that for a bedroom or can you get a family bedroom?

Secondly, 25,000 points is to redeem the fare for a bedroom, do I still need to pay for my coach seats?

There are 4 of us, 2 adults and 2 kids, how do I go about doing that?

Finally, I am not yet a guest reward member, so, do I need to sign up for one first, do a points transfer from SPG to Amtrak rewards, before making a booking?

Thanks in advance

 

[coachseats]

Yes you should sign up for Amtrak Guest Rewards first to get an account established. I'm sure lots of people here would be willing to refer you so that if you take a paid trip within 90 days you both get 500 bonus points. Then you can do you SPG transfer. I have done this SPG-Amtrak GR transfer in the past with no problems and the points transferred quickly. Just make sure when you are calling to have both account numbers ready. I believe you can transfer points in increments of 5,000 points. The 25,000 points covers everything for your whole family- bedroom (family bedroom is the same) meals, etc. No need to purchase separate coach fares or separate fares for each family member. Be sure to look into the cancellation policy for Guest Rewards reservations, as it is slightly different than paid tickets.

 

[MiRider]

You need to sign up for AGR before you can do any type of transaction with points.

Without an AGR account number, you have no way to transfer, buy or redeem points within the system.

It doesn't cost anything and you get a 500 point sign up bonus too.

If you have enough SPG points, that would be a great way to use them.

The reward redemption for a roomette or bedroom covers all of the allowable passengers in the accommodation and includes the coach portion of the fare too.

I don't see the family bedroom listed as on option on the site so I doubt you can redeem points for one - someone else here may know different.

Any accommodation redemption has to be made by phone so you'd be giving all of the passenger information to an agent.

You cannot redeem points for accommodations online, you can redeem points for a coach fare online though.

 

[Notelvis]

Good Questions -

Here is what I can tell you -

That 25,000 AGR is the same for a one zone redemption in either Bedroom or Family Bedroom. I have twice redeemed AGR points for Family Bedroom space and actually have a trip coming up with my wife and daughter this summer with sleeping accomodations courtesy of AGR! It includes everything (room, coach fare and meals) for all occupants of the room. You may have some debate with the person doing your booking if you want the regular bedroom though. The great chart which someone posted in your previous thread notwithstanding, there is sometimes some misunderstanding as to how many passengers and how many meals are covered in the regular bedroom. You won't have this problem booking the Family Bedroom for 2 adults and 2 children as this is the composition they had in mind when designing the Family Bedroom.

Yes - you will want to sign up for the AGR program and make your points transfer first. They won't book until the 25,000 points are there. To book sleeping car accomodations with AGR you will need to telephone a live agent at the 1-800 number that will be provided to you when you sign up. You may also want to apply for the Chase Amtrak Guest Rewards Credit Card while you are at it as well. Whether you use this card or not, there are little perks for AGR members who also have the card. One is that your AGR points will never expire if you have the card. Otherwise you must make a paid Amtrak trip at least once every 36 months to keep your points from expiring. Another, BETTER perk is that members with the Chase AGR Mastercard receive a 5% point rebate when they book Amtrak travel. Yes, you'll need 25,000 points to book but once the transaction is complete, AGR will deposit 1,250 points back into your account....... if you have the Chase AGR Mastercard.

Finally - You can also 'buy' up to 10,000 AGR points per year if your transfer leaves you, say, 3,000 points short. It's usually a bargain as the price for buying points is generally lower than what you would spend in rail fares to accumulate the same number of points. IF you have the Chase AGR Master Card and use that card to 'buy' points, you'll also be earning an additional 2 points per dollar spent (as you were spending those funds with Amtrak) on the purchase.

And NO - I am not an employee of Chase or Amtrak......... Just a long-time satisfied AGR Member!

 

[chicago crooza]

Can someone please explain to me about the cancellation policy on the guest reward program?

If I spend 25000 on a room, and later want to cancel it, do I get all the points back in my account? Or If I will have to change date of travel, do I simply do that without any penalties?

Can someone please refer me to the guest reward program, I just dont want those bonus points someone else can have go to waste

This is a very helpful forum

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Can someone please explain to me about the cancellation policy on the guest reward program? If I spend 25000 on a room, and later want to cancel it, do I get all the points back in my account? Or If I will have to change date of travel, do I simply do that without any penalties?

Can someone please refer me to the guest reward program, I just dont want those bonus points someone else can have go to waste

This is a very helpful forum

I'll be glad to refer you. You need to provide your email address but please use spaces to prevent spammers from finding it.

 

[the_traveler]

The cancellation policy for AGR awards is - If you cancel your trip before the train departs, you will get ALL your points back! One more thing I should point out is that an AGR award (unlike an airline frequent flyer award) is ONE WAY ONLY! Thus both wats (in either a bedroom or a family room) will be 25,000 points each way for all 4!

If you were a member, I'd suggest someone send you a PM (private message) to get your email address. But since you're not a member, please disguise it when posting it. Example use a format such as "name at gmail dot com". Otherwise, spammers may get a hold of your email address.

Also, to qualify for the sign up bonus, you have to take a paid trip on Amtrak within 90 days of registering for AGR. It does not have to be a long trip, or even round trip. For example, you could take Amtrak from Union Station to Glenview and return on METRA to qualify!

 

[chicagocrooza]

Please write me at allure 08262012 at gmail dot com

no spaces at all, thanks

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Please write me at allure 08262012 at gmail dot com
no spaces at all, thanks

Done. You will receive an email with a link. Follow the link to sign up. You must travel within 90 days of signing up, so if your trip is more than 90 days away, I would suggest you take a short trip on Amtrak (you're in Chicago, right) within 90 days then you & I will get the bonus points.

Also, once signed up, refer your wife & kids at some point when they can travel within 90 days (paid trip) and you will get the referral bonus points. There is a way to transfer the points between accounts, but someone else will need to explain that.

Happy travels!

 

[Ryan]

Can someone please explain to me about the cancellation policy on the guest reward program? If I spend 25000 on a room, and later want to cancel it, do I get all the points back in my account? Or If I will have to change date of travel, do I simply do that without any penalties?

In addition to the "cancel anytime before the train leaves" that was mentioned, you can also change dates anytime as long as there is availability (another advantage of AGR - there isn't a limited number of "award seats/rooms" - if there's something available, you can book it using points).

 

[the_traveler]

See post #7 for an idea!

You can transfer between accounts, but it costs 1¢ per point to do so. Maybe a better idea is to accumulate enough points in that account and then redeem an award without cost from that account. An award can be redeemed in anyone's name!

 

[chicago crooza]

This is what I have right now.

I have 25,000 SPG points to transfer to Amtrak to redeem for a (bedroom or a family bedroom) + a roomette, now, here's my calculation:

Facts:

I need 25,000 points + 15,000 points

Right now Amtrak is doing a 30% bonus, so I can buy 10,000 + 3000 bonus point for $275

I can have my wife purchase 10,000 + 3000 bonus for $275, then do a transfer from her account to my account which should cost me $13

So now, I should have 26,000 points for a total cost of $563

I will then transfer 15,000 SPG points to my Amtrak account so I can have enough points to cover the 40,000 points needed.

For the points purchase, each point will cost me 2.1 penny

The roomette for two cost me $482 and the bedroom for 4 cost me $720

$1203 - $563 = $640 (for the cost of 15,000 SPG points)

This way, my SPG value would be about 4.3 penny per point

Good deal?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

You're taking the train one-way, correct? You only need 25,000 points to pay for a bedroom/family room.

 

[chicagocrooza]

it is one way, but I also need a roomette for the two grandparent, so 25,000 + 15,000

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Ah. Didn't know about the grandparents (or forgot about them if they were mentioned in your first posts).

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Smart traveler w/small kids. Take extra adults. :lol:

We did that for a trip to WDW when oure kids were young (5 & 1-1/2). Two of my sisters went with us so it was a 4 to 2 ratio.

 

[the_traveler]

Here's an idea!

If I understand correctly, you have just 25,000 SPG points. Once you get your AGR account and do the qualifying trip (like I earlier suggested to Glenview) and transfer your 25,000 SPG points, you'll have 25,600 AGR points. That is enough for a bedroom or family bedroom!

Then YOU refer your wife to AGR. Once she does the qualifying trip, both she AND you each will get 500 bonus points! Then she can buy the 10,000 points (+ 3,000 bonus) for her account. She now has 13,600 AGR points. If you want, you could transfer 1,000 points to her for $10. (You would have 1,100 points.) She would have 14,600 points. To redeem for a Roomette would be 15,000 points! That is only 400 points away (or 4 one way trips from Union Station to Glenview or 2 round trips)! Then SHE could redeem from her AGR account for the Roomette!

 

[chicagocrooza]

Here's an idea!
If I understand correctly, you have just 25,000 SPG points. Once you get your AGR account and do the qualifying trip (like I earlier suggested to Glenview) and transfer your 25,000 SPG points, you'll have 25,600 AGR points. That is enough for a bedroom or family bedroom!

Then YOU refer your wife to AGR. Once she does the qualifying trip, both she AND you each will get 500 bonus points! Then she can buy the 10,000 points (+ 3,000 bonus) for her account. She now has 13,600 AGR points. If you want, you could transfer 1,000 points to her for $10. (You would have 1,100 points.) She would have 14,600 points. To redeem for a Roomette would be 15,000 points! That is only 400 points away (or 4 one way trips from Union Station to Glenview or 2 round trips)! Then SHE could redeem from her AGR account for the Roomette!

Actually, I was mistaken about the transfer fee, I thought it would cost 1 cent per point but in reality it is 10cents per points, that's kind of deep.

So I am going to book everything from one account (mine), and I do have 40,000 SPG miles to transfer to the amtrak reward account, I can have all of these (the bedroom and also the roomette) for free. But I love my SPG miles for hotel stay (really one of the best value out there, for example, I booked two rooms at sheraton in NEw Orleans for 3000 points each night) so I was planning to save some spg mile by purchasing Amtrak miles.

the 30% bonus only applies to 10,000 points purchase, and the scale go down from there. since the SPG transfer is increment of 5000 points, so the bonus 30% really isn't going to help much.

So i may as well just transfer 40,000 spg points into my Amtrak account to get a roomette and also a bedroom.

 

[the_traveler]

The transfer fee from 1 AGR account to another AGR account is 1¢ per point. I just transferred 1,000 AGR points from my sister's account to my account for $10.

 

[TinCan782]

As I understand the "rules", if you purchase 10,000 points (the annual limit), you cannot receive any additional points by transfer or purchase for the remainder of the year.

Once you hit 10,000, that's it.

See my thread "Buying/Sharing AGR Points - Limit" in this AGR forum for this discussion.

 

[AlanB]

As I understand the "rules", if you purchase 10,000 points (the annual limit), you cannot receive any additional points by transfer or purchase for the remainder of the year.Once you hit 10,000, that's it.

See my thread "Buying/Sharing AGR Points - Limit" in this AGR forum for this discussion.

NO!

Once again, as I explained in that thread you linked to, you can only buy or be gifted 10K per year. A gift means that someone else buys the points for you.

However, transfers where someone transfers existing points to you are NOT part of that 10K limit. Transfers have their own limit of 100K per year. You cannot receive more than 100K in transfers.

 

[TinCan782]

As I understand the "rules", if you purchase 10,000 points (the annual limit), you cannot receive any additional points by transfer or purchase for the remainder of the year.Once you hit 10,000, that's it.

See my thread "Buying/Sharing AGR Points - Limit" in this AGR forum for this discussion.

NO!

Once again, as I explained in that thread you linked to, you can only buy or be gifted 10K per year. A gift means that someone else buys the points for you.

However, transfers where someone transfers existing points to you are NOT part of that 10K limit. Transfers have their own limit of 100K per year. You cannot receive more than 100K in transfers.

OK...distinguishing "transfer" from "gift" changes things although in my other post, I included a quote from AGR's fine print... The fine print states: "Members may buy or receive up to a total of 10,000 points in a calendar year. To me, "receive" could include gift OR transfer...something other than "earn".

At this point, it won't matter to me since I'm going to do each leg of the trip separately...my name on one, my wife on the other with each other as the added passenger. That will also circumvent paying a transfer fee. Thanks AlanB for your input.

 

[SarahZ]

I can confirm Alan is right. My boyfriend and I purchase the max points every year and transfer points back and forth when necessary. It's never given me any issues. I needed 3000 points to book our roomette last year. I'd already purchased the max, so I moved 3000 from his account and bam - roomette.

 

[TinCan782]

I can confirm Alan is right. My boyfriend and I purchase the max points every year and transfer points back and forth when necessary. It's never given me any issues. I needed 3000 points to book our roomette last year. I'd already purchased the max, so I moved 3000 from his account and bam - roomette.

Thanks Sorcha. I may give it a go and just get a single round trip ticket instead of two separate tickets. Besides, I'll pay the transfer fee with my Chase AGR card and pick up some points. Also, I'll get the Chase 5% point rebate (2500) for the entire trip instead of just my part if I were to split the trip (wife doesnt' have Chase AGR card). Thanks

 

[Aaron]

... I included a quote from AGR's fine print... The fine print states: "Members may buy or receive up to a total of 10,000 points in a calendar year. To me, "receive" could include gift OR transfer...something other than "earn".

That's not the AGR fine print, that's the Terms & Conditions specifically for the "Buy Points" page, where one can buy points for oneself or buy them for another member (who receives them). If you were to take that sentence out of context and apply it to AGR as a whole, you could also erroneously assume that one could only earn 10,000 points for travel in a year, or only receive 10,000 points from AGR partners (like rental car or online shopping or credit card bonus).

The actual AGR terms and conditions are more clear. Under section I, "Buy Points":

...

2. Amtrak Guest Rewards Buy/Gift Points can be purchased in increments of 500 points, and each Member may buy or receive up to a total of 10,000 points in a calendar year. Select Executive Members are not subject to limits on the number of points they may Buy/Gift/Share.

...

And under Section J, "Share Points":

...

3. Amtrak Guest Rewards Share Points can be purchased in increments of 1,000 points with a total of 100,000 points per account in a calendar year. Select Executive Members are not subject to limits on the number of points they may Buy/Gift/Share.

...