Living in New York, using Amtrak can be really convenient, especially along the Northeast Corridor. I’ve used Amtrak for trips to Burlington, VT; Boston; Philadelphia; Washington D.C.; and Utica, NY in the past year, and it’s generally less of a hassle then schlepping out to Newark, JFK, or LGA.
(READ MORE: Amtrak NYC to Boston Review)
Given that, I wanted to highlight Amtrak’s newest Guest Rewards promotion, where they are offering up to 30% extra points when you purchase points. In order to access this deal, log into your Amtrak Guest Rewards account, select the “Transfer/Buy” button at the top, and then select “Buy Points for Yourself.”
You can take advantage of this offer through February 28th, 2018, and can access the promotion here.
In order to get the maximum number of bonus points, you would need to purchase 15,000 Amtrak points, netting 19,500 points for $565.50. That’s like spending 2.9 cents per point. Unless you needed to top off my account, I would not speculatively buy points at this level. As a reminder, Amtrak lets you buy 15,000 points a year (plus any earned bonus points).
While 2.9 cents per point is close to what I value Amtrak points at, it’s still more than I would pay for points speculatively. Last year, I redeemed 35,514 Amtrak points for $912.60 worth of Amtrak travel, or 2.56 cents per point.
My recommendation would be to avoid this opportunity unless you need to top up your balance in order to make a redemption.
Header image courtesy of Amtrak Media Relations
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I have an opportunity to purchase AGR points for 2.5 cpp via a flash sale if I purchase 15000. Should I jump on this? It would also help me meet minimum spend in the Amtrak card, but that is a separate issue.
Depends on if you have a use for them. I wouldn’t buy Amtrak (or any other) points speculatively. Look at the routes / trips you’d use them on, and compare the cash cost of the trip vs the cash it would take to buy the points for it