Amtrak has been in the news lately, given the leaked details of Amtrak Guest Rewards 2.0
(SEE ALSO: Amtrak Guest Rewards 2.0 details leaked – it’s bad news)
(SEE ALSO: Sleuthing out the new bank issuer for the Amtrak credit card)
So I thought that it would be a good time to give an Amtrak recap. I’ve written quite a few posts about Amtrak, in preparation for and recapping our recently family vacation that included a ride from Ohio to Denver and back on an Amtrak Superliner sleeper car.
Amtrak Guest Rewards and the Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card
- 500 bonus Amtrak points for opting in to emails (targeted?) – A recent email I got offering 500 bonus Amtrak Guest Rewards points for opting in to emails
- Amtrak credit card returning – why you need to care! – At the time of this post, the Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card is not being offered. It’s rumored to come back this fall, and here’s why that’s a big deal!
- Why you want to transfer Amtrak points to Choice Hotels – one of the most lucrative uses of Amtrak Guest Rewards points is the ability to transfer at a 1:3 bonus(!) to Choice Hotels
Booking an Amtrak train
- Maximizing your route on the Amtrak Zone Map – currently redemptions on Amtrak are zone-based, though this is supposedly going away with Amtrak Guest Rewards version 2.0
- Amtrak Viewliner Routes vs. Amtrak Superliner Routes – there are 2 different kinds of Amtrak trains, this will tell you which train types run on which Amtrak routes
- Checking historical Amtrak delays – will I miss my train? – There are quite a few tools that can help you get an idea of how late your train runs, and whether you should be worried about missing your connections.
- Amtrak complaints? How to get compensation for Amtrak delays – If your train is late (ours was late by 13 hours!) – this is an idea of what kind of compensation you might expect
Riding on an Amtrak train
- My (free) $6500 family train vacation on Amtrak – one of the original posts I wrote, detailing how I used 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards to book a trip that would have cost $6,540 if paid for with cash
- 4 reasons my Amtrak trip was a blast…
- … but I’ll probably never take another Amtrak trip – these 2 posts were the trip report from our trip detailing the good… and the bad….
- Amtrak California Zephyr: you’ll never believe these views – my friend Celia shared her trip reports on the California Zephyr, including some amazing photographs
Sunrise over the Great Salt Lake (from the California Zephyr
- Tipping on Amtrak – how much and to whom? – even if your train ride is free, there is an expectation that you should tip some of the Amtrak employees while you ride. Here’s who to tip, and suggested amounts.
- Amtrak Superliner vs. Viewliner – what’s the difference? – There are 2 kinds of trains on Amtrak routes, this will tell you the differences between the 2 (it makes a difference if you’re traveling with a family!)
Amtrak train stations
- Chicago Union Station Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge – review of the Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge inside Chicago Union Station (it’s pretty weak)
- Amtrak Toledo Union Station parking: is it free and safe? – Where we parked our car for 10 days while riding the train
This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as thepointsguy.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
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 
Dan,
I got a question about expiration of the Amtrak points.
So my account has been at 0 balance for a while (since I lost 6500 early last year due to non-activity). If I transfer points from chase to Amtrak now, when will those points expire?
Thanks.
According to Award Wallet, it looks like Amtrak points expire 3 years after activity
My understanding is that the activity required is paid travel within past 3 years. Under the old Chase Amtrak card (which had no annual fee) just having the credit card exempted you from this paid activity requirement. I don’t know what will happen with the new issuer. Everything is very much up in the air.