# Double TQPs 2021



## neroden (Jun 25, 2021)

Doing some Googling (to try to work out some questions related to TQPs), I stumbled across this. Is this actually happening or was it a speculative page which wasn't supposed to be published or linked from Google? I'm going to assume it wasn't supposed to go public and isn't official until I hear otherwise.









Expired Promotion - Find More Deals | Amtrak







www.amtrak.com


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## MARC Rider (Jun 25, 2021)

neroden said:


> Doing some Googling (to try to work out some questions related to TQPs), I stumbled across this. Is this actually happening or was it a speculative page which wasn't supposed to be published or linked from Google? I'm going to assume it wasn't supposed to go public and isn't official until I hear otherwise.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I found the same page when I logged in to my Amtrak.com account. However, when I logged on again, I got the regular logon page. I certainly haven't gotten any double TQPs. If I had, I might be Select Plus by now.


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## Bob Dylan (Jun 25, 2021)

MARC Rider said:


> I found the same page when I logged in to my Amtrak.com account. However, when I logged on again, I got the regular logon page. I certainly haven't gotten any double TQPs. If I had, I might be Select Plus by now.


Ditto for me based on my 4 Amtrak trips in 2021! Just Regular AGR TQPs!


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## tim49424 (Jun 25, 2021)

Bob Dylan said:


> Ditto for me based on my 4 Amtrak trips in 2021! Just Regular AGR TQPs!



The link said the TQPs will be awarded retroactively if travel occurred before June 9, so I guess keep watching your balance? Ditto for @MARC Rider.


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## TinCan782 (Jun 26, 2021)

They did that 4 or 5 years ago which pushed me to Select, then Select Plus as I was paying for my travel that year.
My problem last year and this is that my Amtrak travel has all been AGR travel redemptions - more than 300K.
No earnings there. My "status" is going away!
I go through a repetitive cycle every year or two - spend dollars and earn points and then redeem points and then start over again!
The credit card has a TQP limit which means you need Amtrak travel to reach a tier.


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## chrsjrcj (Jul 8, 2021)

Just received an email from Amtrak confirming this (as if it being on the website wasn’t confirmation enough).


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## Brian Battuello (Jul 8, 2021)

Too bad I never actually spend money on Amtrak. I manage to collect a few zillion points on the CC and promotions. Tried to get an upgrade from BC to FC on the Acela, but couldn't use my coupons on AGR travel. May end up listing them on the coupon topic. Acela BC to FC is a really good use for coupons!


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## lordsigma (Jul 8, 2021)

It’s real….I just got retroactively awarded points for all my travel this year…and as a result select executive for first time ever!


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## Brian Battuello (Jul 8, 2021)

Congrats! That might be good enough to open the sekrit bar behind the cokes in the lounge...


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## TheVig (Jul 8, 2021)

Yep. I got the email too.


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## JayPea (Jul 8, 2021)

I got the email and saw the points awarded on my statement that came out today.


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## tim49424 (Jul 8, 2021)

I got it too. I'm looking forward to seeing the TQPs after my trip next month, my first of 2021.


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## Anderson (Jul 9, 2021)

I'll file this as a "pleasant surprise", but it's not a shock. Note that most of the folks running up Select Executive status were business travelers on the NEC, and then check ridership on the Acelas (which are probably going to wind up down somewhere around 85-90% for FY21 vs FY19).

We'll see where things go...$4000 or so to renew Select Executive isn't _impossible_, but at this point, for me the damage has mostly been done already in terms of travel patterns (I'm trying to envision when they get my business back on trips to Florida, and it's basically "I get the dining car or I keep driving").

(Depending on how stuff registers, BTW, this _might _result in folks in SE spitting out upgrade cards at an amusing rate.)


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## neroden (Jul 9, 2021)

I mean, it's looking like I'm not travelling at all this year what with Delta Variant sweeping the country. If the country suddenly develops a burst of sanity and gets the pandemic under control, however, this would be a nice bonus.


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## TinCan782 (Jul 9, 2021)

Doesn't help me...this year (and last) is a year of redemption, not spending cash to earn points! 
I tend to cycle back and forth every year or two!


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## willem (Jul 9, 2021)

The terms and conditions includes the following sentence.


> Trips must be completed by 11:59pm ET on December 31, 2021 to qualify.


Does Amtrak consider a trip to be completed when the ticket for that leg has been lifted? when the ticket for the final leg on a reservation has been lifted? when the final leg has been completed?

In the past, I have received AGR points credited to the year in which the ticket was lifted, so I suspect it's the same for this promotion. That would make for easier computer programming, but the easiest understanding of the quoted sentence is that the traveler must have disembarked at the ticketed destination before the new year. (Of course, that raises the question of how a late train is handled.) And I realize that asking Amtrak Unlimited to interpret the terms and conditions is an exercise in nonsense, but I believe asking a person who answers the Amtrak phone would be similarly meaningless.


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## Tlcooper93 (Jul 9, 2021)

This was a welcome and pleasant surprise for me.
It doubled my points and bumped me well beyond Select Plus.

It’s likely I’ll get Select executive by the end of the year because of this given how much NEC travel i do for work. Pretty excited! Normally I only do enough travel for Select.


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## Anderson (Jul 13, 2021)

willem said:


> The terms and conditions includes the following sentence.
> 
> Does Amtrak consider a trip to be completed when the ticket for that leg has been lifted? when the ticket for the final leg on a reservation has been lifted? when the final leg has been completed?
> 
> In the past, I have received AGR points credited to the year in which the ticket was lifted, so I suspect it's the same for this promotion. That would make for easier computer programming, but the easiest understanding of the quoted sentence is that the traveler must have disembarked at the ticketed destination before the new year. (Of course, that raises the question of how a late train is handled.) And I realize that asking Amtrak Unlimited to interpret the terms and conditions is an exercise in nonsense, but I believe asking a person who answers the Amtrak phone would be similarly meaningless.


This raises another "fun" point: What happens if the trip was scheduled to end on 12/31 but does not do so because of delays? For a not-silly example, consider the travails of the _Builder _over the last few years...I don't think it is hard to imagine someone pulling into Chicago on 1/1 despite having been scheduled to arrive on 12/31.


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## lordsigma (Jul 13, 2021)

I mainly got all the tier points for my cross country trip. I did an auto train trip earlier this year but paid for it with lots of points from my BoA Amtrak card I’ve built up.


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## lordsigma (Jul 13, 2021)

Anderson said:


> (I'm trying to envision when they get my business back on trips to Florida, and it's basically "I get the dining car or I keep driving").



Well there’s always the auto train. I hate driving to Florida last time I did it one way and auto train the other - I said train from now on. I usually do auto trains- sometimes silver if I don’t feel like driving to dc.


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## daybeers (Jul 15, 2021)

I just achieved Select Status  first time! Excited to get the card in the mail. I bet I'll stay at this level until it expires next year. Is it valid for all of 2022?


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## kt1i (Jul 16, 2021)

One weekend trip put me into Select status!!


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## daybeers (Jul 16, 2021)

daybeers said:


> I just achieved Select Status  first time! Excited to get the card in the mail. I bet I'll stay at this level until it expires next year. Is it valid for all of 2022?


How long does it take to get the "Welcome Kit"? The email says 4-6 weeks but just wondering how long it actually takes. That packet would include the lounge coupons, correct? Might need one before that timeframe.


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## Tlcooper93 (Jul 16, 2021)

daybeers said:


> How long does it take to get the "Welcome Kit"? The email says 4-6 weeks but just wondering how long it actually takes. That packet would include the lounge coupons, correct? Might need one before that timeframe.



I had the same question.

I never got my welcome kit for select status, which I achieved 3 months ago. 
I was going to call AGR.


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## daybeers (Jul 16, 2021)

Just called the Select AGR # and the agent said it would take two weeks depending on the mail.


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## striker64 (Jul 19, 2021)

EDIT: Figured it out, $242 was for 2 people so the posting is correct for my ticket only.

I was curious if someone could check my TQP math. I thought it was fairly straightforward given the examples on the AGR website, but the points posted different than I expected.

My ticket was $242 on Acela First Class, and I am Select (so 25% status bonus).

Here's my expectation, based on Amtrak's examples and the double TQP promotion:

484 - base earning of 242, * 2 for 2 TQPs per $1 spent
242 - 50% Acela First Class bonus
60 - 25% Select bonus on base

786 - Total TQPs
* 2 - Double TQPs bonus
1,572 - Total for Travel

Here's what Amtrak posted:

242 - base earning
60 - 25% Select bonus
121 - 50% Acela First Class bonus
423 - 2x TQP 2021 bonus

It seems pretty clear to me the base 2 TQPs per dollar is missing, but maybe I am wrong?


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## bptenor (Jul 21, 2021)

Does anyone know if the 10% off coupons are also included in the welcome kit? They are not loaded in my account and I tried emailing Amtrak, but after an entire week they replied only saying call their customer service number.


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## daybeers (Nov 3, 2021)

I have 1,216 TQPs to reach Select Plus. I have the AGR World card so I may get points from that for purchases but don't have the patience anymore to go through my purchases and make sure I'm getting the correct points. I paid $392 for two round-trip tickets for me and my SO, so will we each get 392 TQP points each or will I get 792? I'm trying to see if I can make Select Plus after reaching Select for the first time  and trying to figure out the easiest/cheapest way to do this, maybe with cheap BC tickets on a Regional through central CT or the LSL through MA.

Paging @neroden for their expertise


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## zephyr17 (Nov 3, 2021)

daybeers said:


> I have 1,216 TQPs to reach Select Plus. I have the AGR World card so I may get points from that for purchases but don't have the patience anymore to go through my purchases and make sure I'm getting the correct points. I paid $392 for two round-trip tickets for me and my SO, so will we each get 392 TQP points each or will I get 792? I'm trying to see if I can make Select Plus after reaching Select for the first time  and trying to figure out the easiest/cheapest way to do this, maybe with cheap BC tickets on a Regional through central CT or the LSL through MA.
> 
> Paging @neroden for their expertise


With two people on the reservation, the AGR TQP points for _travel_ will go to each person's AGR account. If one person has no account, no points will be awarded to that person for travel and the other person does not get the points. Caveat: sleeper accommodation points go to the primary on the reservation.

The non-TQP points awarded for _AGR credit card purchase_ of the tickets go to the cardholder irrespective of who is traveling.

For simplicity's sake, say you purchase a reservation for 2 at $100 each using your AGR Mastercard. The other person traveling does not have an AGR account:

Purchase:
$200 * 3 Amtrak purchase bonus = 600 non-TQP points to you

Travel
$100 for your ticket * 2 normal point award * 2 double point bonus = 400 TQP points
$100 for companion ticket gets 0 points, not AGR member.

Bottom line, you get 1000 points, 400 of which are TQPs.

In your specific case, you should get 1196 non-TQP points (392 * 3) for the purchase, posting after the billing cycle in which you purchased them.

You should get 784 TQP points (196 * 4) for travel, posting sometime after your ticket is scanned.


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## daybeers (Nov 3, 2021)

Ah, thank you! I forgot that you earn 2 TQPs per dollar regularly, and then multiply that by 2 for 2021. In the past, I haven't worried about status because the cost is high for little benefit. But, if I'm already most of the way there, no reason not to go for it.


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## AmtrakBlue (Nov 3, 2021)

daybeers said:


> Ah, thank you! I forgot that you earn 2 TQPs per dollar regularly, and then multiply that by 2 for 2021. In the past, I haven't worried about status because the cost is high for little benefit. But, if I'm already most of the way there, no reason not to go for it.


Same here. I didn’t care about status, but Amtrak gave me Select for 2021 when I was close at the end of 2020. With the double TQPs this year I’m now close to Select Plus. I have one more short round trip to take at the end of the year for a doctor’s appt. But I might take a joy ride next week just to reduce the # needed a bit more just to ensure I hit 10,000. And what the heck - train time (and maybe see some fall foliage)


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## willem (Nov 3, 2021)

zephyr17 said:


> You should get 784 TQP points (196 * 4) for travel, posting sometime after your ticket is scanned.


An AGR agent assured me that this is correct for achieving status, but points going into one's AGR account are not doubled. In this case, *daybeers* would get 784 TQP toward status (which was the question) but 392 (rather than 784) points that can be redeemed for travel.

Of course, the above calculations assume the tickets are in the same bucket so the fare is split fifty-fifty. I encountered a situation where the fare was not fifty-fifty, and that threw a monkey wrench into the arithmetic.


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