# Great Deal on Amtrak Credit Card



## dlagrua

I just applied for a Chase Amtrak credit card. After tiring of getting a $50 voucher back for every $5,000 I spend on my AAA credit card, I came across what seems like a great deal. Chase/Amtrak is now promising 18,000 points for signing up and making an initial purchase and if you spend $2000 over the first three months they will give you an additional 18,000 points. Thats 36,000 points. Good for quite a bit of Amtrak travel.

Here is the writeup for the AGR website:

One card. One purchase. Huge rewards. Every time you use the Amtrak Guest Rewards® World MasterCard® from Chase1, you’re earning your way towards great rewards like free Amtrak® travel. In fact, after one purchase anywhere the card is accepted, you’ll earn 18,000 points and then earn an additional 18,000 bonus points by spending $2,000 within 3 months. You’ll have enough points for these options:

•Two free Acela® Business class roundtrip

•Six free Northeast Regional SM Coach class roundtrips

•A free night at a great hotel

•Gift certificates at leading retailers and restaurants

•Much more

Plus, you get 2 points per $1 spent on every Amtrak purchase, a 10% redemption rebate on all Amtrak travel and 1 point per $1 spent elsewhere, all with no annual fee.

This seems like a great deal. Anyone tried it yet?


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## alanh

I'm guessing this is targeted. I'm only seeing the usual 6K offer.


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## Green Maned Lion

dlagrua said:


> I just applied for a Chase Amtrak credit card. After tiring of getting a $50 voucher back for every $5,000 I spend on my AAA credit card, I came across what seems like a great deal. Chase/Amtrak is now promising 18,000 points for signing up and making an initial purchase and if you spend $2000 over the first three months they will give you an additional 18,000 points. Thats 36,000 points. Good for quite a bit of Amtrak travel.
> Here is the writeup for the AGR website:
> 
> One card. One purchase. Huge rewards. Every time you use the Amtrak Guest Rewards® World MasterCard® from Chase1, you’re earning your way towards great rewards like free Amtrak® travel. In fact, after one purchase anywhere the card is accepted, you’ll earn 18,000 points and then earn an additional 18,000 bonus points by spending $2,000 within 3 months. You’ll have enough points for these options:
> 
> •Two free Acela® Business class roundtrip
> 
> •Six free Northeast Regional SM Coach class roundtrips
> 
> •A free night at a great hotel
> 
> •Gift certificates at leading retailers and restaurants
> 
> •Much more
> 
> Plus, you get 2 points per $1 spent on every Amtrak purchase, a 10% redemption rebate on all Amtrak travel and 1 point per $1 spent elsewhere, all with no annual fee.
> 
> This seems like a great deal. Anyone tried it yet?


I've tried for it a few times, but my credit isn't up to it at the moment.


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## the_traveler

It is targeted, but 2 family members have received the 36K offer!  Guess who gets to use the 36K?


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## amamba

It's targeted. I get this one all the time now.


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## cbqbill

I wish Amtrak and Chase would offer a debit card like Continental does with Chase. I don't qualify for the Amtrak/Chase credit card and am grateful for having learned about the Continental/Chase debit card and the transferability of its points to AGR. I'm looking forward to the 25,000 point bonus and have already acquired more than 2,000 points for everyday purchases this first month.


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## -Jamie-

My mom got "pre-approved" for this offer through the mail and got her card. I just noticed last week when I was logged into my AGR account that the offer was advertised at the bottom of the screen so I applied as well. Just found out last night that I was approved!!!! We have another train trip in the works, so I'm planning to book the whole trip on my AGR card and hopefully use that first 18,000 points (combined with what I already have) to get a bedroom from PDX-SIM.


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## dart330

My wife applied for this offer with this link: https://applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=CWTV&CELL=6BRN&AFFID=&CLICK=&CID=&PROMO=DF01

We got the card today, but it has no mention of what points she will receive. Is there any way to find out before the first statement arrives?


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## amamba

The only way to know for sure is to look at the AGR account. I even had a situation where my H applied with a link for more points than he actually received. If you look at your AGR account online, you should see one of the offers on the main page will be for the CHASE credit card. Whatever points it is offering to you there are what you get - even if Chase says you should get more. See some earlier threads for some more details about it.


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## jhanson

dlagrua said:


> I just applied for a Chase Amtrak credit card. After tiring of getting a $50 voucher back for every $5,000 I spend on my AAA credit card, I came across what seems like a great deal. Chase/Amtrak is now promising 18,000 points for signing up and making an initial purchase and if you spend $2000 over the first three months they will give you an additional 18,000 points. Thats 36,000 points. Good for quite a bit of Amtrak travel.
> 
> Here is the writeup for the AGR website:
> 
> One card. One purchase. Huge rewards. Every time you use the Amtrak Guest Rewards® World MasterCard® from Chase1, youre earning your way towards great rewards like free Amtrak® travel. In fact, after one purchase anywhere the card is accepted, youll earn 18,000 points and then earn an additional 18,000 bonus points by spending $2,000 within 3 months. Youll have enough points for these options:
> 
> Two free Acela® Business class roundtrip
> 
> Six free Northeast Regional SM Coach class roundtrips
> 
> A free night at a great hotel
> 
> Gift certificates at leading retailers and restaurants
> 
> Much more
> 
> Plus, you get 2 points per $1 spent on every Amtrak purchase, a 10% redemption rebate on all Amtrak travel and 1 point per $1 spent elsewhere, all with no annual fee.
> 
> This seems like a great deal. Anyone tried it yet?


Hello,

I recently signed up for the Chase/Amtrak 18,000 rewards card. I activated the card yesterday and was informed by Chase that I receive only 9,000 points. They said they have no record of a rewards program offering 18,000 points. If you have a copy of the original offer, I would appreciate it if you could forward it to me. They said if I had proof of the offer (which I failed to print at the time), they would look into it.

Thanks so much.


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## AlanB

jhanson said:


> Hello,
> 
> I recently signed up for the Chase/Amtrak 18,000 rewards card. I activated the card yesterday and was informed by Chase that I receive only 9,000 points. They said they have no record of a rewards program offering 18,000 points. If you have a copy of the original offer, I would appreciate it if you could forward it to me. They said if I had proof of the offer (which I failed to print at the time), they would look into it.
> 
> Thanks so much.


Well from Chase's point of view, you do only receive 9,000 points with the 18,000 point offer. Amtrak & AGR match the Chase points with their own 9,000, giving you a total of 18,000 AGR points for having applied for that credit card.

Once Chase sends over the data that includes regular points earned and the bonus of 9,000 points at the end of the first month, AGR will then match that 9,000.


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## amamba

There also really isn't much that CHASE can do. My H signed up for an offer and confirmed with Chase that he was eligible for a 16,000 point promo (or 18,000, I can't remember but it was more than the 6000 he got). He got the full amount of points from Chase, and on his Chase statement it showed points to AGR. But AGR knocked the points down to 3,000 from Chase and 3000 from AGR for a total of 6,000. AGR claimed that he never qualified for the 16,000 point offer. Repeated calls to chase were fruitless in this issue.


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## AlanB

Amamba,

Do have any proof from Amtrak/AGR that he was qualified for the higher point offer?

Calling Chase to ask would not be proof, as they don't decide who gets what offer. It would need to be an email or a screen shot from when he logged into his AGR account, or something with both your husbands name and the offer.

I am however stunned to hear that they adjusted the points that Chase sent over. Amtrak shouldn't be touching the Chase side of things ever. What Chase sends is Chase's business, not AGR's business.


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## amamba

The only "proof" I have that he qualified for the higher offer was the called someone at Chase and spoke to them. He never called someone from AGR before signing up for the offer that he clicked on. That I think was the problem. So according to Chase he qualified for the 16,000 point promotion which would be 8,000 from chase and 8,000 from AGR. So on his first statement from Chase it said sign up bonus, 8,000 transferred to AGR (plus the purchases, etc). But in AGR it said "sign up bonus, 3,000" from Chase and then 3,000 from amtrak.

He called AGR to complain, AGR said he was SOL because he was never qualified by AGR for the initial offer. He called Chase to complain, and they said that all they can do is send the points to AGR and it is up to AGR to actually put the points on his account. So Chase was unable to intervene (hopefully this is coming out right). I know, I was pretty freaking pissed, because what CHASE wants to give you is their business. And i should think that if AGR wanted to only give him the 3,000 points (said they said he qualified for the 6,000 bonus point offer) that was fine, but I was pretty bullsh!t about them adjusting the chase number downward. and trust me, I have a statement from chase showing the 8,000 points. But the AGR people are saying that it was a mistake and he should have never gotten those points in the first place.

Basically what my H did is clicked ont he link in the email I got for the 16,000 point promotion. He called Chase first and said "I saw online that you are offering 16,000 bonus points." And they said that as long as he clicked on any link it didn't matter that he didn't get the original email. But that of course is not what AGR thinks. You will also notice now that at the bottom of all of the AGR emails there is small print to specify that the offer is only intended for the email recipient. That was NOT on the email offer I originally got. So I understand their point of view, but I thought by calling Chase that we wouldn't have a problem. I didn't realize how the program worked when he signed up for the card, plus it makes more sense for the bulk of AGR points to go on his account since he gets 800ish/month with his commuter ticket.

Whatever, now they keep sending me the emails for the 36,000 points so maybe I'll get my own card soon. I am kind of over it at this point. He already has like 40,000 points just by riding the train and using the card since we got the card in November.


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## AlanB

Amamba,

Ok, much more clear now.

Yeah, if he clicked on a link in an email addressed to you, then you are out of luck without regard to what Chase may have told him on the phone. There is no way to fight that, as even without the verbiage "for intended receipient" it still wasn't addressed to him with his account number in the email.

I'm still surprised however about AGR dropping the points that Chase sent over. Seems odd that they would adjust that to me, but perhaps there is something in the contract that says that they have to either match what Chase sends over or adjust back the difference if they don't match it.


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## amamba

Yes, the lesson of the story is that AGR really does do targeted stuff, and if you didn't get the email, you don't qualify. :blush:

But yeah, how AGR is able to adjust downwards what Chase sends over, I don't know. It must be somewhere in the terms and conditions...hidden amongst the other stuff that they promise they can change at any point.


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## dart330

We finally got the first statement on my wife's card and chase threw in 9k & AGR 9k. We didn't hit the $2k mark on spending, but will before the next statement. Hoping for another 18k point bonus. Still no documentation at all on what we qualified for or could still earn.


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## marc

r ther any good promotions 4 the amtrak credit card right now and how many points does it take to go like 300 miles ?


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## the_traveler

marc said:


> r ther any good promotions 4 the amtrak credit card right now and how many points does it take to go like 300 miles ?


My BIL was targeted for the 36K offer, but by the time he signed up, it was down to 12K, However after his first charge, he got the 36K!






As far as how many points to go 300 miles, it depends. If it's on a "Special Route", it will cost 1,000 points. If it is *TOTALLY* within the Northeast Region, it will cost 3,000 points. Anywhere else, it will cost 5,500 points. (These are all in coach too.)

Check to see the value you get per AGR point. I try to get at least 4-5¢ per point, but I have received over 12¢ per point! Sometimes it's better to buy a ticket and earn points, than say to use 5,500 points for a $20 ticket!


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## FlyingBoat

My ABQ to MSP trip is $3711 for 20K miles. If I had an Amtrak CC, I could have got this trip for only 18K which would be over 20¢ per point!

I wonder if they would rebook me at 18K if I got a card? Trip is still more than 2 months out. Though I doubt I will get targeted. I have so many cards already very few offers come in the mail. I have two rooms booked so it would save me 4K to have the card.

At the 20¢ per point rate I am making money buying things, LOL! I just bought a $1600 mower on Sears using Continental Portal with Cont CC. That gives me 17,600 cont pts. Nearly enough for another $3700 trip! Too bad I can't sell these tickets LOL!


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## Anthony

This 32,000 point special is current and does not require charging of $2,000 within 3 months. Simply make one purchase and you get all of the points when your first statement cuts.

http://www.mychasecr...mt32/?CELL=DBN7


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## RRrich

Anthony said:


> This 32,000 point special is current and does not require charging of $2,000 within 3 months. Simply make one purchase and you get all of the points when your first statement cuts.
> 
> http://www.mychasecr...mt32/?CELL=DBN7


Is that offer only good (32,000 points) only good if Amtrak/Chase sent it to you?


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## Anthony

RRrich said:


> Anthony said:
> 
> 
> 
> This 32,000 point special is current and does not require charging of $2,000 within 3 months. Simply make one purchase and you get all of the points when your first statement cuts.
> 
> http://www.mychasecr...mt32/?CELL=DBN7
> 
> 
> 
> Is that offer only good (32,000 points) only good if Amtrak/Chase sent it to you?
Click to expand...


No. You can still sign up through that link and receive the bonus, even if you were not targeted.


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## AlanB

Anthony said:


> RRrich said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Anthony said:
> 
> 
> 
> This 32,000 point special is current and does not require charging of $2,000 within 3 months. Simply make one purchase and you get all of the points when your first statement cuts.
> 
> http://www.mychasecr...mt32/?CELL=DBN7
> 
> 
> 
> Is that offer only good (32,000 points) only good if Amtrak/Chase sent it to you?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> No. You can still sign up through that link and receive the bonus, even if you were not targeted.
Click to expand...

Has there been some recent change that I've missed? Because otherwise if one is not targeted for the promo, AGR will NOT pay out their share of the 32,000 points. Chase often does, but AGR will adamantly refuse to pay the point and in a few cases that I'm aware of has even gotten Chase to reverse things. Or perhaps AGR just sent the points back to Chase, not positive. But people have reported seeing the Chase points disappear from their account.


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## Anthony

I have heard firsthand from a couple of people that this indeed worked. So, get in while you can.  I don't believe this was a targeted promo, but in fact is a link open to anyone to apply for.


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## AmtrakBlue

WAH! I just got the offer for 32,000 points, but I'm not clear of bankruptcy yet. My 7 years will be the end of this year, but the actual bankruptcy, I believe, stays on the credit reports for 10 years.


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## FlyingBoat

Do you get double points if you use the AGR CC on the points for shopping mall? I got double points with Continental but that ended this month.


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## FlyingBoat

FlyingBoat said:


> My ABQ to MSP trip is $3711 for 20K miles. If I had an Amtrak CC, I could have got this trip for only 18K which would be over 20¢ per point!
> 
> I wonder if they would rebook me at 18K if I got a card? Trip is still more than 2 months out. Though I doubt I will get targeted. I have so many cards already very few offers come in the mail. I have two rooms booked so it would save me 4K to have the card.
> 
> At the 20¢ per point rate I am making money buying things, LOL! I just bought a $1600 mower on Sears using Continental Portal with Cont CC. That gives me 17,600 cont pts. Nearly enough for another $3700 trip! Too bad I can't sell these tickets LOL!


Just had all my points post which was pleasantly surprised to see this quickly, given that people reported issues. That Continental card, doubling their points when going through the Cont shopping portal sure was a great deal while it lasted. Too bad I didn't find out about it earlier.


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