I'd take what you were told with a Grain of Salt.
It's a fact that BOA is not issuing any more Amtrak AGR Cards of either type.
That sounds like a change is on the way, and as usual with Amtrak,well probably be the last to know!
AGR Credit Card change (October 2022)
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It's a fact that BOA is not issuing any more Amtrak AGR Cards of either type.
That sounds like a change is on the way, and as usual with Amtrak,well probably be the last to know!
NorthShore
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Still, it seems an important moment to know that the relationship is continuing "for the time being", as an assumption of anything after September was the best information we've had to adjudge and decision make up until now. Considering no one has been notified of changes 30 days out, and at the beginning of the month, isn't it now reasonable to assume that nothing is changing on Oct 1, at least?
The "September 30" date I've seen mentioned so far been different reports that different people have heard from differing someone elses!
For me that is hearsay.
When Amtrak and/or BofA make a formal announcement I'll mark my calendar. Not before.
It's an important question for many of us who make charging decisions based on the answer... do we load up the card for the month of September or stop using entirely.
If you charged the cruise (or anything else) before the cutoff (whenever that is) you will get the points. Geting the points has nothing to do with paying off the credit card and it doesn't mater if it is the fee or free card.
What ever date is established it will be such that your current, existing charges will still be ok as far as points go. Any charges after that date will not earn points. Simple as that.
We are going to keep using our current BofA AGR cards until something VALID is announced. When we get the new card start using using the new card and stop using the old card.
BTW...your current BofA card will still be valid. It just won't earn ponts anymore.
This is my take on this whole thing. I went through this with the Chase>BofA change with no problems.
Thank you for that information. Payment is due before my statement date, so I’ll get my double points. YAY.
BTW, I got a letter in May about the renewal and fee. Body of the letter explained all about the Amtrak rewards I would be getting. No hint that they would no longer be part of the guest rewards program.
Devil's Advocate
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Under the Truth In Lending Act US banks are expected to inform credit card users of substantial account changes no less than 45 days before the change takes affect. Unfortunately points earning and status bonuses are generally excluded from this requirement. In my experience what usually happens is that a notice is sent at the bank's convenience, so instead of 45 days it may only be 30 days and may come as an addendum to some other communication such as a monthly statement.
So if we "assume" that the anonymous information mentioned in post #1 is no longer correct, then why did BoA stop issueing cards? Was that a power play by the bank to get more favorable terms? Sounds like hostage taking.
I still believe a new bank is on the way.
I still believe a new bank is on the way.
The information also could have just changed. Maybe BoA and Amtrak agreed to continue issuing points for existing cardholders until the new credit cards come online, or BoA is reconsidering whether to keep or drop the card. Anyone who's in the know doesn't seem to be telling.
My only advice? Keep an eye out on monthly statements for any program changes, and don't cancel/change cards speculatively. I cancelled my annual-fee Amtrak card because I didn't want the benefits and I never really used it for spend, but I signed up for it with a pretty strong intention to cancel after year 1 (and getting the sign-up bonus for it.) I still have the no-annual-fee card, and I'll keep that unless BoA or Amtrak changes it substantially.
I once heard a company executive say in response to be accused of providing misinformation: I didn't lie; the truth just changed.
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Of course, plans do change when reality strikes. The question usually is how gracefully is the change managed.
Or as a well known Political Operative said:
"We didn't Lie, we just used Alternative Facts!"
jis
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No. Those two are very different situations.
In course of time a well laid out plan may need to change because the anticipated reality changes. A statement made based on the original plan is not a lie. It is the way things were as projected. That can change as the projected reality is not realized. There is no lying involved there. Anybody who has managed anything significant knows that is a possible eventuality. The question usually is how gracefully is that managed. This is where Amtrak has been having some difficulty apparently hampered by a less than functional CRS and event notification system that they have to work with, a legacy left by Anderson one might add, who proceeded to dismantle what was there, creaky as it was, to make Amtrak look like Delta or something like that and mismanaged it thoroughly. So much for the managerial prowess of a great airline executive!
I am sure his obnoxious arrogance did not help.
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Just got this notice from BofA. Doesn’t sound like the Amtrak affiliation is going away.
It’s been a great year!
Congratulations on your account anniversary, and thank you for being a valued cardholder.
Account number ending in
****
Date
September 01, 2022
Subject
Annual fee notification
This letter is to notify you that the Annual Fee of $79 for the above referenced account will bill on your October 2022 statement. A summary on the reverse side of this letter includes some of the pertinent terms of your Annual Fee and your account.
Upon your anniversary as an Amtrak Guest Rewards® World Mastercard® cardholder, your complimentary Companion Coupon and One-Class Upgrade will be added to your account — yours to enjoy on your upcoming Amtrak® travels.
It’s been a great year!
Congratulations on your account anniversary, and thank you for being a valued cardholder.
Account number ending in
****
Date
September 01, 2022
Subject
Annual fee notification
This letter is to notify you that the Annual Fee of $79 for the above referenced account will bill on your October 2022 statement. A summary on the reverse side of this letter includes some of the pertinent terms of your Annual Fee and your account.
Upon your anniversary as an Amtrak Guest Rewards® World Mastercard® cardholder, your complimentary Companion Coupon and One-Class Upgrade will be added to your account — yours to enjoy on your upcoming Amtrak® travels.
Got the same notice. It could just be a case of them using a canned notice with certain fields updated (aka, the fee amount, date of charge, etc) to reflect this year's details (that are keyed in by someone "not in the know" about partnerships, etc.)
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So we have an unsubstantiated rumor that started this thread and an official letter which says as of October the partnership continues, and we will give more weight to the unsubstantiated rumor over an official letter? Interesting.
Of course in today's topsy turvy world anything is possible I suppose.
Of course in today's topsy turvy world anything is possible I suppose.
Hard to figure out what is going on but the Amtrak rep that I spoke with stated that they would be changing over to a new bank for AGR come Oct 1st. It would be nice if they don't mess with the point totals but we shall see. With interest rates rising my guess is that things will stay the same.
Points already earned will not be affected! Once BoA transfers your monthly points to AGR, when your statement comes out, they're out of BoA hands.
I don't think anybody had to "key" anything. This is a standard notice apparently generated entirely by computer using data in the database. It would be generated regardless of any future plans, until somebody tells the computer to not generate it anymore.
I don't think it indicates one way or the other. It's entirely possible that B of A intends to discontinue the relationship but has been negligent in updating the computer.
Not a letter, a notice. Likely generated with no human intervention. Old saying in computer programming: Garbage in, Garbage out.So we have an unsubstantiated rumor that started this thread and an official letter which says as of October the partnership continues, and we will give more weight to the unsubstantiated rumor over an official letter? Interesting.
Of course in today's topsy turvy world anything is possible I suppose.
Devil's Advocate
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All we can surmise is that the current bank is probably on the way out. Large banks with a long term contracts in good standing rarely shut down new account signups for no reason. If I had to guess why no other bank has been announced it may be due to the lack of another bank wanting to accept Amtrak's AGR partner terms versus the expected payoff.
And I was referring to someone keying data into the database. Like maybe if the fee had been increased (not that it was). Updating the fee in a database would not generate or prevent generation of annual notice.
...and I received the same notice also.
That seems to be the standard notice that they send when you're a month out from the annual fee posting. I got the same letter last month but with the note that it'd be on my September statement. I cancelled the card before it posted, but it's a standard letter that they send each year before the annual fee posts.
All it really indicates is that BoA hasn't sunsetted the card in their system yet.
All it really indicates is that BoA hasn't sunsetted the card in their system yet.
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