Amtrak Guest Rewards

[spot1181]

We are taking our first Amtrak trip Oct. 20-27 Cincinnati-Seattle. I know it was questionable back in July now it looks like a go. We bought the tickets back in May, then signed up for Guest Rewards last month. Will we receive milege credit for our trip since we signed up after buying tickets? Does it work like the airline's frequent flyer club?Thanx.

T-MINUS 20 DAYS WE CAN'T WAIT!!

Spot

 

[Viewliner]

First, Enjoy your trip.

It sounds like you got your card after you made your reservation, so you'll have to call them at some point, maybe a few weeks after. For future travel, you can tell them your number when you make reservations, and the number will be on the ticket stub.

Click here to see the rewards for Amtrak.

Click

here for the partner rewards.

Note that on the Amtrak Guest Rewards Website you can log in to check, and redeem your points. Just follow the setup instructions if you haven't done so already.

I hope this helps and let me know about any additional questions. B)

 

[AlanB]

Actually its far better and easier if you can show up at the station early enough and have the agent reissue your tickets. If you don’t, while you can still get credit for the trip it will take you a lot longer to do so and require more effort on your part. A simple phone call will NOT get you credit.

Normally when the conductor turns in the part of the ticket that he keeps, as that is scanned into the computer it will record your points for the trip if your Guest Rewards (GR) number is printed on the ticket. It normally takes about a week or two for your points to show up on your account.

If your GR number is not on the tickets at that time, it will require far more work on your part to get credit for the mileage. It will not be done automatically.

If you can't get the tickets changed before the start of your trip, then once you've returned you will have to Xerox your ticket stub. Then you will need to mail that copy, along with a letter including your GR number and address, to Amtrak in order to get credit. This process is also much slower, typically taking at least 2 months before you will receive credit. A friend of mine actually had to submit one of his trips 3 times over the course of about 7 months before he finally got credit.

So if at all possible, I would highly recommend trying to get your tickets reissued before you start the trip.

Regardless, have a great trip!

 

[spot1181]

Thanks Alan, I never would have thought of that. I don't know much we will be railroading after this trip (hopefully it will be at least a yearly event). There are many routes and places to explore out there. So just a reminder, join Guest Rewards before you buy your tickets.

Spot

Election five weeks away. let's vote Bush's cronies out of there.

 

[Chatter163]

By saving your ticket stubs, it should be fairly easy. I was to take the Sunset Limited this past summer from Orlando to Los Angeles, but a freight derailment in Texas caused my train to be annulled (cancelled). I was rerouted and reticketed the following day through Washington and Chicago to LA, and saved all stubs. (Even with the rerouting/reticketing, the reservation number remained the same and appeared on all tickets.) Anyway, I waited six weeks, like the GR website says, to see if the points would appear on the wbsite listing. When they didn't, I e-mailed GR. They responded the next day and politely asked for my itinerary, dates, reservation and ticket numbers. I provided these from the tickets and, within three days the points were posted. I never had to Xerox anything.

 

[AlanB]

Chatter,

Boy you got lucky! That must be a new procedure, as I've had to fax and/or mail my stuff in. The first time that I had to mail it was right after the startup of the program so that may be why. The other time where I faxed it, and I'm still waiting, was for a hotel reward from last March.

 

[Amfleet]

Same with my trips. My mom called Amtrak with all the info over the phone.