Are Amtrak reward points expiring in June?

[MDRailfan]

When I use to pull my account and it showed expiration date(usually 2 years), that has now disappeared. Now I see something that says points expire in June as a general point of information(not specific to me). Has anything changed?

 

[TinCan782]

They are continuing the PAUSE in expiration through June 30. The points themselves are not necessarily expiring.
After June 30, the regular conditions apply -if you have qualifying activity (trips, purchases, etc.) the points are still on a 2 year cycle from last activity. If you have the credit card, the points never expire.

"Your Amtrak Guest Rewards Points: To allow you more time to use your points and to keep your account active, we are continuing to pause the expiration of points through June 30, 2021. If you are an Amtrak Guest Rewards Mastercard® cardholder, your points will not expire as long as your account is open. Learn more about the important Amtrak Guest Rewards updates we have made in response to COVID-19."

 

[City of Miami]

I got a snail mail today from bofa offering 2% cash back till 06/30/21, presumably, tho not explicitly, in addition to agr points. So I guess I'll be using that card for everything for 2 months. That amounts to a potential near 5%.

 

[willem]

After June 30, the regular conditions apply -if you have qualifying activity (trips, purchases, etc.) the points are still on a 2 year cycle from last activity.

If someone's last activity was June 30, 2019, do his or her points expire on July 01, 2021? In other words, does the two year clock start over on June 30 or does the clock make up all the lost time from the pause?

 

[TinCan782]

If someone's last activity was June 30, 2019, do his or her points expire on July 01, 2021? In other words, does the two year clock start over on June 30 or does the clock make up all the lost time from the pause?

Interesting question that would be best answered by AGR.

 

[boratwanksta]

I need to do a train trip VERY, very soon, if this is the case. Since I last did a big Amtrak train trip(the one to Glacier National Park), in July 2019. Since I really don't want to lose the AGR points I got, doing that trip.

 

[Oaxacajo]

My Reward points expire in June 2021. I have reservations for a trip CHI - LAX in September. Will the reservations be enough to keep my Reward account active or do I need to do something else? Any suggestions as to what I could do if needed?

 

[neroden]

The easiest way to keep AGR points active is to get either of the credit cards, if you qualify. You don't have to use the card.

 

[Dustyroad]

I have 4,700 points. Very low compared to lots of you I know , but I do not want to lose them since I am on such a strict budget and have to save for 2yrs for a trip with my friend. This morning I applied for the ''no fee'' credit card online and was accepted in about 45 seconds. After my trip in Sept I will see what I do with the card after that trip. But for now I know I have kept the points I have.

 

[20th Century Rider]

If you have an AGR card your points don't expire. Unfortunately the bad news is that they continue to decline in value; best use is for Amtrak travel. If you use them for hotels or other items, the monetary equivalent is way more than if you pay in cash.

 

[Dustyroad]

Thanks for that info. This is all so confusing for me. I will keep it in my wallet and decide what to do with it. Like I mentioned. My friend and I can only go on trips about every 2 yrs ( by scrimping and saving ), so having the card might be a '' bust '' for me anyway because I hate paying interest on cards. We will see what happens .

 

[zephyr17]

You can get loads of points without paying interest with the card. I use my Amtrak card for all my household expenses that are payable by credit card, and then pay the card off every month. It is money I'd be spending anyway, so paying it off in full every month is no burden, and I get AGR points for my routine expenses.

You don't pay interest if you don't carry a balance.

I was unable to build up useful quantities of AGR points before I got the card. I have redeemed several cross country sleeper trips since.

 

[PaTrainFan]

You can get loads of points without paying interest with the card. I use my Amtrak card for all my household expenses that are payable by credit card, and then pay the card off every month. It is money I'd be spending anyway, so paying it off in full every month is no burden, and I get AGR points for my routine expenses.

You don't pay interest if you don't carry a balance.

I was unable to build up useful quantities of AGR points before I got the card. I have redeemed several cross country sleeper trips since.

Agreed, this is a winning strategy. It is true that carrying a balance and paying high interest rates on the balance on any credit card negates the value of those rewards.

 

[Sauve850]

You can get loads of points without paying interest with the card. I use my Amtrak card for all my household expenses that are payable by credit card, and then pay the card off every month. It is money I'd be spending anyway, so paying it off in full every month is no burden, and I get AGR points for my routine expenses.

You don't pay interest if you don't carry a balance.

I was unable to build up useful quantities of AGR points before I got the card. I have redeemed several cross country sleeper trips since.

I have done the same for many years. My daughter went to University of Florida with my credit card in hand!

 

[Anderson]

The easiest way to keep AGR points active is to get either of the credit cards, if you qualify. You don't have to use the card.

Building on this, one of the card options is a no-fee card.

 

[Dustyroad]

Thanks everyone for all the info.

 

[tomfuller]

On the evening of May 1 I got on an Amtrak train for the first time in 14.5 months. I went from Chemult Oregon all the way to Yuma AZ. Arriving in Yuma at 3AM Monday morning was not too much fun. I got back on the Texas Eagle late Thursday night/early Friday. I used the bus-train-bus option to get back to Sacramento and had about 6 hours in Sacramento before the Coast Starlight showed up. I was back to Chemult about a half hour late on Saturday morning May 8. I did this entirely on AGR points. I'll earn some more later this year doing some online shopping