How to get Amtrak Guest Rewards FAST!

[happydude]

Hi, I'm wondering if you can help me to think of a way getting 60k-90K Amtrak points FAST!

I know if you open an Master Card, you get 10K, but that's not enough and I am not a big spender.

Therefore, I'm wondering if anyone could point me to the direction of getting 60-90K points FAST?

Thank you for reading my post!

 

[Shanghai]

Welcome to the Forum.

You can get points by riding the trains, using the AGR credit card and purchase items

from points partners. You can also refer new members but you must beat the_traveler

to the punch!!

 

[Oldsmoboi]

There is no way to do it fast.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Oddly enough riding actual trains is one of the slowest ways I can think of to add points. Buying them is the quickest of all, no more than a couple minutes in my experience. You can buy 10,000 AGR points per calendar year, so in less than two months you could have 20,000 points right there. If you wait for a better offer on the AGR credit card you could be adding another 30,000 points from that as well. That's 50,000 from two buys and one credit card offer and would cost you about $550 or so, but it's a lot cheaper than the $25,000 you might have to spend on actual rail travel to get the same number of points. I don't find handing 2-5% of my annual salary to a faceless middleman all that appealing, but for those who don't care about such things and have a lot of transactions they can direct toward the AGR card you can earn a lot of additional points very quickly.

 

[the_traveler]

You can also refer new members but you must beat the_traveler to the punch!!

HEY! I resemble that remark!

 

[the_traveler]

I have also merged your 2 threads together, as they both asked the same question.

 

[Ryan]

Get the ARG card. Spend money. Just about everything that I spend gets washed through the card. Pay it off every month and boom - free points.

I don't find handing 2-5% of my annual salary to a faceless middleman all that appealing, but for those who don't care about such things and have a lot of transactions they can direct toward the AGR card you can earn a lot of additional points very quickly.

Where do you get the 2-5% from? It isn't like paying with a credit card costs you any more money (in most cases, and the exceptions don't get anywhere near 2%).

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I don't find handing 2-5% of my annual salary to a faceless middleman all that appealing, but for those who don't care about such things and have a lot of transactions they can direct toward the AGR card you can earn a lot of additional points very quickly.

Where do you get the 2-5% from? It isn't like paying with a credit card costs you any more money (in most cases, and the exceptions don't get anywhere near 2%).

It's a moral decision, not a financial one. I don't want to be yet another accidental supporter paying "network" and "processing" fees that help to prop up all these "too big to fail" banks that reap all of the rewards when times are good and then stick the taxpayer with the bill when times are bad. So I'm moving all my money to banks that are too small to fund the next Rick Perry (goodbye USAA) and paying with cash and checks whenever possible. It may not save me a single penny but at least I'm no longer part of the bigger problem. And yes, credit processing fees can really get that high and have been increasing for years now. Go ask your nearest big bank for a merchant account fee chart if you don't believe me. I was handing credit processors thousands of dollars without even realizing it. I'd just rather have that money go to the seller instead. Or the charity. Or whatever else I'm paying for. That's all.

 

[amamba]

I don't find handing 2-5% of my annual salary to a faceless middleman all that appealing, but for those who don't care about such things and have a lot of transactions they can direct toward the AGR card you can earn a lot of additional points very quickly.

Where do you get the 2-5% from? It isn't like paying with a credit card costs you any more money (in most cases, and the exceptions don't get anywhere near 2%).

It's a moral decision, not a financial one. I don't want to be yet another accidental supporter paying "network" and "processing" fees that help to prop up all these "too big to fail" banks that reap all of the rewards when times are good and then stick the taxpayer with the bill when times are bad. So I'm moving all my money to banks that are too small to fund the next Rick Perry (goodbye USAA) and paying with cash and checks whenever possible. It may not save me a single penny but at least I'm no longer part of the bigger problem. And yes, credit processing fees can really get that high and have been increasing for years now. Go ask your nearest big bank for a merchant account fee chart if you don't believe me. I was handing credit processors thousands of dollars without even realizing it. I'd just rather have that money go to the seller instead. Or the charity. Or whatever else I'm paying for. That's all.

Personally, I don't really get this argument. The high cost of the processing fees get passed on to the consumer by the merchants through higher prices. So you are paying that extra 2-5% on everything you buy whether you use cash, check, or the AGR mastercard. I would rather use a credit card that gives me AGR points or cash back, since we are all having those costs passed on to us regardless of how we pay for things.

In regards to the OP, at one point there was a 50K mile continental card from Chase. I am not sure if you have time to open the card, get the miles and transfer them to AGR anymore. You will not be able to transfer continental points to AGR after 12/31/11.

 

[the_traveler]

and paying with cash and checks whenever possible.

And where are you going to get these checks from? :huh: Inquiring minds want to know!

And as amamba said, you are still paying the "hidden costs" as they are included in the price you pay! For example, anything made in Japan has a "hidden cost" due to the Tsuami!

At the gas stations I frequent, for my $40 fill up I earn 40 AGR points. If I paid cash, I'd still pay $40 (since the gas is the same for cash or credit), but get nothing in return! So why would I want to pay cash? :huh:

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Personally, I don't really get this argument. The high cost of the processing fees get passed on to the consumer by the merchants through higher prices. So you are paying that extra 2-5% on everything you buy whether you use cash, check, or the AGR mastercard. I would rather use a credit card that gives me AGR points or cash back, since we are all having those costs passed on to us regardless of how we pay for things.

Perhaps I'm just not explaining it very well. Banks like Chase were bailed out to the tune of hundreds of billions of our taxpayer dollars. And for what? So you and I can get a free ride on Amtrak after we save up enough kickback points? Doesn't seem like a good deal to me at all. America could have the world's largest and most advanced HSR network for that kind of money and put a lot more people to work than banks like Chase ever would. I'd rather a seller that was not bailed out get that 2-5% premium than to see any of it go to a bank like Chase. Maybe if enough of us refused to play the credit card kickback game these banks would eventually shrink to a size that was no longer "too big to fail" and could be allowed to suffer the consequences of their own mistakes.

 

[pennyk]

Personally, I don't really get this argument. The high cost of the processing fees get passed on to the consumer by the merchants through higher prices. So you are paying that extra 2-5% on everything you buy whether you use cash, check, or the AGR mastercard. I would rather use a credit card that gives me AGR points or cash back, since we are all having those costs passed on to us regardless of how we pay for things.

Perhaps I'm just not explaining it very well. Banks like Chase were bailed out to the tune of hundreds of billions of our taxpayer dollars. And for what? So you and I can get a free ride on Amtrak after we save up enough kickback points? Doesn't seem like a good deal to me at all. America could have the world's largest and most advanced HSR network for that kind of money and put a lot more people to work than banks like Chase ever would. I'd rather a seller that was not bailed out get that 2-5% premium than to see any of it go to a bank like Chase. Maybe if enough of us refused to play the credit card kickback game these banks would eventually shrink to a size that was no longer "too big to fail" and could be allowed to suffer the consequences of their own mistakes.

I get your point and i admire you for putting the "big" picture ahead of personal benefit to you. You literally put your money where you mouth is. I guess I have to admit that I am a bit selfish - i charge most things I can with my AGR card, but when i go to the local running store where I know the owner, I pay with check or cash - and it is very much appreciated by my friend.

 

[Ryan]

Personally, I don't really get this argument. The high cost of the processing fees get passed on to the consumer by the merchants through higher prices. So you are paying that extra 2-5% on everything you buy whether you use cash, check, or the AGR mastercard. I would rather use a credit card that gives me AGR points or cash back, since we are all having those costs passed on to us regardless of how we pay for things.

Perhaps I'm just not explaining it very well. Banks like Chase were bailed out to the tune of hundreds of billions of our taxpayer dollars. And for what? So you and I can get a free ride on Amtrak after we save up enough kickback points? Doesn't seem like a good deal to me at all. America could have the world's largest and most advanced HSR network for that kind of money and put a lot more people to work than banks like Chase ever would. I'd rather a seller that was not bailed out get that 2-5% premium than to see any of it go to a bank like Chase. Maybe if enough of us refused to play the credit card kickback game these banks would eventually shrink to a size that was no longer "too big to fail" and could be allowed to suffer the consequences of their own mistakes.

Can't say that I disagree with that, but I can't see where one makes a difference on the other. I guess that it's like voting, in that one vote doesn't make a difference, but many of them can.

What was the USAA/Rick Perry crack about?

 

[Reefgeek]

Get a Chase Sapphire card. Spend the required $3000. You will then have 53,000 points you can convert into AGR points. And a $3000 credit card balance.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I get your point and i admire you for putting the "big" picture ahead of personal benefit to you. You literally put your money where you mouth is. I guess I have to admit that I am a bit selfish - i charge most things I can with my AGR card, but when i go to the local running store where I know the owner, I pay with check or cash - and it is very much appreciated by my friend.

Thanks Penny, you are too kind! I'm lucky in that I'm one of a tiny percentage of the world's population that has the luxury of choosing where and how we spend our money and I consider that luxury to be both a blessing and a curse. I'm not perfect. Sometimes I live by my values and sometimes I stray. But I'm confident in my convictions and I do what I can to avoid unnecessary hypocrisy.

Can't say that I disagree with that, but I can't see where one makes a difference on the other. I guess that it's like voting, in that one vote doesn't make a difference, but many of them can. What was the USAA/Rick Perry crack about?

Yeah, sometimes it's more about just living by your own values than changing the world. Here in Texas my votes often don't count for squat thanks to factors like partisan gerrymandering and the electoral college, but I still vote anyway because you have to practice what you preach. I also write and call my representative and senators and governor from time to time just to give them a little grief over what I see as immoral values and unethical standards. The comment about USAA was in reference to discovering that they're a big contributor to Rick "The Texas Miracle" Perry. Just like AT&T and dozens of other Texas firms.

 

[Anderson]

I get your point and i admire you for putting the "big" picture ahead of personal benefit to you. You literally put your money where you mouth is. I guess I have to admit that I am a bit selfish - i charge most things I can with my AGR card, but when i go to the local running store where I know the owner, I pay with check or cash - and it is very much appreciated by my friend.

Thanks Penny, you are too kind! I'm lucky in that I'm one of a tiny percentage of the world's population that has the luxury of choosing where and how we spend our money and I consider that luxury to be both a blessing and a curse. I'm not perfect. Sometimes I live by my values and sometimes I stray. But I'm confident in my convictions and I do what I can to avoid unnecessary hypocrisy.

Can't say that I disagree with that, but I can't see where one makes a difference on the other. I guess that it's like voting, in that one vote doesn't make a difference, but many of them can. What was the USAA/Rick Perry crack about?

Yeah, sometimes it's more about just living by your own values than changing the world. Here in Texas my votes often don't count for squat thanks to factors like partisan gerrymandering and the electoral college, but I still vote anyway because you have to practice what you preach. I also write and call my representative and senators and governor from time to time just to give them a little grief over what I see as immoral values and unethical standards. The comment about USAA was in reference to discovering that they're a big contributor to Rick "The Texas Miracle" Perry. Just like AT&T and dozens of other Texas firms.

Hey, I haven't missed an election even when there was nobody on the ballot facing an opponent.

That said, the odd thing is that I don't really begrudge the bailouts. Mind you, I'd be a hypocrite to be utterly opposed to them...in a sense, I got bailed out, since the Bank of America stock my family owned and that I tried to convince them to sell in the summer of '08 at something like $35 a share (and on one or two occasions before, albeit with a bit less conviction) on the principle of diversification alone would have likely become worthless paper in such a crisis.

Do I begrudge the way they were handled? I do: The bailouts should have been secured with "You will hand us X junk securities by Y date" if banks couldn't find them immediately (which I'm led to believe is why there wasn't an asset transfer to begin with: All of the mess that swapping those MBSes caused made things indecipherable to anyone not on the inside). Failing that, the British approach worked pretty well (HM Government owns 70-some percent of RBS and about 43% of Lloyds in exchange for bailing them out). But I also look at the alternative to some sort of bailout: Would anybody here prefer to see a replay of Conrail in the banking sector? Because there's a very real risk that you would have seen that sort of a collapse, and seen plenty of more well-managed institutions go down because of counterparty breakdowns (sort of like what happened with the Erie Lackawanna getting swept in...IIRC, it was stuck paying to the PC while the PC was absolved of having to pay to them).

 

[Ispolkom]

At the gas stations I frequent, for my $40 fill up I earn 40 AGR points. If I paid cash, I'd still pay $40 (since the gas is the same for cash or credit), but get nothing in return! So why would I want to pay cash? :huh:

That's my take on the situation. I didn't create our economic system, but I'd be a fool not to maximize my benefit from it, while obeying the rules as written. If the rules change, so will my behavior.

In any case, I think that my doing business with large banks like Chase is hurting them much more than boycotting them would. In the last three years I've earned more than 230k Continental miles from Chase (transfered to AGR, of course) without ever flying on that airline. Since I always pay off my credit card on time, the only benefit Chase has gotten for those hundreds of thousands of miles (turned into thousands of dollars of Amtrak travel) was the interchange fee for three or four thousand dollars of charges, and the profit from one box of overpriced checks.

I'm sad that gravy train might end at the end of the year.

 

[amamba]

I understand what you are saying now Texas Sunset - you don't want to do anything to support those big banks, even use an AGR card. For example, I do bank with a small, local bank because I don't want to support those big banks. But I just don't take it as far as the credit cards.

As for the bailouts, well, most of the banks at this point have paid them back. I think that the real people we have to blame for that would be the wizards of wall street who came up with mortgage backed securities and the rating agencies who gave the securities AAA ratings. And the government that allowed deregulation in the financial market.

But this isn't a politics board so I will stop there.

As it relates to train travel, I do enjoy using my AGR card. My cross country trip earlier this year came out to a 7.6 cents per point redemption value which is pretty good. The only way I was able to accumulate all of those points was through the credit card.

 

[Guest]

Get the Chase Amtrak, Continental and United Airline credit cards. Some offer upto 50k sign up bonus each. Then transfer your 100k+ points to your AGR account. After 6 months cancel the cards..

 

[Ryan]

The comment about USAA was in reference to discovering that they're a big contributor to Rick "The Texas Miracle" Perry. Just like AT&T and dozens of other Texas firms.

That's interesting, since I do everything with USAA and consider them to be "the good guys" (and it probably isn't too hard to figure out my opinion of Governor Perry). So I did some looking into it and found this:

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/17/perry-raises-17-2-million-in-campaign-contributions-not-all-good/

Which seems to suggest that the money hasn't come from USAA proper, but that employees donating their own money (which I don't really have a problem with).

Is there more to it than that? Genuinely inquisitive here, as I'd be really disappointed to find out that my money was going to support this ********.

Sorry for the OT derail, but this is the first that I've heard of this.

 

[the_traveler]

So it's the employees you are against - and not the bank!

So I should not do business with USAA, Ford, AT&T, Boeing, National Grid, Ma & Pa's local store, etc... etc... - because some of their employees may have contributed to a politician or cause I disagree with!

 

[railbuck]

Get the Chase Amtrak, Continental and United Airline credit cards. Some offer upto 50k sign up bonus each. Then transfer your 100k+ points to your AGR account. After 6 months cancel the cards..

United MileagePlus Explorer cardmembers will only receive one 25,000 bonus miles award if they apply for both the United Explorer Card and the Continental OnePass Plus Card after 7/19/2011.

Both CO MasterCard and UA Visa currently offer 25K for the first use and 5K for an additional authorized user. If you get the UA card, also make sure you have a CO OnePass account, link it to your MileagePlus account, then transfer UA -> CO -> AGR.

 

[the_traveler]

And remember all that MUST be completed by 12/31/11!

On 1/1/12, the option to transfer from CO to AGR is going bye-bye!

 

[Guest]

And remember all that MUST be completed by 12/31/11!

On 1/1/12, the option to transfer from CO to AGR is going bye-bye!

Good point. Just a few years ago Chase let you open a checking account and give you 25k Continental miles. I did that for my parents and me every year for a few years. I also opened their business checking account as well sometimes. Raked in tons of free points!

 

[sechs]

At the gas stations I frequent, for my $40 fill up I earn 40 AGR points. If I paid cash, I'd still pay $40 (since the gas is the same for cash or credit), but get nothing in return! So why would I want to pay cash? :huh:

That's my take on the situation. I didn't create our economic system, but I'd be a fool not to maximize my benefit from it, while obeying the rules as written. If the rules change, so will my behavior.

Frankly, we need people like Texas Sunset to help pay for our AGR points. Otherwise, prices would have to rise.
What I don't get is debit cards. If you can get a credit card, why would you spend your money (probably without any rewards) rather than someone else's?