New Amtrak Guest Rewards Master Card - Fall 2015

[Ryan]

It's been posted here, no your points will not expire.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Pleasant open exchange of ideas and opinions here but only 2016 can bring about the ramnification of AGR 2.0.

The bigger problem may be that this discussion may soon end if we don't get back into the program with the new Bank of America AGR card.

Three weeks to go and no news so far! I just wonder if AGR members will be on BOA's mailing list and will receive a solicitation for the card? .

Dennis, it has been mentioned multiple times on AU (and probably on FlyerTalk) that 9/12 is the date we will hear about the new credit card.I'm sure BoA already has our contact info because several of us have posted receiving pre-qualified offers for BoA's vanilla card this past week.

As I told Jim, hold your horses, we will hear stuff tomorrow.

 

[Larry H.]

Just curious then why does it say that they won't expire as long as your credit card account is open? I don't understand what their point is?

Larry

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Just curious then why does it say that they won't expire as long as your credit card account is open? I don't understand what their point is?

Larry

Are you quoting from new AGR info or from the old AGR M/C info?

 

[Ryan]

I'm not sure what's confusing to you.

Points expiration rules today: points expire after 3 years of no paid Amtrak travel. Unless you have the Chase AGR card, then they never expire.

Points expiration rules after AGR 2.0 starts in January: points expire after 3 years of no account activity (earning in any way, or redemption). There may be a "never expire" credit card benefit, but those details haven't been announced yet.

To "bridge the gap" between the rule sets, AGR has announced that nobody's points will expire between September 30 and January of 2016. This prevents the scenario where someone who hasn't had paid travel in the last three years, but whose points have expired due to their possession of the Chase AGR card, having their points expire when the Chase AGR card ceases to exist on 9/30.

 

[Ryan]

Why let the facts get in the way of a good rant?

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

This prevents the scenario where someone who hasn't had paid travel in the last three years, but whose points have expired due to their possession of the Chase AGR card, having their points expire when the Chase AGR card ceases to exist on 9/30.

Is this what you meant to type?

".... but whose points have NOT expired due to their possession of the Chase AGR card,"

 

[TinCan782]

This prevents the scenario where someone who hasn't had paid travel in the last three years, but whose points have expired due to their possession of the Chase AGR card, having their points expire when the Chase AGR card ceases to exist on 9/30.

Is this what you meant to type?

".... but whose points have NOT expired due to their possession of the Chase AGR card,"

Our Chase AGR card protected points will be "unprotected" after September 30 and the current 36 month "paid travel" rule will govern. IF your situation is such that the 36 months happens to expire during the gap, they will be protected (per the AGR statement mentioned above) until the new program rules (and presumably the new AGR credit card) are in place. You will NOT necessarily lose your points solely because the current Chase credit card program ends.

 

[Ryan]

This prevents the scenario where someone who hasn't had paid travel in the last three years, but whose points have expired due to their possession of the Chase AGR card, having their points expire when the Chase AGR card ceases to exist on 9/30.

Is this what you meant to type?

".... but whose points have NOT expired due to their possession of the Chase AGR card,"

Yes, thanks. Typing on my phone is a pain.

 

[Larry H.]

So then we have not had paid points for travel in the past three years most likely. It sounds like our points then may expire with the card which is the Chase one.

I checked this on the new site about the upcoming changes and that is where I copied the information I put up here so I would think its current. It still sounds to me like if were going to get to use the amount of points we have saved for a trip we may have to get them ordered quickly for a trip? I think my mom has near 90,000 and I have over 40,000. I will keep doing some research on this, it sound as though there is some confusion as to how it all will work, and I may be the one confused,

 

[jis]

No points will expire form the 28th of August until 24th of January. This includes those that hold a Chase AGR Mastercard on the 30th of September. There is an embargo on all point expiry rules until January 24, 2016 per posting by AGR Insider in Flyer Talk.

 

[jis]

There is some evidence that AGR members have already found their way onto BoA's spam list.

 

[Larry H.]

Q: How do I prevent my points from expiring?

So this is from the updated effective 2016 AGW program on line information. According to this points earned with the Amtrak Mastercard will not expire so long as the card account is open. But the cards will not be open when Chase shuts them down latter this year?

[SIZE=1.5em]"A: We‘ve expanded qualifying account activity to include all point earning or redemption activity (including points earned with partners or promotions). So as long as your Amtrak Guest Rewards account shows point earning or redemption activity within 36 months, your points won‘t expire. Amtrak Guest Rewards[/SIZE]®[SIZE=1.5em] MasterCard[/SIZE]®[SIZE=1.5em] cardholders‘ points will not expire as long as your credit card account is open."[/SIZE]

I can't figure any other way to read this?

 

[StanJazz]

If you earn points from your Chase Amtrak card on 9/15/15 you will have partner points on 9/15/15 so without any other earning your points will not expire until 9/15/18.

 

[Ryan]

So then we have not had paid points for travel in the past three years most likely. It sounds like our points then may expire with the card which is the Chase

I'm not quite sure how you can take that away when I said the exact opposite, or how much more clearly we can say your points will not expire before January.

 

[jis]

Oh brother. Larry, you are needlessly raising your own blood pressure by insisting on reading the wrong thing for the info that you want. You need to read this:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/25363931-post119.html

We will extend a grace period from 8/27/15 to 1/24/16 when the new rules regarding point expiration will be in place. During this time, members with qualifying earning or redemption activity under the new program rules in the last 36 months will be exempt from point expiration. This includes members who had the Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard from Chase on 9/30/15.

Anthony

 

[I always rode the Southern]

There is some evidence that AGR members have already found their way onto BoA's spam list.

many banks, including boa have been feeding dinner to my shredder for a long while. It has gotten to the point that the shredder is threatening to go vegan in protest, as it is sick of eating spam,.

Aside from that, I haven't gotten an offer from boa recently.

 

[tonys96]

If you earn points from your Chase Amtrak card on 9/15/15 you will have partner points on 9/15/15 so without any other earning your points will not expire until 9/15/18.

Citation?

 

[tonys96]

Oh brother. Larry, you are needlessly raising your own blood pressure by insisting on reading the wrong thing for the info that you want. You need to read this:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/25363931-post119.html

We will extend a grace period from 8/27/15 to 1/24/16 when the new rules regarding point expiration will be in place. During this time, members with qualifying earning or redemption activity under the new program rules in the last 36 months will be exempt from point expiration. This includes members who had the Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard from Chase on 9/30/15.

Anthony

This says your points will not expire before 1/25/16. If you have not had activity since 1/24/13 your points may expire in 1/26/16, correct?

 

[Ryan]

If you earn points from your Chase Amtrak card on 9/15/15 you will have partner points on 9/15/15 so without any other earning your points will not expire until 9/15/18.

Citation?

The AGR website.

 

[jis]

This says your points will not expire before 1/25/16. If you have not had activity since 1/24/13 your points may expire in 1/26/16, correct?

Of course. No one said that the points will never expire. In this context "activity" is defined by AGR 2.0 and not the previous definition.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Is a claim that is only posted on Flyertalk legally actionable? I've looked for the promise of paused expiration posted anywhere on Amtrak's own sites and haven't found it yet. I'm not saying Amtrak won't honor this promise, but it does seem odd to me that this information is apparently only being posted to a single third party forum and not through any of their own delivery methods.

 

[jis]

The evidence that I have is that I have never received anything from BoA until this week

 

[jis]

Yes, I do find it odd that there is no one single place where one can go to find the information in a consolidated form. In my opinion this information should have been added to the FAQ at the AGR site but the last time I looked it has not bee. I am shooting off an IM to Anthony pointing this out and see what happens.

 

[tonys96]

This says your points will not expire before 1/25/16. If you have not had activity since 1/24/13 your points may expire in 1/26/16, correct?

Of course. No one said that the points will never expire. In this context "activity" is defined by AGR 2.0 and not the previous definition.

Ok. So my AGR credit card kept points from expiring. So if I had no activity on my account since 1/35/13, the card kept the points valid. Since the card is going away, my points will expire on 1/25/16?Anyone in that scenario will need to make a points run before 1/25/16 to keep points earned before the change?