New Amtrak Guest Rewards Master Card - Fall 2015

[JayPea]

AGRInsider posted on FT... http://AmtrakGuestRewards.com/Apply

Apparently BoFA hates me more than I would have expected, turned me down flat. I'll call their credit reconsideration line Monday, I g

Same here. :angry: :angry:

 

[SteveSFL]

Same for me and my other half and we both have excellent credit. Must be some sort of system problem. I would encourage everyone else to wait.

If someone gets approved, please post and let us know so we can feel bad about being rejected.

 

[JayPea]

Same for me and my other half and we both have excellent credit. Must be some sort of system problem. I would encourage everyone else to wait.

If someone gets approved, please post and let us know so we can feel bad about being rejected.

I hope that's all it is. That thought did cross my mind too.

 

[Jim G.]

Turned down...776 Fico and pre-approved applications almost every week from BOA. What a joke this whole deal is! Just about ready to tell em' all to shove it!

 

[Anderson]

I'm in the same boat...got that generic offer from BoA that everyone else did. My credit scores are over 760 as well and I've no shortage of income.

I've filed to try and switch my existing BoA card (which I've had for a long time; they acquired it from SunTrust) to the AGR World Card. If that doesn't go through, I'm probably going to hit the roof.

Frankly, depending on what the issue is I'm about to hit the roof with AGR. Yes, I know the onus is on BOA for granting (or not) the credit cards...but considering what I'm hearing on here and FT, and granting it the benefit of the doubt, I'm very much inclined to put the blame at AGR's feet for picking the wrong bank on this one.

 

[chrsjrcj]

Is it explicitly saying denied? In my experience, it's normally a 7-10 day message and they send the reason for denial in the mail.

Must be an issue with BoA or AGR. I'm certainly holding off on applying until it's certain that any issues have been resolved. Or maybe try applying over the phone.

 

[Anderson]

The website explicitly denied the request. With my phone-in to convert, I got a more standard "will get back with you within about a week" response.

 

[Carolina Special]

If you switch an existing BOA card to Amtrak, won't you lose the signup bonus? That's why I was going to apply separately. I'm not going to do anything until it is clear that applications are actually being accepted.

I'm not seeing Amtrak show up on the list of credit cards available at the BOA web site (the all cards list), which suggests it is not fully setup there, despite the AGR link.

 

[jis]

BofA may just be meeting expectations fully. It could take them a week or two to get anything working properly as some know from past experience with them

 

[Carolina Special]

Yep, given my past experiences with their other accounts, this is about par for the course. Unfortunately.

 

[CHamilton]

I am an existing B of A card customer. Hasn't helped.

Online: Turned down.

Call 1: Five minutes fighting with their phone tree. The representative said that it was not possible to convert my existing card (which I hardly use) to the new card. Told me to call and ask for the sales department after 5 am PT.

Call 2: Fought with their phone tree again. The representative said that the hours for sales actually started at 6 am PT.

Call 3: Fought with their phone tree again. The representative gave me a number for their sales department and transferred me. Fought with yet another phone tree, but eventually heard a message that the sales department is currently closed, even though it was well after the time the recording stated. Hung up on me.

Sorry, Amtrak, I give up. You will not be getting any credit card income from me. I'll continue to pay for my tickets with American Express.

 

[Everydaymatters]

I'll take the advice given and hold off for a week or two before I apply. Even then, I expect to be turned down because of insufficient income. It happens every time, even though my credit score is consistently around 800 to 810.

 

[tonys96]

I might apply for the no fee card someday. Not anytime soon. Although I am as unhappy with all the changes as I can possibly be, I would put no store in folks being turned down for the new card at this early date, but think it has just not been all set up in the BoA system yet. I do think in a few days (or sooner) applications will go through smoothly.

The fee card is of no value to me, as I do not get anywhere near status levels, nor do I spend $20k on a card, ever. The no fee card looks a lot like the current card, and it might be worth considering, despite the 20 to 30 point FICO hit the application would cause. (I know the hit for an application is 20 to 30 points, as I considered a new car and that application was the sole change to my credit profile and from one month to the next the drop was 22 points)

 

[tonys96]

I hope that the part where $1 in (non-Amtrak, non-travel) charges gives an AGR point is just assumed and that's why it's not listed there...

Good catch. Maybe tomorrow's roll out will clarify.

The roll out did clarify. 1 point per $ everywhere else.

 

[jis]

Yeah, I might apply by the end of the year if I can remember to do so by then. Besides, I don't really plan to spend all that much on Amtrak in the next six months anyway. My travels in this period, that is not already paid for, involve places that Amtrak does not go to and timframes that Amtrak cannot meet. So no urgency at all. I have plenty of other cards that give me 2 points per $ and transferable for transportation in general.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Or as jis has been known to say: Looks like the Keystone Kops are running BOAs Credit Card operations!

Perhaps BOA doesn't want those of us with excellent Credit and that pay off our bill monthly?

If this is how it's going to be with BOA, a constant hassle, think I'll just stick with Chase Sapphire Preferred and my Credit Union VISA. ( to be fair, the fact that Chase is forcing those of us that already have their Card(S) to take the Freedom VISA is Marx Brothers material!)

Today is D- Day, maybe we'll get something official from the Marketing Weasels @ AGR and BOA???

 

[jis]

Today is D- Day, maybe we'll get something official from the Marketing Weasels @ AGR and BOA???

AGR and BOA charging at the beaches of Normandy but the boat sank on the way?

 

[Ryan]

Yeah, I might apply by the end of the year if I can remember to do so by then. Besides, I don't really plan to spend all that much on Amtrak in the next six months anyway. My travels in this period, that is not already paid for, involve places that Amtrak does not go to and timframes that Amtrak cannot meet. So no urgency at all. I have plenty of other cards that give me 2 points per $ and transferable for transportation in general.

I'm in the exact same boat. I'll hang back and maybe be tempted by a larger sign up bonus some day. For now, my focus is on work trips (Marriott, Southwest/Delta/AA) and building up UR points for transfer to United to support a trip to Scotland next summer/fall. What would get me moving would be removing the 4k cap on TQP through spend. I'd pump a lot more spending through the card to get close to SE (Select isn't valuable to me, but the lounge access that comes with SE would be worthwhile for my 2x daily trips through WAS).

Today is D- Day, maybe we'll get something official from the Marketing Weasels @ AGR and BOA???

More official than the AGR site someone posted? https://amtrakguestrewards.com/Apply

 

[Bob Dylan]

Ryan beat me to this,( its earlier out here in flyover country,) but also Flyertalk/AGR Forum has a post by Anthony( AGR Insider)with the link and several posts ( including some of our members) talking about being turned down by BOA, and the Circle Game that BOA is making you play when you apply for the New Cards.

 

[HenryK]

Got turned down by BOA, too. Gonna wait for the explanatory letter.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Ya gotta hand it to Boardman, he sure knows how to alienate his best customers. It really begins to seem like he cut a deal to slowly kill Amtrak through a death of a thousand cuts - literally and figuratively - with congress and the freights. No wonder the freights went along with him being named "Railroader of the Year" a few years back, 'cause he sure is 'railroading' Amtrak into the communal toilet in the Viewliner IIs.

Looks like I'm going to keep burning points instead of earning them. I'll get my credit card 'rebates' elsewhere, TYVM.

 

[jis]

Got turned down by BOA, too. Gonna wait for the explanatory letter.

If this is due to their excellent IT system fouling up again, you may or may not get one, depending on where the ball got dropped As you can see I have exceedingly high regard for their IT system

 

[George K]

Chase Sapphire Preferred is my go-to card as of now. As long as I can x-fer points from UR to AGR, I see no reason to switch at the moment....

....other than the sign on bonus.

I'll wait.

 

[SteveSFL]

Well the signup bonus (20k) is worth as much as $2,000 under the current system and $579 under the new system, so I think that's a pretty good reason to sign up now.

 

[Ryan]

That's a pretty valid point if you're going to sign up, bang out the required spend to collect the 20k and then book a trip under the old rules? That is a nice little loophole.