Purchasing points?

[City of Miami]

I received the email offering up to 50% bonus for purchase of points through next Tuesday.

I'm figuring this is a pretty good deal for long distance sleeper travel only.

If I purchased 15000 points for $565.50 and received the 50% bonus I'd get 22500 points. I add in the 5% rebate from AGR from redeeming my 22500 points which is 1125. I also would get a purchase on my cc for $565.50 which gets 1.5% rebate for $8.50. This would be equivalent to an additional 360 points figured at .0236/pt which I include in the interest of completion even though I don't get the actual points, giving a grand total of 23985 eventual points for my outlay of $565.50. That is a cost of $.0236/point. Long distance sleeper redemption ratio is regularly .0289/point. That's a discount of .0053/point or 18.34% on long distance sleeper travel. Purchasing additional points up to 30K appears to be at the same price ratio so there's no additional advantage except that you would have more of the cheaper points.

Does anyone see any self-deception here?

Or is it more realistic to look at it from the bottom number? That is, for an outlay of .0236 I get value of .0289 for an uptick of 22.5%?

 

[Bob Dylan]

I received the email offering up to 50% bonus for purchase of points through next Tuesday.

I'm figuring this is a pretty good deal for long distance sleeper travel only.

If I purchased 15000 points for $565.50 and received the 50% bonus I'd get 22500 points. I add in the 5% rebate from AGR from redeeming my 22500 points which is 1125. I also would get a purchase on my cc for $565.50 which gets 1.5% rebate for $8.50. This would be equivalent to an additional 360 points figured at .0236/pt which I include in the interest of completion even though I don't get the actual points, giving a grand total of 23985 eventual points for my outlay of $565.50. That is a cost of $.0236/point. Long distance sleeper redemption ratio is regularly .0289/point. That's a discount of .0053/point or 18.34% on long distance sleeper travel. Purchasing additional points up to 30K appears to be at the same price ratio so there's no additional advantage except that you would have more of the cheaper points.

Does anyone see any self-deception here?

Or is it more realistic to look at it from the bottom number? That is, for an outlay of .0236 I get value of .0289 for an uptick of 22.5%?

Your Math is good but the actual Redemption depends on the Buckets on the trip(s) you take with the purchased points.

Not to sound like a Lawyer, but it depends!

Some trips are a better deal paying Cash @ Low Bucket, others may be a wash and some trips ( especially under AGR2.0 East to the Central Zone) are better Point deals than they were under AGR 1.0!!( but AGR 1.0 allowed 2 to travel for the same price as One person on AGR2.0, since you pay Rail Fare for each person now and the Room Charge)

 

[jebr]

Your Math is good but the actual Redemption depends on the Buckets on the trip(s) you take with the purchased points.

Not to sound like a Lawyer, but it depends!

Some trips are a better deal paying Cash @ Low Bucket, others may be a wash and some trips ( especially under AGR2.0 East to the Central Zone) are better Point deals than they were under AGR 1.0!!

The low bucket math shouldn't matter in terms of value, since the points cost should be similarly lower. The only times where the math wouldn't work is when the value per point would drop below .0236/point (or whatever the cost per point is.) That may happen during holidays when they sometimes double points redemption costs on certain days, or if they change the points value in the future. But whether a trip is at low bucket or not would not directly influence the calculus of whether points or cash is better.

 

[dlagrua]

The 50% offer can save you a bit of money so I would say that it is a good deal BUT remember if you buy points you are paying for your ticket in advance maybe a year in advance. Its a tough call.

 

[coventry801]

Amtrak credit card says earn 3x points on Amtrak travel. Wondering if purchasing points using Amtrak credit card qualifies for 3x points reward.

Same question on purchasing points with US Bank credit card which usually gives 5% back on Amtrak travel.

 

[pennyk]

The answer was "no" the last time I purchased points. The points were being "sold" by a third party vendor, as opposed to Amtrak, as showed up as such on the credit card statement (not Amtrak).

 

[coventry801]

Thank you. I guess next best return on purchasing points would be Citi card with 2% back.

 

[TinCan782]

The answer was "no" the last time I purchased points. The points were being "sold" by a third party vendor, as opposed to Amtrak, as showed up as such on the credit card statement (not Amtrak).

I believe the vendor is "points.com".

 

[pennyk]

A new member has asked a question in another thread regarding purchasiing points. To keep threads on topic, I am bumping this thread and copying and pasting the member's question below. Hopefully, someone will be able to answer.

(in my experience, purchasing points has not been worthwhile since AGR "changed" many years ago).

I joined Amtrak Guest Rewards before I applied for the card. I get requests to buy points from Amtrak before July 31, 2023, and I will earn bonus points. These seem to come around more than once. This is my second offer. Unless someone can give me a compelling reason, I want to get the bonus points for signing and receiving the card before I start buying. Is there a good reason to purchase points? I thought I read that if I am using points, I am paying the most and cannot try to get a lower price from the bucket. Pardon if my terminology is off. This is an exciting learning experience. The sooner I learn the ropes, the sooner I can ride Amtrak.

 

[zephyr17]

I thought I read that if I am using points, I am paying the most and cannot try to get a lower price from the bucket.

A points purchase is at the points equivalent of the current bucket price at time of purchase, although at the equivalent of the Adult fare without such things as senior or RPA discounts.

Those discounts only apply to the rail fare anyway, not accommodation charges which are usual the far larger portion of the price.

I only use points for big ticket trips, so getting an expensive trip for free versus saving 10% of the just the rail fare is a no brainer for me.

 

[Anderson]

My sense is that at 30%, the offer is marginal but probably not worth it due to the loss of marginal benefits such as earning status (or, if Select Executive, getting additional upgrade coupons).

 

[Augusta_H]

A points purchase is at the points equivalent of the current bucket price at time of purchase, although at the equivalent of the Adult fare without such things as senior or RPA discounts.

Those discounts only apply to the rail fare anyway, not accommodation charges which are usual the far larger portion of the price.

I only use points for big ticket trips, so getting an expensive trip for free versus saving 10% of the just the rail fare is a no brainer for me.

I will book a couple of trips to get the bonus points. Learn as I go.