Love traveling by train to avoid all those long airport lines? Then be sure to check out the Amtrak Guest Rewards® World Mastercard®! This card offers a 40,000 points bonus after you make at least $2,500 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
This card is great if you travel with Amtrak often as it offers 3X points per $1 spent with Amtrak, 2X points per $1 spent on all other qualifying travel purchases and 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Additionally, you’ll enjoy no foreign transaction fees, a complimentary Companion Coupon, One-Class Upgrade and a single-day ClubAcela pass for access to ClubAcela, Amtrak Metropolitan LoungeSM or First class and more! If you’re interested in what more the Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard Credit Card has to offer, see below!
Editor’s Note: The highest offer of 40,000 points + $100 bonus after $2,500 in purchases is now available. (If link doesn’t work do a dummy booking and the offer should show. I found the link worked once I started a dummy booking)
* The Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard is issued by Bank of America. They also offer great sign-up bonuses for their Checking/Savings accounts. You can also compare this card with other credit card bonuses!
Table of Contents
Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard Summary
| Bonus Available | Get 40,000 bonus points after you make $2,500 or more in purchases within 90 days of account opening. |
| *Bonus Value | $1,000 Amtrak travel |
| Travel Credit | No travel credit, but you get: – 1 complimentary companion coupon – 1 one-class upgrade |
| Ongoing Rewards/Benefits | Earn 3 points per $1 spent with Amtrak, 2 points per $1 spent on other qualifying travel purchases, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Get a 5% point rebate when you book your Amtrak redemption travel. |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | No |
| Airport Lounge Access | Receive one single-visit station lounge pass for access to ClubAcela, Amtrak Metropolitan or First Class lounges. |
| Annual Fee | $79 |
* Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by HustlerMoneyBlog and not the card issuer.
View the latest valuations here.
Recommended Free Credit Score (Get Free Score)
690 – 850 (Good – Excellent)
PROS
- Welcome bonus
- High point value
- Redemption rebate
- Transfer partners
- No foreign transaction fees
CONS
- Annual fee
- Good-Excellent credit needed to qualify
Editor’s Alternate Pick
 The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®! You'll earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. And when you redeem your points for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you'll get 25% more value! |
Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard Benefits
- Enjoy a complimentary Companion Coupon, One-Class Upgrade and a Single-Visit Station Lounge Pass for access to ClubAcela, Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge or First class lounges upon account opening.
- 1,000 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) every time you make at least $5,000 in purchases in a calendar year, up to 4,000 TQPs.
- There’s no limit to how many points you can earn and you can redeem them when you want since your points will not expire as long as your card account is open.
- 5% Amtrak Guest Rewards point rebate when you book your when you book your Amtrak redemption travel.
Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard
40,000 Bonus Points
Take advantage of the Amtrak Guest Rewards’ 40,000 bonus points offer since these points value around $1,000 in Amtrak travel. To qualify for the offer, you need to charge at least $2,500 to your card within the first 90 days of opening your account.
Here are some ideas on meeting the spending requirements:
| • Plastiq - Using Plastiq allows you to pay for your personal expenses such as rent, tuition, mortgage, auto lease etc. Although they charge a 2.5% processing fee for using your credit card, this will contribute to the card bonus that you will receive. There is also a referral program that allows you to earn "Free-Free Dollars" that goes towards processing fees as well. |
| • Funding Checking Accounts - When it comes to funding a checking account, opening your initial deposit with a credit card is the usual way to go about it. However, if you want to have more opportunities, you should open a checking account that offers a sign-up bonus. This allows you to work towards bonuses from not one but two different sources instead. Banks like Chase, Huntington Bank, TD Bank and BBVA offers credit card funding, and for your opening deposit, you can often fund anywhere from $50-$1000 with a credit card, depending on the bank. |
| • Gift Card Purchases With Using a Credit Card - Another way to acquire the bonus is using your credit card to purchase gift cards. Buying a a gift card or an individual merchant card typically do not require a purchase fee and are used towards leisure, so gift cards are ideal. However, gift cards such as a Visa or American Express do incur purchase fees because they can be spent anywhere, but gift cards that are specifically for a certain online shopping site such as Amazon or eBay don't. |
| As for a Citi Credit Card, you should call customer service and ask them to lower your Cash Advance limit to $0 before making any purchases because Citi tends to read gift card purchases as a Cash Advance. Ideally, you should do this with any card just to be safe. Lastly, there is such thing as a discounted gift card which can be purchased on Raise or eBay. If you use a credit card often for everyday purchases, it can build your credit score that will contribute towards paying for things such as bills and taxes. |
| |
What are Amtrak Guest Rewards Points Worth?
The value of your rewards depends on how you use them, each Amtrak Guest Rewards point at approximately $0.025! It’s above the industry average of $0.01 per point.
When you’re ready to redeem your points, you have a few options:
- Amtrak travel
- Hotel stays
- Car rentals
- Cruise vacations
- Gift cards
- Points transfer to:
- Audience Rewards
- Choice Privileges
- Hilton Honors
Redemption starts at 800 points, so in order to get the best value for your Amtrak Guest Rewards points, use them towards Amtrak award travel.
Amtrak Guest Rewards Top Features
When you open your card account, you can enjoy the following one-time benefits:
Companion coupon. Take a travel companion with you on your Amtrak journey for free. On a one-way journey or round-trip. This could potentially save you over $100 and more than negates the card’s annual fee.
One-class upgrade. Move up one travel class on a one-way trip. If a coach ticket costs $50 and a business class seat costs $200 on the same journey, you would be saving $150.
Single-visit pass to Amtrak clubs and lounges. Valid for you and one guest or for your domestic partner and children under the age of 21. This benefit is worth $25. Eligible lounges include:
| Lounge | Locations |
| ClubAcela | Boston New York Philadelphia Washington, D.C. |
| Metropolitan | Chicago Los Angeles Portland |
| First Class | St. Paul/Minneapolis St. Louis New Orleans Raleigh |
Receive a 5% point rebate when you redeem for Amtrak tickets. This perk is unlimited and will automatically post to your account. The redemption rebate will essentially raise your rewards value from $0.025 per point to over $0.03 per point.
Make purchases abroad without worrying about foreign transaction fees with the Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard.
Bottom Line
Constantly heading to new places? Then make sure to take advantage of what travel credit cards have to offer. The Amtrak Guest Rewards® World Mastercard® is great for those who plan on traveling with Amtrak! With this card you’ll enjoy a 40,000 points bonus when you make at least $2,500 in purchases within 90 days of account opening.
You’ll also receive travel perks such as no foreign transaction fees, a 5% Amtrak Guest Reward point rebate when you book your Amtrak Redemption Travel and more. For more credit cards, see our latest list of other Bank of American Promotions or the best credit card bonuses!
(Visit BankofAmerica.com to learn more about this card.)
The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
Who’s the Competition?
For just a bit more in annual fees, there are several general travel rewards cards that offer more flexible rewards. Trains are included in the travel categories for earning and redeeming rewards also.
Good examples include the following: Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard®, Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, and the American Express Gold Card.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®! You'll earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. And when you redeem your points for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you'll get 25% more value! |
 The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card offers a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening (equal to $500 in travel). Named ‘The Best Travel Card' by CNBC, 2018. You're able to earn 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Plus earn 10X miles on thousands of hotels, through January 2020; learn more at hotels.com/venture. This card does come with a $95 annual fee, however, there is a $0 intro annual fee for the first year. Enjoy no foreign transaction fees and receive up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre?®. |
 The American Express® Gold Card offers 35,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $2,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 3 months. You'll have the opportunity to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points when you dine at restaurants worldwide & at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X); 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. This card has an annual fee of $250 with no foreign transaction fees. Some benefits including earning up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. In addition, a $100 Airline Fee Credit: up to $100 in statement credits per calendar year for incidental fees at one selected qualifying airline. |
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| Huntington Bank Business Checking 100 | $200 Cash | Review |
The spend qualifier for the 40,000 bonus points is wrong. You have to spend $2,500 in 90 days to get the 40,000 bonus points.