The Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard, issued by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO), offers a variety of perks for Amtrak riders. It also currently has a 40,000 points limited-time offer that is worth up to roughly $1,000 value in Amtrak train fare or $400 in Amazon gift cards. This boosted offer came around the same time last year. Here are the highlights:
- 40,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 billing cycles of account opening.
- Roundtrip companion coupon upon account opening and card anniversary.
- One-class upgrade upon account opening and card anniversary.
- Station Lounge pass upon account opening and card anniversary.
- 3X points per $1 spent on Amtrak travel, including onboard purchases.
- 2X points per $1 spent on dining, travel, transit and rideshare.
- 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- 5% Amtrak Guest Rewards point rebate when you book your Amtrak redemption travel.
- 20% rebate on food and beverage purchases on board, via statement credit on this card.
- 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
- Amtrak points will not expire as long as your card account is open.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- $99 annual fee.
This offer is not going to be attractive for everyone, but it can be very valuable if you either enjoy recreational train travel or if you can use it for your commuting needs.
Amtrak points are currently worth roughly 2.5 cents per points towards Amtrak train fare. That means 40,000 points is worth approximately $1,000 in Amtrak train fare. Amtrak redemptions are variable and directly-linked to the cash cost, so you can use points on basically any ticket. There is also the potential value of the companion coupon, lounge pass, and one-class upgrade.
The best value is for train fare, but Amtrak points do transfer to certain other hotel programs, although some require elite status in those programs.
Gift cards. You can also redeem for various gift cards at a rate of 5,000 points = $50 gift card. So 40,000 points would get you $400 in gift cards to Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, etc.
You could take the train across the entire country! There is an 18-hour Capitol Limited overnight train from Washington D.C. to Chicago in a “Superliner Bedroom” with a private bathroom.
You could then take the 3-day, 2-night trip on the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco. Enjoy the views as you cut through both the Rockies and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges.
Bottom line. The Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard currently has a limited-time offer that can get you roughly $1,000 value in Amtrak train fare, with an $99 annual fee. The potential value is high, but I don’t know if it is too niche to include in my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers. For you folks that prefer cash or near-cash, you could also get $400 in Amazon or Walmart gift cards with 40,000 points, minus the $99 annual fee.
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In order to redeem points for items other than Amtrak travel, upgrade coupons or lounge passes, a member’s account must show at least one point-earning transaction from a paid Amtrak ticket.
Thanks for pointing that out. I wonder, I’ve seen tickets as low as $5 including all taxes and fees (link below). Would that count, even if you don’t actually ride the train? Seems like it would work.
https://www.amtrak.com/nightowl
“Enjoy the views as you cut through both the Rockies and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges.” My uncle did a cross-country trip from Milwaukee to Portland and shared later that his train passed through such scenic areas at night, rendering any scenic viewing useless. He said he wouldn’t do it again.
That being said, we use the Amtrak on the East Coast quite frequently, so this card might be good for our family. If you travel at non-peak times, you can get some really inexpensive fares, meaning this ~$1,000 may go a very long way.
That’s too bad, I’ve never ridden Amtrak for a long distance either to be honest, but that said I feel like some of these lines are more focused on “getting you there” and some are more focused on the scenery with special viewing cars.
https://amtrakguide.com/2018/12/31/amtrak-routes-with-observation-cars/
Given that Amtrak trains are on a schedule your uncle could have seen in advance what time of day he was passing through those sights.
I applied for this card when my son was first entering college in Florida (I live in New Jersey). This offer is incredibly valuable if you utilize it for the autotrain with a private room. Not only will the $2K in spending yield you enough points for a bedroom for two with private bathroom during peak periods. But there will be enough points left over for a round trip Acela ticket or two from NY to DC or Boston. Out of pocket, this would cost well over $1,500. That’s a return of 75% on your spending. The only other time we experienced such a high return on our spending was when British Airways ups their Avios deal and you use the companion coupon for first class. But that one requires a lot of purchases. This one is a no brainer if you use Amtrak. I plan to apply again next year. My wife and BIL, who both applied since I did, have us covered for now.
Interesting, I never knew about the autotrain until now.