Last Wednesday Amtrak changed the expiration rules for Amtrak Guest Rewards points. Previously points expired after 36 months of inactivity, they now expire after 24 months of inactivity. It’s disappointing that Amtrak hasn’t even communicated this change to rewards members, I suspect some people will end up with expired points when they thought they had another 12 months of inactivity before those points expired.
Hat tip to VFTW
Are we sure about this? I couldn’t find a way to see expiry date on their site, I emailed them and got the response below today
(the only way I can square this with the two year language you cite is perhaps points earned after April 3, 2019 expire in two years, but you’d think they would have mentioned that in the email to me):
Thank you for contacting the Amtrak Guest Rewards Service Center.
We apologize for the delay in our response. Currently we are experiencing a higher than normal volume of emails. Your patience is greatly appreciated.
Subject to the terms and conditions of this program, points earned under the Program will not expire as long as the Program continues and the Member earns and/or redeems Program points using his or her Membership Number within a 36-month period. Our records indicate your last qualifying activity occurred on September 1, 2018. If no qualifying activity is recorded or reported within 36 months from that date, your points will expire on September 1, 2021. You can view all point and travel activity in the “My Transactions” section of My Account at http://www.Amtrak.com/GuestRewards.
If you have any further questions, please contact Amtrak Guest Rewards at 1-800-307-5000. This number is staffed daily from 5 am to midnight (EST).
We hope this information is of assistance.
Sincerely,
Sean M.
Amtrak Guest Rewards
must be nice to have a state-sponsored monopoly
The “Atlas Shrugged” discussion group is the next door down the hallway.
I just logged into my account for the first time in a while to check on my points and I had to agree to new Amtrak Guest Rewards terms, which worried me. But after I did that, I found that my points were still there, despite not having any earning activity since January 2017. I used Amtrak’s survey partner to quickly earn 250 points for taking a survey, and the points posted instantly to my account, so I should now be safe for another 24 months.
I use their survey partner, too It is surveypointsclub and is accessible through their website.
Thanks for posting this. I wouldn’t have known and may have lost the points. I collected points from the sign up bonus over a year ago and thought I might use some in another year.
–Kyle
So did anyone who was over 24 months, but under 36 months just loose their points?
I was able to take a few surveys (before accepting the new terms and conditions) and it looks like that saved mine.
D. Point Expiration
Subject to these Program Terms and Conditions, points earned under the Program will not expire as long as the Program continues and the Member’s Program account is active. “Active” means that the Member earns and/or redeems Program points using his or her Membership Number within a 24-month period.
Lots of options- buying something through their shopping portal is probably simplest. Oh, and thanks for the heads up! I recently checked and had about 16 months until my points were going to expire- now I’ve got 3 months.
If someone does end up with expiring points, if you email AGR, they will usually reinstate pretty easily.
spoke to Amtrak guest rewards CS the points expiration policy does not apply to Amtrak guest rewards master card holders .means points will never expire for the Amtrak credit card holders as long as the card is active.. otherwise yes the the points will expire in 24 months ..
Ludicrous. Have they responded to any inquiries by you with any reasoning?
Anybody knows if there is a way to check what the expiration date of Amtrak points? Thanks!
called and was told you will get an e-mail from Amtrak Guest Rewards if the points are expiring in 90 days with deadline date stamp etc.and if you carry Amtrak MC than there is nothing to worry about ..
I use AwardWallet https://www.amtrak.com/services/contentService.ibcontentpopup.terms-and-conditions.html#amtrakGuestRewardsProgramTermsConditions-pointExpiration
i think it is 1800-AMTRAK. Might get 10K points as compensation for the new negative change when you call and complain.