Amtrak has been in the news lately, given the leaked details of Amtrak Guest Rewards 2.0
(SEE ALSO: Amtrak Guest Rewards 2.0 details leaked – it’s bad news)
(SEE ALSO: Sleuthing out the new bank issuer for the Amtrak credit card)
So I thought that it would be a good time to give an Amtrak recap. I’ve written quite a few posts about Amtrak, in preparation for and recapping our recently family vacation that included a ride from Ohio to Denver and back on an Amtrak Superliner sleeper car.
Amtrak Guest Rewards and the Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card
- 500 bonus Amtrak points for opting in to emails (targeted?) – A recent email I got offering 500 bonus Amtrak Guest Rewards points for opting in to emails
- Amtrak credit card returning – why you need to care! – At the time of this post, the Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card is not being offered. It’s rumored to come back this fall, and here’s why that’s a big deal!
- Why you want to transfer Amtrak points to Choice Hotels – one of the most lucrative uses of Amtrak Guest Rewards points is the ability to transfer at a 1:3 bonus(!) to Choice Hotels
Booking an Amtrak train
- Maximizing your route on the Amtrak Zone Map – currently redemptions on Amtrak are zone-based, though this is supposedly going away with Amtrak Guest Rewards version 2.0
- Amtrak Viewliner Routes vs. Amtrak Superliner Routes – there are 2 different kinds of Amtrak trains, this will tell you which train types run on which Amtrak routes
- Checking historical Amtrak delays – will I miss my train? – There are quite a few tools that can help you get an idea of how late your train runs, and whether you should be worried about missing your connections.
- Amtrak complaints? How to get compensation for Amtrak delays – If your train is late (ours was late by 13 hours!) – this is an idea of what kind of compensation you might expect
Riding on an Amtrak train
- My (free) $6500 family train vacation on Amtrak – one of the original posts I wrote, detailing how I used 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards to book a trip that would have cost $6,540 if paid for with cash
- 4 reasons my Amtrak trip was a blast…
- … but I’ll probably never take another Amtrak trip – these 2 posts were the trip report from our trip detailing the good… and the bad….
- Amtrak California Zephyr: you’ll never believe these views – my friend Celia shared her trip reports on the California Zephyr, including some amazing photographs
Sunrise over the Great Salt Lake (from the California Zephyr
- Tipping on Amtrak – how much and to whom? – even if your train ride is free, there is an expectation that you should tip some of the Amtrak employees while you ride. Here’s who to tip, and suggested amounts.
- Amtrak Superliner vs. Viewliner – what’s the difference? – There are 2 kinds of trains on Amtrak routes, this will tell you the differences between the 2 (it makes a difference if you’re traveling with a family!)
Amtrak train stations
- Chicago Union Station Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge – review of the Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge inside Chicago Union Station (it’s pretty weak)
- Amtrak Toledo Union Station parking: is it free and safe? – Where we parked our car for 10 days while riding the train
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Dan,
I got a question about expiration of the Amtrak points.
So my account has been at 0 balance for a while (since I lost 6500 early last year due to non-activity). If I transfer points from chase to Amtrak now, when will those points expire?
Thanks.
According to Award Wallet, it looks like Amtrak points expire 3 years after activity
My understanding is that the activity required is paid travel within past 3 years. Under the old Chase Amtrak card (which had no annual fee) just having the credit card exempted you from this paid activity requirement. I don’t know what will happen with the new issuer. Everything is very much up in the air.