A Complete Guide To The Amtrak Guest Rewards Loyalty Program

The Amtrak Guest Rewards Loyalty Program runs similarly to airline loyalty programs. Frequent riders can rack up points fast, especially those living on the Northeast Corridor. Riders can also enjoy perks by earning elite status.

Let’s go over the Amtrak Guest Rewards loyalty program and what it has to offer for riders.

How Does The Program Work?

Just like airlines, you earn Amtrak points for two different purposes: points for redeeming award trips and points for elite status.

The base earning rate is 2 points per 1 eligible dollar. For example, a $100 fare will earn me 200 points for redeeming awards, as well as 200 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs), which are the points for earning status.

Elite Status On Amtrak

Amtrak has 3 status tiers in addition to the base member tier. They go in the order of Select, Select Plus, and Select Executive. Status is earned based on the amount of Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) earned in a calendar year.

Select

Select status is earned with 5,000 TQPs, which is equivalent to $2,500 of Amtrak travel. Here are the benefits you earn by getting Select:

25% bonus points on Amtrak travel
2 one-class upgrades
2 10% discount coupons
2 single visit passes to Amtrak lounges
Priority call handling
Exclusive offers

Select status isn’t that hard to get, made evident by the not-so-impressive benefits upon earning this tier. However, the 25% multiplier on Amtrak points is a plus, as it helps you quickly reach your next award redemption.

Amtrak will occasionally throw out promotions for earning Select status. For example, they had a promotion back in the summer of 2023 where riding 6 one way trips (3 roundtrips) in a span of about 3 months automatically earned you Select status. It’s always a good idea to keep an eye out for these occasional promotions.

Select Plus

Select Plus is earned with 10,000 TQPs, or $5,000 worth of Amtrak travel. This is where you see the major benefits come in. Here’s a look at them:

50% bonus points on Amtrak travel
4 one-class upgrades
2 companion coupons
2 10% discount coupons
Complimentary Amtrak lounge access
Priority call handling
Exclusive offers

Lounge access becomes complimentary with Select Plus. This is arguably the biggest addition from the previous tier. The 50% bonus points are nice too, in addition to the 4 one-class upgrades.

Booking my next Amtrak ticket… while on an Amtrak train.

Select Executive

Select Executive is the highest status, reached after 20,000 TQPs. This is equivalent to $10,000 worth of Amtrak spending. Here’s what you get:

100% bonus points on Amtrak travel
4 one-class upgrades, plus one with every 3,000 TQPs
2 companion coupons
1 auto train priority vehicle offloading coupon
2 10% coupons
Complimentary Amtrak lounge access
Priority call handling
Auto registration for promotions
Exclusive offers

There isn’t much difference at Select Executive compared to the previous tier, considering it’s an additional $5,000 in spending to get here. The major differences are the 100% bonus points and the additional one-class upgrade every 3,000 TQPs.

Earning Amtrak Points

Points From Amtrak Travel

The most straightforward way to earn Amtrak points is to buy Amtrak tickets. You earn 2 points for each qualifying dollar spent. You also earn bonus points with certain tickets, those being a 25% bonus on business class travel and a 50% bonus on Acela First Class. This applies to TQPs as well.

As mentioned earlier, you’ll also earn bonus points (points multiplier) if you have elite status. Select members get a 25% bonus, Select Plus with 50%, and Select Executive with 100%.

Amtrak also often runs promotions throughout the year, which gives you a chance to earn bonus points with qualifying travel. They recently had a “mystery offer” where everyone got their individual bonus offer. I got a 3x bonus points offer for October travel, which I made great use of. It’s a good idea to keep an eye out for them; you can often see them in your email or posted on their social media accounts. Keep in mind that TQPs usually do not qualify for these bonus point offers.

Points From An Amtrak Credit Card

Amtrak also has 2 cobranded credit cards, and they’re a good way of racking up points and TQPs quickly. They both come with a welcome offer, which is great when you immediately need points.

The Amtrak Guest Rewards Mastercard has no annual fee, and currently has an offer of 12,000 bonus points after meeting spending requirements.

The Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard has a $95 annual fee, and the current offer sits at 35,000 bonus points after meeting spending requirements.

Redeeming Amtrak Points

Amtrak points are worth roughly 2.67 cents per point. The amount of points needed is tied to the price of the ticket at that given moment. For example, if I want to redeem points for a $93 Acela ticket, that corresponds to about 3,483 points. If the price of the ticekt goes up, the amount of points needed will also go up.

When booking, toggle “use points” before you search for a train.

You can also use Amtrak points for gift cards. They currently offer ones for Airbnb, Hotels.com, and Uber. I do recommend using your points directly with Amtrak though, as these gift card options redeem your points for less than the 2.67 cents a point value you get from booking train tickets.

Bottom Line

Amtrak is a great way to travel when it works. It’s a popular method of transportation along the Northeast Corridor, as I have reviewed several times, and a good alternative to air travel in that region. Passengers can also enjoy a scenic cross country trip on some of their long haul rides as well.

With that said, the Amtrak Guest Rewards program is great to keep in mind if you’re a frequent Amtrak rider. You can earn points quickly and reel in some of the benefits it has to offer.

All photos taken by the author.