Amtrak Guest Rewards Platinum Mastercard Review

The Amtrak Guest Rewards Platinum Mastercard is not as extravagant as its pricier sibling, the Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard. But if you’re a regular Amtrak rider who’s not interested in paying an annual fee for a rewards credit card, and who still wants to earn points toward Amtrak travel, this card is an option.

The card is best for travelers who stick almost exclusively to Amtrak. That’s because you get the most value from your rewards by using them to buy more Amtrak travel. Beyond that, you can only transfer your points to a few non-Amtrak rewards programs or use them for a few other types of rewards.

If flexibility is your goal, we recommend you look for another card that doesn’t box you into a limited rewards program. That said, if you do rely on Amtrak, you’ll get more value for your spending here than with many other travel rewards cards.

Pros Explained

• High-value bonus for new cardholders: If you spend at least $1,000 with this card within the first three months, you’ll earn a bonus worth a total of $300, according to our numbers. That’s a great value, especially for a card with no annual fee.
• 5% points redemption rebate: Every time you redeem your points for an Amtrak travel reward, you’ll get a 5% bonus back into your account. For example, if you redeem 10,000 points, you’ll get another 500 points deposited into your rewards account. 
• 10% food and beverage rebate: If you buy any food or drinks while you’re on an Amtrak train, you’ll get a 10% discount in the form of a statement credit.

Cons Explained

• Bonus points only earned on Amtrak purchases: You’ll always earn at least 1 point for every $1 spent. But you can only earn bonus points on Amtrak purchases, and only 1 additional bonus point per $1 spent. Other rewards cards offer bonus points on a wider range of spending categories, so you probably won’t rack up points very fast with this card.

Bonus for New Cardholders

Currently, Amtrak and Bank of America are offering a bonus consisting of 12,000 bonus points (worth up to $300 when redeemed for Amtrak travel, according to our calculations) that will post to your account within 12 weeks.

Earning Points and Rewards

You’ll earn 2 points per $1 spent on Amtrak purchases with this card, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. That’s about standard for co-branded travel cards without an annual fee, though some cards let you earn higher rates on travel with their brand, and some offer bonus points on other types of purchases, such as groceries. 

However, here’s the kicker: Even though you won’t earn as many points, the points you do earn are quite valuable. By our calculations, each point is worth 2.5 cents when redeemed for travel with Amtrak.

Redeeming Rewards

The best way to use your points is to pay for Amtrak travel. The exact points cost will vary, but in general, you can expect to get a value of around 2.5 cents per point when redeemed this way. Plus, you’ll get the equivalent of 5% of your points added back into your account when you cash in for Amtrak travel.

To redeem your points, simply search for the travel dates you want and select “Points” in the menu. Unfortunately, you’ll need to have enough points in your account to cover the cost of the trip—you can’t pay for a fare with a combination of points and dollars. This requirement limits the flexibility of your rewards. However, if you don’t have enough to cover an entire ticket, you can purchase fare and amenity upgrade coupons with your points instead. 

You can also use your points to pay for hotels and car rentals through the Amtrak Hotels and Cars portal. Again, the point cost may vary, but you’ll have a decent selection of 29,000 car rental locations and 350,000 hotel choices.  

The worst redemption options are gift cards, which bring your point value down to 0.8 cents each—about a third less than if you redeem them for travel directly with Amtrak.

How to Get the Most out of This Card

There are two keys to getting the most value from this card. First, always use this card to pay for Amtrak travel purchases. Those purchases are worth the most rewards points—and the most TQPs, 5,000 of which you’ll need to reach the first tier of status in Amtrak’s loyalty program. Also, redeem your rewards points for more Amtrak travel tickets.

Other Features

• 10% rebate on Amtrak food and drink purchases

Customer Experience

Bank of America isn’t particularly well-known for its excellent customer service. In fact, a 2020 J.D. Power Retail Banking Satisfaction Study rated the bank slightly above the industry average. However, it did rank number three out of 11 card issuers. Bank of America does offer a few handy perks, however, such as a free FICO score, 24/7 customer service, and a well-regarded mobile app.

Security Features

Bank of America offers the usual collection of big bank account security tools, including zero liability for fraudulent purchases, account monitoring and alerts, and two-step authentication for some online transactions. One thing missing is a “virtual account” number system for extra-secure online purchases, which an increasing number of credit cards offer these days.

Fees

Bank of America doesn’t charge any outrageously high fees with this card. It’s nice that there’s no foreign transaction fee, but given that the only foreign country Amtrak visits is Canada, you might want to consider another card if you’ll be going to other countries and want to earn rewards at a faster clip than this railroad card’s rate of 1 point per dollar.