50% bonus on points purchased or gifted

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mattcub

Train Attendant
Joined
Mar 28, 2010
Messages
15
Sorry if this was posted already,but I just received the email today. I have already purchased my max points for this year,but the bonus for (purchased) gifted points sounds great:)

Purchase points

and earn 50% more.

Buy points and add to your Amtrak Guest Rewards® account to redeem for the reward youve been working toward. And if you purchase 5,000 or more Amtrak Guest Rewards points September 130, 2011, youll automatically receive a 50% bonus on the amount of points purchased.

Give points and earn

a limited time bonus.

Purchase 5,000 or more Amtrak Guest Rewards points as a gift September 130, 2011 and the friend or family member that receives it will automatically receive a 50% bonus on the amount of points purchased.
 
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AAARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just bought, gifted and shared points on my, my wifes, and granddaughters accounts last week, to add g daughter to a trip at the end of Sept. whoa is me :eek:hboy: I wonder if they could extend the promotion until Jan 1st :lol:
 
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Whoa! May have to dip in to the rainy day funds.......
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I haven't bought yet either since I have enough points for my travel plans. But I won't pass up 50% bonus. I hope it is not a targeted offer. I haven't yet received such an email.
 
Offer is at the bottom of the normal BUY POINTS page, in very small print. In gray.

 

I'm maxed out too, but wanna see if my wife can buy for me, I'm pretty sure they have that loophole shut though.

 

Only way to get them would be for wife to buy for herself, then PAY to SHARER points, which obviously costs more.

EDIT: Sure enough, a "Friend" can't buy member X points, if member X has already bought the max allowed.

HOWEVER, a "Friend" CAN buy points (and get bonus) for themself, and then TRANSFER those SHARE those points with member X. But it costs to share. But still not a "hateful" deal.

Promo cost for 15,000 points (incl bonus) = $275, cost to SHARE those points with member X = $150

Total cost for member X to get 15,000 points = $425, or 425 / 15 000 = 0.028 per point
 
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The way the gift points page is worded, you can buy for a friend or family member for the same price as yourself.....
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If your wife can buy AGR points :rolleyes: , can she also buy you (or me) tickets? :giggle: I called AGR and told them that I wanted to access wifey's account, they asked to speak to her so I gave her the phone. After a brief conversation I can access her account as my own. :lol:

I hate the idea of paying to transfer points!! :help:
 
If your wife can buy AGR points :rolleyes: , can she also buy you (or me) tickets? :giggle: I called AGR and told them that I wanted to access wifey's account, they asked to speak to her so I gave her the phone. After a brief conversation I can access her account as my own. :lol:

I hate the idea of paying to transfer points!! :help:

For all I know, my wife doesn't even KNOW she HAS an AGR account. Neither do my kids, or a couple of co-workers at work. However, all accounts are legit, I just "manage" them for the individuals / kids, who would rather not be "bothered" with tracking points and such.

Although, the CEO of our company was rather delighted when I asked him to save his ticket stubs from his current WAS-NYP trip, as once those post, it will mean that our AGR Business account has a free NED coach award available.
 
I personally would not pay the transfer fee. Since person X can redeem an award for you in your name, why pay to transfer those points to your account?
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My BIL has 88K in AGR points, but I am not going to pay the fee to transfer 88K to my account. I'll just have him redeem an award for me from his AGR account!
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Not to sound stoopid, but:

How does Amtrak make money when we can get al this travel for free/almost free? I signed up for the Amtrak Mastercard and also the Sapphire card. I should get 12,000 miles and 50,000 miles for free. I almost feel like I am cheating :( I use other reward cards, but still, these are quite large rewards......

If I do buy these extra 50% points special, do they expire? How soon can I use them? If I use them to purchase travel, but then need to make changes, are there any penalties? I will need lots of points for our trip next year (which I have already booked, and am hoping to use the rewards for - any tips on this procedure?)

Thank you!!
 
Chase pays Amtrak money for the points that they dole out.

For points bought directly, Amtrak prices them such that they end up making money on the deal. The smart people like us take advantage, but not everyone does that.
 
No need to feel strange about this offer, NO Big Corporation loses Money, bottom line, or they cease to exist! There is an old saying, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth", true here also! Amtrak, as do all companies that run promos, figure you will spend plenty of money with them once they give you a Bonus, so don't worry, just enjoy! :cool:

They will not expire long as you have taken an Amtrak paid trip in the past 2-3???(help me out guys?? :help: ) years, and you can use them to book AGR Award Trips soon as they are posted to your account! Our resident AGR guru, the_traveler, would be glad to provide further info on how to acquire points by the trainload if you want to PM him! :lol:
 
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When can you use them?
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As soon as they post to your AGR account!
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When do they expire?
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If you have an AGR MasterCard, NEVER! If not, as long as you travel on a paid Amtrak segment once every 36 months, all points in your AGR account are extended another 36 months!
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How does Amtrak make money with this "free" travel?
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All those companies (banks, credit card companies, car rental companies, hotels, etc...) buy points from Amtrak to offer to you and I as an incentive to use them. Also, you may ride Amtrak more to earn more points. So Amtrak makes much money.

Take United Airlines for example. Their Mileage Plus program (frequent flyer program) is worth more than the airline flying passengers!
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OK, I will just enjoy the offering!! :)

So, since my minor child and I will be logging 8,000 miles next year, I will for sure buy my max points. Can I buy some on her account and use it for our together travel? The reservations are under both of our names, so can we use her points for part? I have already reserved and paid for it all and I want to convert as much as possible with points. The first leg(s) are most important, because we really want to arrive at our destination on time (or at least on the right day!!), so I want to get them locked in with the points. coming back, we are breaking it up with 2-4 night stays at each destination, so changes would be easier to adjust to.

For example, our ABQ-ORL is in a bedroom, going 2 zones, so it would be 30,000 points. Can we use my 15 and then her 15?

please help me with my confusion. I am so happy this forum exists, with everyone and their knowledge and experience! Hopefully, after our trip, I will have a lot to share, as well!

Lisa :)
 
OK, I will just enjoy the offering!! :)

So, since my minor child and I will be logging 8,000 miles next year, I will for sure buy my max points. Can I buy some on her account and use it for our together travel? The reservations are under both of our names, so can we use her points for part? I have already reserved and paid for it all and I want to convert as much as possible with points. The first leg(s) are most important, because we really want to arrive at our destination on time (or at least on the right day!!), so I want to get them locked in with the points. coming back, we are breaking it up with 2-4 night stays at each destination, so changes would be easier to adjust to.

For example, our ABQ-ORL is in a bedroom, going 2 zones, so it would be 30,000 points. Can we use my 15 and then her 15?

please help me with my confusion. I am so happy this forum exists, with everyone and their knowledge and experience! Hopefully, after our trip, I will have a lot to share, as well!

Lisa :)
That's the only problem with The_Traveler's suggestion to "....not pay the transfer fees, ........just book the travel in the name of the other person........" IF one account doesn't have enuff points, then NO, one cannot combine points to use for travel.
 
free NED coach award available.
What's a NED coach? ;)

That's a pretty decent idea. The boy has an AGR account, but I've never thought of him buying points. :ph34r:
not only can you buy points for him, being the father of a minor child you can also book trips for him.
That doesn't really mean much, you can book a trip for anyone (paid or on points). I've redeemed awards for my sister and mother-in-law in the past.
 
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