500 Bonus Guest Rewards Points

[coachseats]

For those of you who have Amtrak's Guest Rewards program (and if you don't I highly suggest you enroll right away) I recently saw that you can get 500 points just for going to the guest rewards website and changing your profile to get email point statements instead of ones in the mail. You can earn free travel quickly through this program. In less than a year, I have earned enough for a coach seat from coast to coast, but am holding out for a sleeper at 15,000 points. Whether or not I make it depends on how badly I need my Amtrak fix!

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Coachseats, add me to the club. I went to the web yesteday and did that.

Also, I have already cashed in my rewards once. My trip in August was FREE in a deluxe bedroom all the way from NYC to ATL.(badly needed after all that black-out foolishness).

 

[battalion51]

Add me to that list too. :lol: I'll take the points wherever I can get them.

 

[Diane]

Hey thanks for the tip! I haven't been on the guest rewards page in a while, I would have never known.

It took me a few minutes to find the information on it, I found it under Program News.

Diane

 

[denmarks]

I have not been able to get an answer to this question. I bought tickets for a June 04 trip in Sept 03. There is a 500 point bonus for joining Guest Rewards if you travel within 90 days. Does that mean that I should not join until March 04? Will I miss out on the current 500 point switch to online statement bonus?

:huh:

 

[AlanB]

I have not been able to get an answer to this question. I bought tickets for a June 04 trip in Sept 03. There is a 500 point bonus for joining Guest Rewards if you travel within 90 days. Does that mean that I should not join until March 04? Will I miss out on the current 500 point switch to online statement bonus?:huh:

I'm not quite sure of the rules, but I think that if you are not already a member then you will loose out on the 500 point bonus to switch to an online statement anyhow.

As for your trip, if you join now then you will loose out on the point bonus for signing up and taking a trip within 90 days. So unless you plan to take a shorter trip within 90 days of signing up, then you may just want to wait until you are closer to your departure date.

I would however still recomend signing up a month or so before your trip. Then have your tickets re-issued to reflect your Guest Rewards number. It's easier to collect you points if you number is on the ticket, than it is to get your points after the fact.

 

[tp49]

This is my advice for you. My interpretation of the rules would suggest that your assumprion about the initial joining 500 point bonus is correct and if you did that you would not be eligible for the 500 point bonus for switching to the e-statements as this ends on 12/31/03.

However, I can offer a suggestion for you. I noticed from your website address the city that you live in which is a couple of hours North of where I live. I would recommend joining the program now and taking a trip to the CSRM here in Old Sacramento. Before coming down purchace a ticket on line using your GR # for a trip on the Capitol Corridor to Davis then return to Sacramento from there. The fare is IIRC $5 each way might have gone up to 6 but not sure. Then you can get both your bonus for joining and your bonus for switching from paper to e-staements.