AGR Credit Card change (October 2022)

[Barb Stout]

I got an email today from an identity monitoring service that I have due to a previous job that several pieces of my personal identity were found in a cyberscan to be compromised and the site where it was compromised is Bank of America and the Amtrak credit card that I had prior to last October through it. I didn't know if Bank of America had gotten rid of our on-line accounts or not when the credit card switch occurred, so I tried to log into my account using my last user id and password with the idea of changing my password, but it said "The information you entered doesn't match our records." I don't know if this is because they got rid of our on-line accounts or if the compromiser went in and changed my password to something else so that they could use my personal information to get a credit card or whatever. I doubt it because I never got an email or text indicating that my password had been changed. Has anyone else who now has the FNBO card and not the BOA card tried to log in to their BOA account?

 

[UhClem]

I am a BOA account holder, so I can attest that my credit card account disappeared on the change over. But my online account persists because of my checking and savings. I would suspect that if you didn't have these, then your online may disappear.

 

[MarkInAustin]

You should be able to check the previous year's card statements through the FNBO app; I think they pulled all the BoA info over.

 

[Aegis]

Look at credit karma or experian and see if you have a new account in your name that you did not open..

 

[BradMKE]

Signup bonuses bumped to 40k and 20k through April 26th.

 

[joelkfla]

kind of a slap in the face to those of us who got the card when it was first offered not even 4-5 months or so. Id have thought a higher bonus wouldnt have come so soon or id have waited. Maybe they havent gotten as many new customers by now as they thought they would so increased the new customer promo pt amount.

Don't take it so personally. Offers come, and offers go.

 

[zephyr17]

kind of a slap in the face to those of us who got the card when it was first offered not even 4-5 months or so. Id have thought a higher bonus wouldnt have come so soon or id have waited. Maybe they havent gotten as many new customers by now as they thought they would so increased the new customer promo pt amount.

I am so very, very crushed that since I just let it transfer from BoA and got nothing at all.

I cry into my pillow at night about those lost points.

They were nicer to other people than they were to me and I am sad.

 

[jebr]

My motto is "churn, baby, churn." Get the other version of the card, or cancel and then reapply. They were perfectly happy to give me a preferred card with the SUB even though I currently hold the standard card and have opened a lot of new cards in the past two years.

 

[BradMKE]

My motto is "churn, baby, churn." Get the other version of the card, or cancel and then reapply. They were perfectly happy to give me a preferred card with the SUB even though I currently hold the standard card and have opened a lot of new cards in the past two years.

Agreed. I got the preferred when it came back in the fall, cancelled a couple months ago and will apply again before the SUB goes back down.

 

[hoosierrailfan]

Hello,

I have been looking into the Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard due to the fact that it currently has a 40,000 point bonus. I was wondering if anybody here had any input on good or bad experiences with the card, and if people generally recommend it? I like to take long-distance Amtrak trips once a year as a hobby, and my brother usually accompanies me. I have been bumped from Select Plus down to Select this year, so the companion coupons appeal to me as well. I don't generally use credit cards very much other than to maintain credit activity, but these benefits alone seem to justify having the card.

I see that you are required to spend $1000 during the first 3 billing cycles to get these benefits. Does that mean that it is required for this $1000 to actually post to the account, and for me to pay it after posting, including interest, or is it possible to spend the $1000 and pay it back before the billing cycle ends to avoid interest?

Thank you.

 

[zephyr17]

I have it and like it. I had the BoA card before the current one. Despite some initial reservations about FNBO, which I had never heard of, I actually like them better than BoA overall. Their customer service I have found is really good. I had an issue with a charge (not their fault). Their agents are not strictly scripted, like BoA's were and are "Midwest nice". Their website could be better, but that is a minor complaint, BoA's could use some work, too.

One nice thing is you can earn unlimited TQPs with FNBO. $5000 in spend = 1000 points converted to TQPs. BoA had a limit of 4000 (maybe 5000?) TQPs with that. Since I put all possible household spending on that card and pay it off completely month's end, that means I can get at least AGR Select Plus status on card spend alone. It is difficult otherwise for me to maintain status, since I don't live on the NEC I don't take Amtrak all that often and my annual big sleeper trips are usually on or mostly on AGR points earned through card spend.

To qualify for the bonus, all it requires is for the charges to be posted during the qualifying period. Other than remaining in good standing, how you choose to pay doesn't matter.

 

[TinCan782]

We each have the FNBO "preferred" card and and our experience has been positive. We also had the BofA and Chase versions of the AGR card before the current offering.
The charges just need to be posted to the account to get the bonus. We use our cards for almost all household expenses: dining, groceries, vehicle maintenance, home and garden expenses, etc. One payment to the card instead of multiple checks written for each expense. Oh yea, we use it for travel too!

 

[hoosierrailfan]

Thanks for the replies. Regarding the annual fee, I seem to remember reading that the first installment is added to the first monthly payment, but I can't seem to remember where I saw that at. Is that correct?

 

[joelkfla]

I see that you are required to spend $1000 during the first 3 billing cycles to get these benefits. Does that mean that it is required for this $1000 to actually post to the account, and for me to pay it after posting, including interest, or is it possible to spend the $1000 and pay it back before the billing cycle ends to avoid interest?

You don't need to pay charges before the end of the cycle in which they're posted to avoid interest. You just need to fully pay each month's closing balance by the due date. If you miss a payment or pay less than the previous cycle's closing balance, you may be hit with interest for 2 months, depending on the exact wording of the agreement.

As an example, if your closing date is the 30th, and you have charges posted in January, you need to pay all those charges by your February payment due date to avoid finance charges.

 

[hoosierrailfan]

Is there an phone number that can be called to make automated payments for this card, or do they insist on paying through their website?

 

[zephyr17]

Thanks for the replies. Regairding the annual fee, I seem to remember reading that the first installment is added to the first monthly payment, but I can't seem to remember where I saw that at. Is that correct?

The fee should show up in your first billing statement. It is then up to you to pay the entire balance of the statement, the minimum payment or something in between. If one of the last two, you'll incur a finance charge. The fee is not different from any other charge.

 

[zephyr17]

Is there an phone number that can be called to make automated payments for this card, or do they insist on paying through their website?

You'll have to ask them, I do all payments online and have for years. I found FNBO's online payment initial setup a bit clunky, but ultimately it works just fine.

 

[TinCan782]

Is there an phone number that can be called to make automated payments for this card, or do they insist on paying through their website?

The phone number on the back of the card is: 855-350-6589.
It is pretty easy to set up scheduled or auto payments on their website though.

 

[hoosierrailfan]

Well, I applied and was approved. Thank you for your input, everyone!

 

[StanJazz]

Has anyone taken advantage of the 20% discount on any Amtrak food and drink purchases?
I purchased a bottle of wine onboard last week, and the charge cleared this week, but without the discount.

Should that happen automatically upon purchase, or is there a credit issued later in the billing cycle?

I made my 1st onboard purchase with the new card last month and the statement states that it can take up to 8 weeks to receive the credit. How long did it take for you.

 

[trimetbusfan]

I made my 1st onboard purchase with the new card last month and the statement states that it can take up to 8 weeks to receive the credit. How long did it take for you.

The rebate is usually posted within a few days of your statement being posted

 

[StanJazz]

The rebate is usually posted within a few days of your statement being posted

Thank You

 

[zephyr17]

Just throwing in another good word for FNBO's customer service agents. I just bought an expensive VIA ticket through VIA Preference phone line so I could apply my 20% off coupon, like I do every year. BoA always used to decline it, then I had to respond to a text message and have to go through the whole VIA keying in the card number yourself rigmarole a second time. I knew this would happen and the last time around I called BoA to try and get it pre-authorized somehow. BoA said they couldn't do that, I'd just have to wait for the text (while keeping the VIA agent on the line). This time, I called FNBO before hand, they transferred me to fraud department and I got the transaction cleared in advance. When I called VIA, the transaction went through the first time around.

Then I tried to book the Amtrak pieces (Cascades, Maple Leaf) on the Amtrak website and I kept getting a "card declined" message for no reason. I called FNBO, actually talked to the very same fraud department person, and they had no record of the transaction from Amtrak being submitted and there were no issues with the card from their end. So I knew it was a problem with Amtrak's highly reliable website. I ended up trying to key the card number again (the FNBO Amtrak card, of course) and then it worked. Amtrak was apparently having an internal problem using the stored card number on my AGR account. But on both calls, the agents were patience, took time to understand my concerns, provided accurate information, and clearly were not working from scripts.

 

[StanJazz]

The rebate is usually posted within a few days of your statement being posted

Mine was in my account the next day after the statement came out. Nowhere near the up to 8 weeks the statement said.

 

[Joe from PA]

I'm fine with the new card. Not getting a email like I used to when the bill is first due, but I keep an eye out and pay the full balance each month.