Bonus Points Now On Sale

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You can do that.

Or your husband can just keep the points and redeem them for you.

It's never a good idea to buy tickets without a bonus unless you need them Right Now (or it's Dec 31st).
Thanks! Long story long: We want to do a 3-zone rewards trip (to a convention in Wash DC) so I had enough in March after I purchased 10K and booked a roomette; I intended to upgrade to a bedroom as soon as I got 25K more.

Last minute, a friend and her son are planning to go to the same convention, so to help her out, I want to get them a roomette as well. Trying to get enough points now to get THEM a roomette and still upgrade us to a bedroom.

So now am applying for card for my husband (he's not listed on my card - read others' advice to keep it separate for extra rewards) and figure that between the 12K sign on bonus and the 13K (10 + 3) I can gift to his account, we should be close to another roomette in a couple of months, and hopefully they're still available!

Thanks again.
 
Last minute, a friend and her son are planning to go to the same convention, so to help her out, I want to get them a roomette as well. Trying to get enough points now to get THEM a roomette and still upgrade us to a bedroom.

So now am applying for card for my husband (he's not listed on my card - read others' advice to keep it separate for extra rewards) and figure that between the 12K sign on bonus and the 13K (10 + 3) I can gift to his account, we should be close to another roomette in a couple of months, and hopefully they're still available!
I am not positive, but I think that there is an annual transfer limit. The points plus bonus can exceed the 10,000 annual points purchase limit, but a transfer annual limit (I think it's 10,000 points) can not be exceeded.
No email, no bonus when I go to buy points.I must be on AGRs bad side for some reason. :(
Me too! :(
 
I got the 30 percent offer in this morning's email. I wonder if they're going to send them out on a quarterly basis all year. I've got 30 days to buy them. I just this morning returned home from a trip so I am motivated to buy them for the next one.
 
I am not positive, but I think that there is an annual transfer limit. The points plus bonus can exceed the 10,000 annual points purchase limit, but a transfer annual limit (I think it's 10,000 points) can not be exceeded.
Ah, you're probably right. I will have to check - it's 7-10 days till hubby gets card, then I need to figure out all the rigamarole. Thanks!
 
From the T's and C's:

H. Buy/Gift Points

  • To purchase points, you must have your Amtrak Guest Rewards member number, the recipient's Amtrak Guest Rewards member number, and a valid credit card accepted by Points.com.
  • Amtrak Guest Rewards Buy/Gift Points can be purchased in increments of 500 points, and each Member may buy or receive up to a total of 10,000 points in a calendar year. Select Executive Members are not subject to limits on the number of points they may Buy/Gift/Share.
  • The Amtrak Guest Rewards Buy/Gift Points will be posted to your account within 72 hours.
  • Buy/Gift Points do not count toward Select, Select Plus or Select Executive status.
  • GST/HST and/or other applicable taxes apply to residents in Canada. Buy/Gift Points purchases are sold in U.S. Dollars. Amtrak Guest Rewards Buy/Gift Points are not refundable, not transferable, and not exchangeable. Other terms may apply.
  • Buy/Gift Points are issued by Points.com.
I. Share Points
  • To share points, you must have your Amtrak Guest Rewards member number and the recipient's Amtrak Guest Rewards member number.
  • Amtrak Guest Rewards Share Points can be purchased in increments of 1,000 points with a total of 100,000 points per account in a calendar year. Select Executive Members are not subject to limits on the number of points they may Buy/Gift/Share.
  • The Amtrak Guest Rewards Share Points will be posted to the recipient's Amtrak Guest Rewards account within 72 hours.
  • Share Points do not count toward Select, Select Plus or Select Executive status.
  • You will be charged $0.01 USD per point. GST/HST and/or other applicable taxes apply to residents in Canada. Share Points are sold in U.S. Dollars.
  • Amtrak Guest Rewards retains the right to transfer points back to the original account if the payment is not received.
  • All Share Points transactions are final. Once a transaction is complete and payment is received, the points will not be re-deposited to the original account under any circumstance.
  • Any points transferred through this agreement may not be conveyed to persons engaged in the sale, direct or indirect of points or arranging for the sale of such points. Any improper usage of points pursuant to this Agreement and the Share Points program, or any other misuse of points, shall be grounds for immediate confiscation and forfeiture of such points, and may be grounds for the forfeiture of all points in the Member's account and the Member's ejection from the Amtrak Guest Rewards Program.
  • Share Points are issued by Points.com.
  • Amtrak Guest Rewards Share Points are not refundable, not transferable, and not exchangeable. Other terms may apply.
I am unsure if the 10,000 point gift limit applies to incoming shared points. It doesn't appear to, so you should be able to share as many points as you want with your husband. You may want to look into that, though.
 
I don't understand why anyone would want to gift or transfer points to a spouse. I buy points for myself and my spouse buys points-using the same credit card.

If there are not enough points in one account the return trip is booked on the other account. If I am going to transfer points it is only going to be from Chase Sapphire to AGR where it is 1/1 and there are no fees involved. Before I got the Sapphire Card i would plan very carefully which AGR credit card(mine or hubby's)to use on a purchase so that points were balanced as needed for any particuar trip.
 
If I have 10,000 points and my wife has 10,000 points and I want a 2-zone roomette (20,000 points), a transfer is the cheapest and easiest way to do that. Combine the points into one account and book it.
 
I understand what you are saying Ryan. To avoid that situation and the need to transfer is why I established our strategy. Getting the Sapphire Card gave us a 40,000 point base(and now we use it for most purchases since points are transferred free). I also buy points for both of us every year,trying to hit a 30% bonus if I can. This last year I bought the last bonus in december and the first after the new year, so we both got 26,000 extra points under our belt for this year already-not including the ultimate reward points. Granted we usually only take about 4/5 round trips a year, but still have points for carryover. I do pay for trips when using points doesn't make sense, but this enables us to take many more trips by train than otherwise, unfortunately the drawback is I will probably never get status....but I can live with that. :)
 
I don't understand why anyone would want to gift or transfer points to a spouse. I buy points for myself and my spouse buys points-using the same credit card.

If there are not enough points in one account the return trip is booked on the other account. If I am going to transfer points it is only going to be from Chase Sapphire to AGR where it is 1/1 and there are no fees involved. Before I got the Sapphire Card i would plan very carefully which AGR credit card(mine or hubby's)to use on a purchase so that points were balanced as needed for any particuar trip.
She didn't get bonus offer but I did so I bought 10K for myself with bonus and 10K for her with bonus. She also had only 23.9K points and needed 25K for 1 one BR. Won't have opportunity to gain points on her account as only planned trip is AGR.

I don't know if there will be a problem because even after I bought the 10K for me, I tried doing it again for myself (did not complete it) and it still offered me the bonus.

UPDATE:

Wow! 24 hours and both the 10K points I bought for myself and the ones I bought for her show the 3K bonus.
 
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I went to Amtrak insider as asked what can be done to get those bonus emails. While

I didn't get a response, I did get an email the next day with a bonus offer 30%.
 
I recently received the 50% bonus points email offer when buying points and this might be a dumb question, but I rather ask and be certain. Is it worth it to buy 10K points for $275 and get the bonus 50% points for a total of 15K points? I know that the cost of a one zone sleeper is 15K points so this does sound like a good deal.
 
I recently received the 50% bonus points email offer when buying points and this might be a dumb question, but I rather ask and be certain. Is it worth it to buy 10K points for $275 and get the bonus 50% points for a total of 15K points? I know that the cost of a one zone sleeper is 15K points so this does sound like a good deal.
I think it is, depending on the route you want to take. For example, my roomette from Chicago to San Francisco this fall was around $800. A roomette from Chicago to ABQ during Christmas is $650 if we buy it at the right time.

Plus, those points cover the connecting train as well. We get business class from Kalamazoo to Chicago and then a roomette to wherever we're heading.

So, yes, in those cases, it's definitely worth it, as we're saving anywhere from $500 - $700 (approximately).

For some trains, roomettes are around $250, so you'd want to pay cash for those trips and then save your points for the more expensive ones.
 
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My wife and I both got a 50% bonus offer via email this morning around 6am. Finally feeling the love from AGR !!

Either there's a new wave of offers or they finally got down to our end of the alphabet. Whichever - SOLD!
 
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