Guest Rewards World Mastercard Questions

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A

Amfortas

Joined
Aug 3, 2017
Messages
4
Hello everyone, I'm considering getting the Guest Rewards World MasterCard and wanted to make sure that I understand everything correctly and that it would be the best choice for my situation. I have a few questions and would appreciate any input.

Brief background: I'm going to be a grad student making frequent trips between NYP and BAL along with my girlfriend. I would guess that we'll take 30 Amtrak trips per year.

First question: For the $1,000 you have to spend to unlock the offer (20,000 points) - obviously it's best to spend this on Amtrak travel to get the most points, but it's also impossible for us to accurately plan our dates of travel this far in advance. Is there a way to make this work? Would a $1,000 Amtrak gift card count towards the 3x points or is there some other way to get the offer with points?

Secondly, it's 5x points for Amtrak travel right? 3x for the card and an extra 2x for the guest rewards normally?

Lastly, the money spent on saver and student discount tickets counts towards earning points yes? I know you can't *redeem* points for these tickets, but we'll be buying saver and student discount tickets as much as possible so I wanted to be sure these tickets will still give full points.

I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!
 
I believe the current promo is 30k points spending 1,000 in first 90 days. Any purchase will get you 1 point per dollar, certain travel related (hotel, cruise, car rental) 2 points, Amtrak 3 points per dollar (besides Amtrak tickets, on-board purchases such as food and beverage also get you 3 points per dollar).

Yes, 3 points from the card and 2 points from Amtrak travel totaling 5 points.

Also, look into using the "shopping portal" on the AGR website for earning points. Depending on the merchant you can get 1, 2, 3 and sometimes even more points per dollar. I've been doing more and more shopping that way, including pick up at store. You'll get the points for using that merchant plus the point per dollar using the credit card.

Any points awarded by Amtrak (and BofA) are based on the purchase price of the ticket....a lower fare will get you fewer points than a full fare.

Good Luck
 
The 3 points/$ for Amtrak is for the fee card only. The free credit card only gives 2 points/$ for Amtrak and 1 point/$ for anything else.

I use my card for EVERYTHING to get the bonus. This includes minor purchases like buying coffee, candy, etc... that may cost under $1! (Believe it or not, these add up.) And as mentioned, check out the Points For Shopping portal. If you're going to buy something from Home Depot, Best Buy, Wal-Mart or Staples anyway, why not get points for the purchase for using your card AND ADDITIONAL points from AGR! And at these above stores, you can order your items online and drive to your local store to pick them up that day! :)
 
The Walmart ladies call me the LItter Guy since I order my cat litter through the portal and pick it up at the layaway counter. Lots of strange looks at Christmas time.. :p Yes, we put everything we buy on the card and reap the benefits in free Amtrak travel.
 
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Totally agree with Railroad Bill and The Travel. I use my AGR Rewards MasterCard just as I would a debit card. I charge all purchases that I would normally make with cash or a debit card to earn points, including payment of some normal, monthly household bills. The points add up very quickly. And I have the added protection that comes with using a credit card.
 
I'd just put normal purchases on the credit card. Maybe think about whether to purchase Amtrak tickets or not if you ever decide to cancel the card, but for the bonus I'd just do normal purchasing. There's no special advantage to purchasing it before the 20,000 bonus points than after.
 
I have several credit cards, so I probably don't use the AGR card as much as I could. However, up to this point, people that pay $79.99 for the fee card have been getting an upgrade coupon and free companion pass on their card anniversary date.

Since the OP is going to be doing much of his travelling with hs significant other, the companion pass could probably be used to offset a portion of the $79.99 annual fee.

Realistically, I am probably not spending enough on the card to justify the annual fee. However, the free coupons have kept me from downgrading to the free card.
 
And wow that was simple. Applied online and got immediately approved with the 30K point offer. Horray! Thanks again
 
all I see is the 20000 for the fee card where are u seeing 30000 for it please let me know thanks
 
I recall that there is also a provision on the fee card that provides for several thousand TQP if your purchases meet a certain criteria. Not sure if this was one time deal or if it repeats every year. Maybe someone who knows this part of the plan can explain it.
 
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dlagrua said:
I recall that there is also a provision on the fee card that provides for several thousand TQP if your purchases meet a certain criteria. Not sure if this was one time deal or if it repeats every year. Maybe someone who knows this part of the plan can explain it.
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It is still in effect. Got Select this year because of it.

Can't provide a lot of detail because I never really chased down TQP...it just happened. I'd have to go read the "fine print" regarding perks.

I do get some extra points for Amtrak travel and "coupons" because of it though.
 
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districtRich said:
You get 1000 TQP for every $5000 you spend, up to 4000 TQP a year
Click to expand...
Quick question on this: last year I received these as they came in. That is, if in January and February I spent $5000 total, it would show in my account after my closing date on about March 5th. This year, they are showing quarterly, so I received 1,000 TQP's on 3/1 and 6/1 respectively. Is that the case for others or just me?
 
Bex said:
districtRich said:
You get 1000 TQP for every $5000 you spend, up to 4000 TQP a year
Click to expand...
Quick question on this: last year I received these as they came in. That is, if in January and February I spent $5000 total, it would show in my account after my closing date on about March 5th. This year, they are showing quarterly, so I received 1,000 TQP's on 3/1 and 6/1 respectively. Is that the case for others or just me?
Click to expand...
Mine have posted on 3/8 (statement closing date), 4/1, and 6/1 this year so far. I can't figure out the pattern.
 

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