Passenger Trains > Amtrak sent E-Mail too Buy Points??

Amtrak sent an E-mail few days ago, to buy Amtrak Points. Should buy these points from Amtrak??

Absolutely! I'm sure they are being offered at a very attractive price.

I'd go for it if I was you.

Another airline tactic has arrived. They continually hawk more points; redeeming them for a worthwhile flight is entirely another different matter...lol

I have been purchasing them for several years, a good buy. Get them.

You have to calculate how many points you get per dollar to buy, how much of a ticket the points would buy, and what that trip would cost in actual dollars and no points. The few times I figured it, it was not worth it.

Infrequently, airline points seem to be worth the expense, but
in my case there are enough airline miles (seven figures) "in the bank"
to last for a very long time.

But you have to consider, is there something worth spending those
points/miles on? And will you be able to redeem them on
that trip you want, when the time comes?

If the longhauls go away, in my case the answer for
Amtrak Guest Rewards would be, "NO."
If I need a ride to Sacramento or Bakersfield or a
coach-and-crummysnackbar (if the train even has one...the
Keystones don't) ride in the Northeast, I'll buy a ticket or,
between Philadelphia and New York, perhaps take SEPTA and NJ
Transit.

I'm wondering if the offer to sell Guest Rewards points reflects
a need for immediate cash, despite the "biggest subsidy ever."
The "profitable" Northeast Corridor must REALLY need shoring up.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/18 15:09 by GenePoon.

utwazoo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Another airline tactic has arrived. They
> continually hawk more points; redeeming them for
> a worthwhile flight is entirely another different
> matter...lol

AGR 2.0 arrived long before I even knew a Richard Anderson existed.

Posted from iPhone

Probably wants cash to compensate for the riders lost on the 2 eastern trains. I don't think the LD trains will go away. He needs someplace besides the NEC and PRIIA-209 corridors to dump his fully allocated costs so as to make the NEC appear profitable and the other states not to tell Amtrak to go eff themselves with their trains.

I have bought points from Delta in the past. To reach elevated status. Never had much problem using them for upgrades which is way more cost effective than a free flight. Maybe Amtrak should consider doing the same. Pay for a coach ticket and use points for upgrades to sleepers.

AGR points convert to about 2.9 cents each for most trips. In the current offer with the sliding scale of “Bonus Points”, any purchase of less than 15,000 points will cost more than 2.9 cents per point, making it a losing proposition. From 15,000 on up, the cost divides out to 2.9 cents per point when including the Bonus Points. It’s a break even at best.
There is, however, a slight advantage if you are a holder of the Amtrak credit card and receive the 5% rebate on points exchanged for travel. This increases the net value of the redeemed points to about 3.05 cents. That’s a 0.15 cent premium over the purchase price, assuming a purchase of at least 15,000 points. This yields a “profit” of about $29.25 on that 15,000 point purchase. Offsetting this profit is the credit card’s annual fee.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/18 17:48 by carsoncity.