Sep 13, 2015, 8:16 am
Last edit by: beltway
Beginning September 12, 2015, two new Amtrak-branded credit cards are available through Bank of America:
Both cards offer the following benefits:
The World MasterCard offers these additional benefits:
If my application is not instantly approved, is there a special contact number for Bank of America?
Try calling 888-221-6262 or 866-811-4108. (M-F 8am-7pm EST)
When will I receive my World MC Companion Coupon/Upgrade Coupon/ClubAcela Pass?
"Companion Coupon and One-Class Upgrade Coupon are available online through your Amtrak Guest Rewards account. Your ClubAcela pass will be mailed to you within 2 weeks of account opening."
How soon will my AGR points post after I complete the required spend?
Bank of America transfers your signup bonus points to Amtrak a day or two after the end of the monthly billing cycle in which you complete the required spend.
Are these cards churnable?
TBD
- World MasterCard (20K pts for $1K spend in 3 months; $79 AF, not waived)
- Platinum MasterCard (12K pts for $1K spend in 3 months; no AF)
Both cards offer the following benefits:
- Earn 1 AGR point for non-Amtrak purchases
- Earn a bonus for Amtrak ticket and on-board purchases
- World MC earns a total of 3 AGR pts/$
- Platinum MC earns 2 AGR pts/$
- Receive a 5% points rebate on award redemptions for Amtrak travel
- No forex fee on purchases outside the US
- Your AGR points will never expire as long as you hold either card
The World MasterCard offers these additional benefits:
- Earn 2 AGR pts/$ on non-Amtrak travel purchases
- Per the T&C, this includes airlines, car rental agencies, hotels, motels, inns, resorts, and steamship/cruise lines. In cases where the merchant of record is not Amtrak, this 2pts/$ category also includes travel agencies, passenger railways, and commuter railways. (The last two were originally excluded, but are included as of 2021 or possibly earlier.)
- Earn 1,000 TQPs for every $5,000 in eligible purchases, up to 4,000 TQPs in any calendar year
- Purchases are credited for the year of the statement on which they are billed. For an account that closes on the 20th of each month, purchases after Dec. 20 will count in the following year.
- On account opening, receive a single-day pass for access to ClubAcela, Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge or First class lounges
- Per T&C, "ClubAcela pass valid for bearer and one guest, or bearer's spouse/domestic partner and children under the age of 21. No same-day ticket required for use."
- On account opening and at each anniversary renewal, receive a Companion Coupon and One-Class Upgrade
- "Companion Coupon valid for one (1) free companion rail fare with the purchase of one (1) regular (full) adult rail fare. Free companion and paying passenger must reserve at the same time and travel together at all times. Valid for travel as one (1) one-way or one (1) roundtrip on one reservation per coupon. For roundtrip usage, both directions of travel must be reserved at the same time. Travel blackout dates apply."
- Blackout dates for 2016: Jan. 2-3; Feb. 12; Feb. 15; Mar. 24-25; Mar. 28; May 27; May 30; Jul. 1; Jul. 4; Sept. 2; Sept. 5; Oct. 10; Nov. 22-23; Nov. 26-28; Dec. 21-24; Dec. 26-30.
- Blackout dates for 2017: Jan. 1-2; Feb. 17; Feb. 20; Apr. 13-14; Apr. 17; May 26; May 29; Sept. 1; Sept. 4; Oct. 9; Nov. 21-22; Nov. 24-27; [other dates TBD].
- "One-Class Upgrade Coupon valid for one (1) space-available, one-way, one-class upgrade. Valid only from Coach to Business class, or from Acela Business class to Acela First class, on a single travel segment or leg. Not valid for upgrade to sleeping car accommodations. Travel blackout dates apply."
- "Companion Coupon valid for one (1) free companion rail fare with the purchase of one (1) regular (full) adult rail fare. Free companion and paying passenger must reserve at the same time and travel together at all times. Valid for travel as one (1) one-way or one (1) roundtrip on one reservation per coupon. For roundtrip usage, both directions of travel must be reserved at the same time. Travel blackout dates apply."
If my application is not instantly approved, is there a special contact number for Bank of America?
Try calling 888-221-6262 or 866-811-4108. (M-F 8am-7pm EST)
When will I receive my World MC Companion Coupon/Upgrade Coupon/ClubAcela Pass?
"Companion Coupon and One-Class Upgrade Coupon are available online through your Amtrak Guest Rewards account. Your ClubAcela pass will be mailed to you within 2 weeks of account opening."
How soon will my AGR points post after I complete the required spend?
Bank of America transfers your signup bonus points to Amtrak a day or two after the end of the monthly billing cycle in which you complete the required spend.
Are these cards churnable?
TBD
New Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard arriving Fall 2015
Aug 13, 2015, 7:31 pm
#61
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,933
For those that don't remember: BofA dumped all of its no-fee partner points/miles cards on other banks (for example, Choice Hotels to Juniper=Barclay) several years ago, saying it wasn't interested in that. As far as I can think of, BofA does not currently have any no-AF cards that earn any kind of partner points/miles right now.
(BofA does have no-AF cards, but AFAIK only ones that earn its own currencies or else earn nothing at all.)
Aug 13, 2015, 8:12 pm
#62
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
Uh-oh. Does that mean there will not be any no-AF version of the card any more?
For those that don't remember: BofA dumped all of its no-fee partner points/miles cards on other banks (for example, Choice Hotels to Juniper=Barclay) several years ago, saying it wasn't interested in that. As far as I can think of, BofA does not currently have any no-AF cards that earn any kind of partner points/miles right now.
(BofA does have no-AF cards, but AFAIK only ones that earn its own currencies or else earn nothing at all.)
For those that don't remember: BofA dumped all of its no-fee partner points/miles cards on other banks (for example, Choice Hotels to Juniper=Barclay) several years ago, saying it wasn't interested in that. As far as I can think of, BofA does not currently have any no-AF cards that earn any kind of partner points/miles right now.
(BofA does have no-AF cards, but AFAIK only ones that earn its own currencies or else earn nothing at all.)
How is BofA's recent track record when it comes to new offers having the AF waived (or not waived) the first year? I haven't applied for any BofA cards in probably 20 years so not at all familiar with them.
Aug 13, 2015, 11:22 pm
#63
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Left Coast
Posts: 862
Earlier this year I missed an opportunity to use a key benefit of this B of A card. Long story short, it turned out it was my bad (careless reading, took me a while to figure out it was my bad), but I went round and round with various reps, until I was quite frustrated and on the verge of cancelling the card, even telling them "let's cancel this card now." Only then did they give in and tossed me a token, one-time-only mileage credit, worth about half the annual fee, just to mollify me. (By then I had realized it really was my bad, so I accepted.) But they were tenacious.
I have the Chase AGR card, and plan to keep it. I seldom travel on Amtrak, so if it ain't broke, there's no need to apply for a new B of A card.
Aug 14, 2015, 4:11 am
#64
Join Date: Jan 2014
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards (SE), Virgin America Elevate, Hyatt Gold Passport (Platinum), VIA Preference
Posts: 3,134
Unless/until the Chase card gets changed, I intend to stick with it. As things stand, there's a good chance that alongside the impending devaluation (barring a shock, that's what it's looking like to me) then there's a good chance I'll take a pass on the new card.
Of course, there are a lot of loose details...if it comes out that the card is still lucrative even after everything (say, I'm able to get TQPs off of the card and/or TQP carry-over like I do with Virgin in addition to a respectable point benefit) then I'll obviously go for it.
Of course, there are a lot of loose details...if it comes out that the card is still lucrative even after everything (say, I'm able to get TQPs off of the card and/or TQP carry-over like I do with Virgin in addition to a respectable point benefit) then I'll obviously go for it.
Aug 18, 2015, 5:51 pm
#66
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: Hilton Diamond, SPG Gold Elite, Marriott Gold Elite, Hyatt Discoverist, Best Western Diamond Select
Posts: 198
So this card, which I only got last year, is now worthless? Glad I at least got the signup bonus, because the measly 2 pts/$ isn't very useful on its own. I'm not really a big spender, and needing to spend $2,000 to earn a $52 one-way NEC ticket isn't exactly an incentive.
Can't see myself applying for a card from BoA, though. A couple of years back, they turned down my request for a credit line increase, and then afterwards did two hard pulls (on two different reports). This didn't sit very well with me. I spent months going back and forth, with them admitting several times that it was in error and promising to delete at least one of them. They never did. My FICOs are all well over 800, yet they insist on treating me like dirt. So no, not crazy about getting in bed with them again.
OK, so after that tangent... we're still unclear as to how long the Chase card will accrue points, or do we know it will stop when the new BoA cards hit the streets? I've read through here and didn't see anything concrete.
Can't see myself applying for a card from BoA, though. A couple of years back, they turned down my request for a credit line increase, and then afterwards did two hard pulls (on two different reports). This didn't sit very well with me. I spent months going back and forth, with them admitting several times that it was in error and promising to delete at least one of them. They never did. My FICOs are all well over 800, yet they insist on treating me like dirt. So no, not crazy about getting in bed with them again.
OK, so after that tangent... we're still unclear as to how long the Chase card will accrue points, or do we know it will stop when the new BoA cards hit the streets? I've read through here and didn't see anything concrete.
Aug 18, 2015, 6:25 pm
#67
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,933
We don't know yet. There's been no word from Chase as to what will happen with existing Chase AGR card accounts.
Until Chase announces something, it still works as before. And the fact that it's the only way (without actively riding Amtrak "enough") to keep your points from expiring very quickly makes this card "priceless" IMHO. (Some people who transferred points into Amtrak without having this card found the points expired very soon thereafter!)
So for me, who hasn't accumulated much AGR points for several years, except the pittance earned when doing a small purchase once or twice year to keep the card alive, the card has been a godsend. I would not have any AGR points any more if it wasn't for this card, because where I'm based Amtrak travel isn't practical for going anywhere I need to go from home, nor do I hardly ever seem to travel (by air) to anywhere where it makes sense for onward travel.
So to me what it earns is secondary to the fact that it keeps whatever I earned years ago intact.
Meanwhile, we have heard nothing about whether Chase will have to turn over the accounts of AGR cardholders to BofA (the way Barclay just turned over the accounts of Best Western cardholders to First National Bank), or whether Chase will be allowed to hold on to existing AGR cardholders for a long time but just unable to offer new AGR cards any more (the way Barclay got the rights from AA to create the AA Aviator Red card only for those who got US Airways cards from Barclay prior to the AA/US programs merger, but doesn't have the rights to offer the AA Aviator Red card to any new customers), or whether you'll have to apply for a new account from BofA but the old account at Chase will die rather than transfer (like happened when Choice Hotels moved from BofA to Barclay several years ago).
So that's at least 3 different ways it could end up for Chase cardholders, and we have no indication yet which way it will go.
Until Chase announces something, it still works as before. And the fact that it's the only way (without actively riding Amtrak "enough") to keep your points from expiring very quickly makes this card "priceless" IMHO. (Some people who transferred points into Amtrak without having this card found the points expired very soon thereafter!)
So for me, who hasn't accumulated much AGR points for several years, except the pittance earned when doing a small purchase once or twice year to keep the card alive, the card has been a godsend. I would not have any AGR points any more if it wasn't for this card, because where I'm based Amtrak travel isn't practical for going anywhere I need to go from home, nor do I hardly ever seem to travel (by air) to anywhere where it makes sense for onward travel.
So to me what it earns is secondary to the fact that it keeps whatever I earned years ago intact.
Meanwhile, we have heard nothing about whether Chase will have to turn over the accounts of AGR cardholders to BofA (the way Barclay just turned over the accounts of Best Western cardholders to First National Bank), or whether Chase will be allowed to hold on to existing AGR cardholders for a long time but just unable to offer new AGR cards any more (the way Barclay got the rights from AA to create the AA Aviator Red card only for those who got US Airways cards from Barclay prior to the AA/US programs merger, but doesn't have the rights to offer the AA Aviator Red card to any new customers), or whether you'll have to apply for a new account from BofA but the old account at Chase will die rather than transfer (like happened when Choice Hotels moved from BofA to Barclay several years ago).
So that's at least 3 different ways it could end up for Chase cardholders, and we have no indication yet which way it will go.
Aug 19, 2015, 7:55 am
#68
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: United Global Services, Amtrak Select Executive
Posts: 4,098
We don't know yet. There's been no word from Chase as to what will happen with existing Chase AGR card accounts.
Until Chase announces something, it still works as before. And the fact that it's the only way (without actively riding Amtrak "enough") to keep your points from expiring very quickly makes this card "priceless" IMHO. (Some people who transferred points into Amtrak without having this card found the points expired very soon thereafter!)
So for me, who hasn't accumulated much AGR points for several years, except the pittance earned when doing a small purchase once or twice year to keep the card alive, the card has been a godsend. I would not have any AGR points any more if it wasn't for this card, because where I'm based Amtrak travel isn't practical for going anywhere I need to go from home, nor do I hardly ever seem to travel (by air) to anywhere where it makes sense for onward travel.
So to me what it earns is secondary to the fact that it keeps whatever I earned years ago intact.
Meanwhile, we have heard nothing about whether Chase will have to turn over the accounts of AGR cardholders to BofA (the way Barclay just turned over the accounts of Best Western cardholders to First National Bank), or whether Chase will be allowed to hold on to existing AGR cardholders for a long time but just unable to offer new AGR cards any more (the way Barclay got the rights from AA to create the AA Aviator Red card only for those who got US Airways cards from Barclay prior to the AA/US programs merger, but doesn't have the rights to offer the AA Aviator Red card to any new customers), or whether you'll have to apply for a new account from BofA but the old account at Chase will die rather than transfer (like happened when Choice Hotels moved from BofA to Barclay several years ago).
So that's at least 3 different ways it could end up for Chase cardholders, and we have no indication yet which way it will go.
Until Chase announces something, it still works as before. And the fact that it's the only way (without actively riding Amtrak "enough") to keep your points from expiring very quickly makes this card "priceless" IMHO. (Some people who transferred points into Amtrak without having this card found the points expired very soon thereafter!)
So for me, who hasn't accumulated much AGR points for several years, except the pittance earned when doing a small purchase once or twice year to keep the card alive, the card has been a godsend. I would not have any AGR points any more if it wasn't for this card, because where I'm based Amtrak travel isn't practical for going anywhere I need to go from home, nor do I hardly ever seem to travel (by air) to anywhere where it makes sense for onward travel.
So to me what it earns is secondary to the fact that it keeps whatever I earned years ago intact.
Meanwhile, we have heard nothing about whether Chase will have to turn over the accounts of AGR cardholders to BofA (the way Barclay just turned over the accounts of Best Western cardholders to First National Bank), or whether Chase will be allowed to hold on to existing AGR cardholders for a long time but just unable to offer new AGR cards any more (the way Barclay got the rights from AA to create the AA Aviator Red card only for those who got US Airways cards from Barclay prior to the AA/US programs merger, but doesn't have the rights to offer the AA Aviator Red card to any new customers), or whether you'll have to apply for a new account from BofA but the old account at Chase will die rather than transfer (like happened when Choice Hotels moved from BofA to Barclay several years ago).
So that's at least 3 different ways it could end up for Chase cardholders, and we have no indication yet which way it will go.
Aug 20, 2015, 3:10 pm
#69
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
Programs: Marriott lifetime Titanium, Delta Platinum
Posts: 5,472
It's at least hopeful to note that the U.S. Virgin Atlantic credit card is co-branded with Bank of America. Nevertheless, Chase allows transfers from Ultimate Rewards to Virgin's Flying Club.
Last edited by ohmark; Aug 21, 2015 at 11:15 am
Aug 21, 2015, 12:34 pm
#70
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
Also, FWIW, Korean Air is an Ultimate Rewards transfer partner even though US Bank issues the co-branded credit card.
Aug 21, 2015, 2:22 pm
#71
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: United Global Services, Amtrak Select Executive
Posts: 4,098
Aug 27, 2015, 11:52 am
#72
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Philly suburbs
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards, BOA Travel Visa,
Posts: 56
Aug 27, 2015, 11:58 am
#73
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Philly suburbs
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards, BOA Travel Visa,
Posts: 56
Aug 27, 2015, 1:53 pm
#74
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: United Global Services, Amtrak Select Executive
Posts: 4,098
I've got about 75,000 points that I'm thinking of transfering. However, I assume there will be some reasonable notice of the end of transferability. I can't imagine that we'll just wake up one morning and it will have ended with no warning.
Aug 27, 2015, 2:05 pm
#75
In Memoriam
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: New York, NY, USA
Programs: HH Diamond, Amtrak Exec
Posts: 3,262
Well hopefully things have improved at AGR and there will be a warning. But there have been changes to transfer rules in the past that came with zero warning; so history is not exactly favorable.