RedSun

I could not find the answer. What are the ways to earn TQPs beyond riding Amtrak? For the BA credit card, you can get 1,000 TQPs for each $5,000 spending on the card, up to 4,000 TQPs total for the year. So you still need to earn the last 1,000 TQPs through Amtrak rides? This is going to cost $20,000 spending and several hundreds of $$ spending on Amtrak.

musicalbox

There aren't any, as far as I know. It doesn't cost $20k if it's money you would have been spending, anyway. That is, I just put every single thing I buy on that card, bills that accept CC, etc. Also, if you are spending money on Amtrak or other qualifying travel, it brings 3 points or 2 points per $1 respectively, so that's less than $20k. I get 4000 TQP's each year fairly easily and I am not an especially big spender, I just spend with that card.

Re your last point, it would take $500 spent on Amtrak travel and I guess my question is, if you are not a person who spends $500 on Amtrak a year, why is getting to Select that important for you?

RedSun

This was the question I was going to ask, or ask myself. I still do not know, so my asking.

Amtrak is really a niche market. It is never a mass market, like car travel or air travel. It may not be worth the $20,000 spending on the card and invest in the program. Just need to think it over.

musicalbox

It's really a question that is based on your own travel habits and priorities. If you don't travel much on Amtrak, it's not worth much. You get a few coupons, which are nice, and a 25% bonus point bonus but if you don't travel even $500 worth of trips, it won't add up to much.

I hit Select naturally just by my travel. For me, S+ is where it's at because I travel out of NYP which has a Club Acela and you get priority boarding from there. So thus it's worth it to get the card because it's what puts me over the edge. But $500 of Amtrak travel could be as little as a round trip on Acela or 5-6 trips on the Regional. I wouldn't care at all about TQP's if I used Amtrak that little.

uppereastsider

The only benefits to earning status for a non Amtrak rider would be the ability to transfer points to Choice Hotels (Amtrak CC members who spend 20k can transfer 25k AGR to Choice, while Select/S+ can transfer 50k and SE can transfer any limit) or to earn Select Plus or higher to get United Club Access even when not flying United or the ability to use ClubAcela whenever (with my next question being... why would someone go to a ClubAcela when not riding Amtrak???). For certain people in certain travel situations, the AGR to Choice ratio can be very beneficial (https://www.pointswithacrew.com/4-be...choice-points/)

Using the blog example, you can book Comfort Suites Paradise Island for 445/night. If you spend 20k on the Amtrak card and earn 20k points, you can transfer those points to earn 60,000 choice points. At a redemption of almost 890 dollars in value, you'd be earning 4.45% back on spend with the card (assuming its all non bonused 1pt/dollar spend). I have to think this is an outlier, but its a great way for a frugal family vacation earned just on CC spend.

Other than that, I can't think of any reason to go for status on Amtrak if you don't ride Amtrak.