The free TQP ride is over

Old Jul 1, 2022, 1:06 pm
  #1  
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The free TQP ride is over

Somewhere in the middle of the pandemic they started giving TQP's for things they hadn't in the past, like tier multipliers and business class bonuses. They've stopped as of 6/10, I called Amtrak to confirm since I stopped seeing it in my transactions. I guess enough people are back to riding that they no longer have to artificially boost status levels. Select Exec was fun while it lasted but I imagine I'll just reach Select+ as usual this year (in fact, I already have thanks to all the bonuses).
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Old Jul 1, 2022, 1:14 pm
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Originally Posted by musicalbox
Somewhere in the middle of the pandemic they started giving TQP's for things they hadn't in the past, like tier multipliers and business class bonuses. They've stopped as of 6/10, I called Amtrak to confirm since I stopped seeing it in my transactions. I guess enough people are back to riding that they no longer have to artificially boost status levels. Select Exec was fun while it lasted but I imagine I'll just reach Select+ as usual this year (in fact, I already have thanks to all the bonuses).
This I don't think is correct, as there have always been tier multipliers and business/first class bonuses on TQPs.
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Old Jul 1, 2022, 2:32 pm
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Originally Posted by physioprof
This I don't think is correct, as there have always been tier multipliers and business/first class bonuses on TQPs.
Previous to mid-2021 or so you absolutely only got TQP's for 2x the cost of the ride itself (the "Travel Base Earn") and nothing else. You can actually search your transactions and see it for yourself. I did not often go BC or Acela back then because prices were higher but I can see zero TQP's for my tier multiplier or "Select Plus Point Bonus" as it used to be called.
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Old Jul 6, 2022, 12:22 pm
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Originally Posted by musicalbox
Select Exec was fun while it lasted but I imagine I'll just reach Select+ as usual this year (in fact, I already have thanks to all the bonuses).
It kind of puts me in an awkward spot. Last year, I was paying a little extra to upgrade sleepers for 5-7 hour day trips. The additional bonuses allowed me to reach Select+ for the first time in several years.

Having lounge access is nice and I enjoyed seeing renovations in Boston and the new Moynahan station in New York. However, now that many of the TQP promos have passed, I could realistically only qualify for Select if I tried, not living on the NEC makes it more difficult. However, in the past, Amtrak has practiced soft landings, meaning a member's loyalty is only decreased one lever per year, regardless of whether they qualified for the actual status.

Since I was Select+ for 2021-2022, there is a chance I may already be locked into Select for 2023, regardless of the TQPs earned for the remainder of this year.
Regardless, I am just happy many of the long distance trains, including the Empire Builder, are back to 7 day service.

Last edited by diesteldorf; Jul 13, 2022 at 9:09 pm
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Old Jul 7, 2022, 12:30 pm
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Originally Posted by musicalbox
Previous to mid-2021 or so you absolutely only got TQP's for 2x the cost of the ride itself (the "Travel Base Earn") and nothing else. You can actually search your transactions and see it for yourself. I did not often go BC or Acela back then because prices were higher but I can see zero TQP's for my tier multiplier or "Select Plus Point Bonus" as it used to be called.
OK. I just looked through my old and new transactions. You are correct that prior to the special pandemic rules, I only got 2x ticket price "Travel Base Earn" TQPs. However, while the special "Tier Multiplier" and "2x TQP Bonus" TQPs have now gone away, the "25% Point Bonus on all Travel Transactions for Business Class Ticket Purchases" and "50% bonus for all transaction involving a First Class ticket" are still applying not only to reward points but TQPs (at least as of June 24). So Amtrak is still looser with TQPs than prior to the pandemic, although not as generous as they were for a while.
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Old Jul 7, 2022, 4:19 pm
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Originally Posted by physioprof
OK. I just looked through my old and new transactions. You are correct that prior to the special pandemic rules, I only got 2x ticket price "Travel Base Earn" TQPs. However, while the special "Tier Multiplier" and "2x TQP Bonus" TQPs have now gone away, the "25% Point Bonus on all Travel Transactions for Business Class Ticket Purchases" and "50% bonus for all transaction involving a First Class ticket" are still applying not only to reward points but TQPs (at least as of June 24). So Amtrak is still looser with TQPs than prior to the pandemic, although not as generous as they were for a while.
I do not have those after mid-June, although only one trip would have qualified for it, but I will call in and ask if they will give that to me if others are getting it, thanks. I did take a ride in a roommette; does anyone knows if that qualifies for a BC bonus?
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Old Jul 8, 2022, 2:45 am
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Originally Posted by musicalbox
I do not have those after mid-June, although only one trip would have qualified for it, but I will call in and ask if they will give that to me if others are getting it, thanks. I did take a ride in a roommette; does anyone knows if that qualifies for a BC bonus?
I'm pretty sure that sleeper tickets are neither business nor first class.
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Old Jul 11, 2022, 9:54 am
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Originally Posted by musicalbox
Previous to mid-2021 or so you absolutely only got TQP's for 2x the cost of the ride itself (the "Travel Base Earn") and nothing else. You can actually search your transactions and see it for yourself. I did not often go BC or Acela back then because prices were higher but I can see zero TQP's for my tier multiplier or "Select Plus Point Bonus" as it used to be called.
This is half right. Tier multipliers never earned TQPs pre-covid. In early 2022, they started giving TQPs on the tier bonus but stopped in late May or early June. I actually had been assuming this was just a glitch, but perhaps it was a deliberate promo.

But class multipliers (business, first, etc) have absolutely always received TQPs. In fact, the Guest Rewards page specifically says this:

WHAT'S A TIER QUALIFYING POINT?
Tier Qualifying Points count toward your Amtrak Guest Rewards tier status and are earned each calendar year by traveling on Amtrak. You can receive additional TQPs by traveling in Business class or Acela First class.

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Old Jul 12, 2022, 1:58 am
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Originally Posted by Mr. BoH
This is half right. Tier multipliers never earned TQPs pre-covid. In early 2022, they started giving TQPs on the tier bonus but stopped in late May or early June. I actually had been assuming this was just a glitch, but perhaps it was a deliberate promo.

But class multipliers (business, first, etc) have absolutely always received TQPs. In fact, the Guest Rewards page specifically says this:
I looked back at old transactions from pre-pandemic, and I absolutely don't see TQP Class Multipliers on First Class tickets.

For example, for a $172 Acela First Class ticket from January 2020, I see three entries: "Select Plus Point Bonus" (172 earned, no TQPs), "Travel Base Earn" (344 earned, 344 TQPs), and "First Class Type Bonus" (172 earned, no TQPs). This is the scenario for all of my pre-pandemic Acela First Class tickets.

For a $196 Acela First Class ticket from April 2022, I see three entries: "Travel Base Earn" (392 earned, 392 TQPs), "Tier Multiplier for Plus members" (196 earned, 196 TQPs), and "50% bonus for all transaction involving a First Class ticket" (196 earned, 196 TQPs).

For a $175 Acela First Class ticket from late June 2022, I see three entries: "Travel Base Earn" (350 earned, 350 TQPs), "Tier Multiplier for Plus members" (175 earned, no TQPs), and "50% bonus for all transaction involving a First Class ticket" (175 earned, 175 TQPs).

Can you take a look at your pre-pandemic transactions, and see if you have actually experienced a different pattern than this?
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Old Jul 12, 2022, 8:31 am
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Originally Posted by physioprof
I looked back at old transactions from pre-pandemic, and I absolutely don't see TQP Class Multipliers on First Class tickets.

For example, for a $172 Acela First Class ticket from January 2020, I see three entries: "Select Plus Point Bonus" (172 earned, no TQPs), "Travel Base Earn" (344 earned, 344 TQPs), and "First Class Type Bonus" (172 earned, no TQPs). This is the scenario for all of my pre-pandemic Acela First Class tickets.

For a $196 Acela First Class ticket from April 2022, I see three entries: "Travel Base Earn" (392 earned, 392 TQPs), "Tier Multiplier for Plus members" (196 earned, 196 TQPs), and "50% bonus for all transaction involving a First Class ticket" (196 earned, 196 TQPs).

For a $175 Acela First Class ticket from late June 2022, I see three entries: "Travel Base Earn" (350 earned, 350 TQPs), "Tier Multiplier for Plus members" (175 earned, no TQPs), and "50% bonus for all transaction involving a First Class ticket" (175 earned, 175 TQPs).

Can you take a look at your pre-pandemic transactions, and see if you have actually experienced a different pattern than this?
Hmm, interesting, I looked back at my transactions in 2019-2020 and see the same thing. I am thinking this might be some kind erroneous display issue - I had noticed previously that they changed their transaction view interface in the last year or two and loaded in older transactions for viewing. I can tell you for certain that the 2019 class bonuses were in fact counting as TQPs at the time for two reasons: (1) I track them in my own spreadsheet, and it would have immediately shown up to me if they weren't counting, and (2) if I add up all my TQPs currently showing for me on the Amtrak website in 2019, I get 17,000, which can't be correct because I earned Select Exec that year as my actual TQPs were well over 20k.

So I am thinking this is just some kind of display issue for prior caused by a system change, and pre-2021 TQPs don't really matter because everyone's status from them was already set. And taking that logic one step further, perhaps their attempt to fix this prospectively led them to erroneously award TQPs for class bonuses too. I notice that even the language giving the bonus has changed from "Business Class Type Bonus" in 2019, to "25% Point Bonus on all Travel Transactions for Business Class Ticket Purchases" today, which further supports the theory they tweaked something.
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Old Jul 12, 2022, 8:40 am
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Originally Posted by Mr. BoH
Hmm, interesting, I looked back at my transactions in 2019-2020 and see the same thing. I am thinking this might be some kind erroneous display issue - I had noticed previously that they changed their transaction view interface in the last year or two and loaded in older transactions for viewing. I can tell you for certain that the 2019 class bonuses were in fact counting as TQPs at the time for two reasons: (1) I track them in my own spreadsheet, and it would have immediately shown up to me if they weren't counting, and (2) if I add up all my TQPs currently showing for me on the Amtrak website in 2019, I get 17,000, which can't be correct because I earned Select Exec that year as my actual TQPs were well over 20k.

So I am thinking this is just some kind of display issue for prior caused by a system change, and pre-2021 TQPs don't really matter because everyone's status from them was already set. And taking that logic one step further, perhaps their attempt to fix this prospectively led them to erroneously award TQPs for class bonuses too. I notice that even the language giving the bonus has changed from "Business Class Type Bonus" in 2019, to "25% Point Bonus on all Travel Transactions for Business Class Ticket Purchases" today, which further supports the theory they tweaked something.
That makes sense! What is unquestionable is the shift in the last few weeks.
​​​​​​
ETA: OK, I just added up my 2019 TQPs listed in the transactions list, and it adds up to only 7493. As for you, this can't possibly be correct, as I earned Select Plus status that year. So your theory that the class bonuses counted for TQPs back then but simply aren't listed now in the transactions list must be correct.
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Last edited by physioprof; Jul 12, 2022 at 8:50 am
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