modernguy

So the website tells you when older points will expire? ex: 1,000 going to expire on this date?

fairviewroad

Welcome to FT, modernguy!

Points don't expire on a rolling basis (thank goodness). They either ALL expire...or they don't, if you travel at least once in 3 years.

Even though the T&C make it clear that you do need to travel once every three years to prevent your points from expiring, I don't immediately see an "expiration date" when I log in to my account. You could figure this out by using the account activity function and seeing when your last Amtrak trip posted. (I tried to view 3 years of activity in one shot just now and the site gave me an error, so either you have to take it in smaller batches or there is a temporary glitch)

ibrandsguest

From the AGR website, under "Terms and Conditions":

D. Point Expiration
1.Subject to the terms of this TOC, Points earned under the Program will not expire as long as the Program continues and the Member travels on Amtrak using their Membership Number within a 3-year period.
2.If no Amtrak travel is purchased, recorded or reported within a 3-year period, or if you do not make and honor an Amtrak travel reservation within this timeframe, your points will expire. You can view all Point and Travel activity by logging into "My Account" on this Site.

varasani

My points expired last year (September 09) for there were no paid travel in the previous 3 years. The CSR I spoke with said that she can't do anything about the expiration but since it expired I just have to make a trip going forward in the next 3 years. I even made a reminder on my calendar to do a paid travel before September 2012 and now this..
Now the points I transferred on April 14 2010 expired on 04/26/10! Now that is crazy. Looking back at my account history for the last three years, my point balances have expired every Sep/Oct for the last 3 years. Is that supposed to happen? Is it me or has AGR customer service been going down and down?

cliff9973

This happened to me too, where my last trip was like 2.5 years ago, and after transferring lots of points from continental they expired right away. I spoke with a manager and he reinstated my points as a one "lifetime" exception.

jackal

It does seem like an odd policy; no other mainline U.S. carrier requires non-partner "butt-in-seat" activity to keep points active.

Given that AGR earns money from partner activity (partners pay AGR for points), and especially given that a good swath of America is not covered by convenient Amtrak service [not only whole states like SD, WY, HI, and AK and major cities like Houston, but also: if you live in Minot or Spokane or San Antonio or Atlanta, where can you take a train for a point run that doesn't involve hours on a platform waiting for a return train?], I find that this policy both doesn't make sense and is poor customer service. AGR Insider, are you listening?

AGR Insider

Good Morning, Jackal-
There is another way around the point expiration policy, become an AGR Chase Mastercard cardholder.
Vicky Radke, Amtrak Loyalty

jackal

Thanks for the response, Vicky! Is this new? I am a Chase AGR MC holder, but as far as I've been aware, that doesn't change the point expiration policy. I haven't been actively following the Amtrak forum here on FlyerTalk or on Amtrak Unlimited in the last few months, though, so perhaps this is new as of this year?

DivMiler

While I live in an area where there is plenty of Amtrak service (the Keystones and the Pennsylvanian), it is good to see there is another way to keep points active for those who are not so lucky.

And in any case, to transfer the points to a partner, you still have to spend $200 on Amtrak travel.

Finally, I'm glad to see that at least on Amtrak Guest Rewards staffer is working on a weekend!

Ispolkom

I'm confused. The AGR T & C says what NYCommuter posted. Nothing about the Mastercard.

I don't think that requiring members to ride a train every three years is terribly onerous. After all, AGR is a frequent traveler program. And I write this as someone who has access to two trains a day (which I occasionally take to and from Minot, to use one of Jackal's examples).

jackal

Is it a frequent traveler program or a loyalty program? I view it as the latter. It keeps me loyal: even in years where I travel lightly, I still choose Amtrak (Regional or Acela) over the cheap buses in the NEC. I think that has value to Amtrak.

AGR Insider, can you verify Ispolkom's comment about the AGR MC not affecting point expiration?

AGR Insider

This is a benefit of being a Chase Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard cardholder and has been promoted in card aquisition materials. It may appear in terms and conditions for the card, but not for the AGR program.

Vicky Radke, Program Manager
Amtrak Guest Rewards

varasani

1) I called up Amtrak Guest Rewards CSR and explained the sudden sudden usurp by the AGR System! He agreed that once it expires, it shouldn't expire for another three years as told by the CSR I spoke with last year (He couldn't locate the record of that conversation ! ). He said he is going to put in a note to have my 8,000 points restored.
2) I asked him about the points not expiring if you have a Chase Card as posted by AGRInsider and he said that is true.
3) Off topic a bit. I told him the banner offer in my AGR Account when I applied for the Chase card was 18K on first purchase and another 18K when I spend 2K within 90 days. But when I called Chase to activate I was told I would get 9K+9K. When I explained to her she asked me to talk to AGR CSR. Luckily I had seen another post here where the exact same thing happened, so I had made a screenshot of the offer before applying. He said he is going to escalate this so that I get 18K+18K as promised in the offer. ^

Note: I also told him that it would be nice to show up when I login as to when my points expire. When he told me about the email reminder, I told him that I have never got an email about point expiration. He didn't know why, but he said if I start using Chase Card, that won't be an issue anymore.. Hopefully that rule will not be changed anytime soon.

Brendan

I last rode an Amtrak train in Oct. 2006. On April 29/ 2010 I got an email announcing that I need to ride a train by July 29 or else lose my 5K, which I will probably spend soon.
I don't live near an Amtrak station. I wish trains served Wilmington NC.
Oh-so-thank-U, Cliff & Varasani above for info what happens AFTER expiration !

GoAmtrak

That's a great idea. @:-) Even the awful united.bomb lists one's current date of mileage expiry on the mileage summary page.