Does anyone know what limitations would be on the reward listed below. It's from the Amtrak rewards program. Almost sounds too good to be true. I can get 7 nights at a Marriott resort for 105K points?

Anytime One Night Flex Points: 15,000 Item #: 4007
Dream about the possibilities from a selection of over 1,500 Marriott Hotels in the United States. Breakfast for two and all applicable taxes are included with this award. Once you receive your award, call a Marriott travel professional at 1-800-899-7235 and reference the �Rate Program� on the back of the certificate when making reservations. Participating hotels include Marriott� Hotels, Resorts and Suites�; Residence Inn� by Marriott; Courtyard� by Marriott; Fairfield Inn� by Marriott; SpringHill Suites� by Marriott and Towneplace Suites� by Marriott.

I am not familiar with Amtrak's program, but one concern would be the "1,500 Marriott Hotels". Marriott has over 2,000 hotels, so I'm guessing that it excludes many of the top destinations/resorts.

I have called both Marriott and Amtrak Guest Rewards, and no one seems to know the answer to this question. At 10,000 points for a weekend and 15,000 points for a weekday, it seems to good to be true at the higher end Marriott's.

Todd

How much do you consider each Amtrak point to be worth? (I didn't even know they had a program...) Without knowing that, it's hard to say whether this is a steal or not.

Marriott has 2100 worldwide, but 1500 sounds about right for the US. Still, I agree with your point: find out the fine print about the top properties. Does "U.S." get fine-tuned to "continental U.S." in the fine print? Are there blackout dates, etc.?

http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/

1 Amtrak pt per dollar. 2 pts for Amtrak eligible charges. (Plus points for eligible Amtrak travel).

The interesting feature of this card is that it's an MBNA no-fee card that can be used to earn 1 mile per dollar on UA (in 5k increments).

There's also a bunch of partner awards that get you a $50 gift certificate for 5k Amtrak points.

-David




[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 03-02-2002).]

Looks like this program gives far better value when you redeem for train tickets (like 3 to 5 times more value). I guess that's like any travel program, isn't it? When you start transferring out for other types of redemptions, you lose a lot of the bang for your point.

Having said that, if you have zero use for train travel awards, the Partner Rewards pretty consistently give you one cent per point in value. Provided the fine print on those Marriott certs isn't too draconian, the Flex Awards look like a good way to earn MORE than 1 penny per point, if they are accepted at the nicer resorts/hotels.

Not really. Keep in mind that those points are Amtrak points and not Marriott Rewards points. Amtrak points can be transferred 1:1 to UA and CO miles (in 5,000 points increments), so their value is much higher than the value of Marriott Rewards points.

Anyone ever get clarification on this? I'm cleaning out my CO account via Amtrak and this seems like an interesting option for some of my miles.

Participating locations:
http://www.marriott.com/incentives/l...ns/mar_us1.asp

Thank you. Not the bargain I was hoping for.