I’ll admit it: I don’t take Amtrak often. My Amtrak Guest Rewards account has been sitting mostly untouched for years, with a modest balance of points from the occasional trip and credit card sign-ups. Recently, though, I got an alert from AwardWallet (we will write about it in another post) that my points were about to expire. The expiration policy is strict — if you don’t earn or redeem points within 24 months, they’re gone. I didn’t want to see them vanish, so I had to act fast.
Here’s how I managed to keep my Amtrak points from expiring, and what I learned along the way.
The Expiration Problem
Amtrak points are valuable if you use them strategically. You can start redeeming at just 400 points, which makes them one of the easier travel rewards currencies to use. But there’s a catch: no activity for two years, and they expire.
When I logged into my account, I realized my last activity was well over a year and a half ago. Without a plan, my points would have disappeared in just a few weeks.
I had enough points to buy a private room between Chicago and Denver, so I didn’t want to lose them.
My Solution: Buying Points
The simplest way to reset the clock was to buy points. Amtrak sells them in small increments — the minimum being 500 points for about $19. Yes, that’s not a great value on its own (about 3.7 cents per point, which is higher than what you’d normally want to pay). But it was cheaper than losing the balance I already had. You can often buy them cheaper if Amtrak is running a promotion.
So I purchased a small batch of points. The transaction posted immediately to my account, and just like that, the expiration clock reset for another 24 months.
Other Easy Ways to Keep Points Alive
While buying points worked for me, there are other simple ways to keep your Amtrak Guest Rewards account active:
- Earn points on Amtrak travel: 2 points per $1, with bonuses for Business Class (25%) and Acela First (50%).
- Redeem for Amtrak trips: With over 500 destinations, it only takes 400 points to book a ride.
- Get an Amtrak credit card: Both the Amtrak Guest Rewards® Mastercard® and Preferred Mastercard® stop your points from expiring as long as the account is open.
- Complete surveys: Through the Survey Points Club, you can earn points for answering questionnaires. Even if you don’t qualify for a survey, you often earn a handful of points for trying.
- Join the Rail Passengers Association: Membership earns you up to 1,000 points plus travel discounts.
- Shop or gift points: Retail partners, flower deliveries, and energy providers like NRG offer bonus points.
- Redeem for extras: Lounge passes, one-class upgrades, or other Amtrak perks also count as activity.
Any of these options can extend your points another two years.
What I Learned
The biggest lesson? Don’t wait until the last minute. Amtrak doesn’t display a clear expiration date on your account, so you have to track it yourself or use a service like AwardWallet. Without that reminder, I would have missed the deadline.
In the end, buying points was the easiest and fastest option for me. But if you have more time, surveys or a small redemption can do the trick for free.
Bottom Line
Amtrak Guest Rewards points expire after 24 months of inactivity, but it doesn’t take much to keep them alive. In my case, buying points solved the problem in less than 15 minutes. For others, surveys, shopping partners, or just booking a short trip might be the smarter move.
If you’ve got Amtrak points sitting around, check your account activity now. A little action can save you from losing them — and ensure you’ll be ready the next time you want to ride the rails.
