Are You All Aboard for the BoA 30k Amtrak Offer?

As first reported by Doctor of Credit, the Bank of America Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard now offers 30k Amtrak bonus points. Normally, the credit card comes with 20k bonus points, but it has been as high as 30k Amtrak points before.

 

The 30k Amtrak Offer

Let’s look at the details of this card offer:

*Earn 30,000 bonus points after spending $1000 in the first 90 days

*$79 annual fee is NOT waived

*5% points rebate on redemptions

*Enjoy a complimentary Companion Coupon, One-Class Upgrade and Single-Visit Station Lounge Pass upon account opening

*Card earns 3X points on Amtrak, 2X points on travel and 1X points on all other purchases

*Points do not expire as long as you have the card open.

*No foreign transaction fees

You can find this offer on the Amtrak Guest Rewards page here. The terms and conditions say that applications must be received by 9/30/18, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the link is pulled before that based on history. Note: SPG points will no longer transfer to Amtrak as of 8/1/18.

What are 30k Amtrak Points Worth?

Amtrak points are worth 2.5 cents each on the Acela train and 2.9 cents on all other trains. With the rebate on redemptions, you can get around $900 out of this card’s bonus. And that ain’t too shabby!

How far you go with these points depends on the cash price of the tickets and whether you reserve coach seats or sleeping cabins.

As an example, I priced out two adults and two kids from Chicago to Dallas over Thanksgiving week in two roomettes (sleeping compartments for two). The cash price is $676, and the points price is 23,322. Keep in mind that meals in the dining car are included with sleeping compartments. If we skipped the sleeping compartments, we would only need 13,662 points.

My Train Trip on the California Zephyr

Last summer, I traveled with my three kids on Amtrak’s California Zephyr from San Francisco to Denver in a Superliner Family Bedroom. You can read my review here.

In short, we loved the scenery and enjoyed our down time on the train. Two of my kids loved the experience, and my other kid was “meh” about it.

It’s been an entire year since that trip, and I figured it was a once and done thing. However, recently all three of my kids have expressed interest multiple times in doing another overnight train trip on Amtrak. Even my “meh” child said he wanted to give it another try, this time without an allergic reaction (he had itchy hives the whole trip due to a food allergy that flared right before our train trip).

Since my sister lives near Chicago, I’m considering taking my kids there to visit her and the city some day. We could fly one way and return by train.

Bank of America Application Rules

Bank of America has a 2/3/4 rule. You can apply for up to two BoA cards every two months, up to three cards every 12 months and up to 4 cards every 24 months. Only BoA cards count, not other banks’ credit cards. See this post for more details.

According to reports on reddit, Amtrak cards are churnable. BoA appears to be sensitive to recent card openings, so if you are a frequent player in the miles and points hobby, YMMV. I applied for the BoA Premium Rewards card a few months ago and was denied based on too many recent inquiries. However, users report that the Premium Rewards card is harder to get approved for than other cards from BoA.

Does Amtrak train travel interest you? How would you use 30k Amtrak points?

Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses