It appears these rumors are true, as the Amtrak Guest Rewards Mastercard is no longer available. According to Julie, the virtual assistant, "Unfortunately, we do not currently offer an Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card."
Earn With Status MilesMember: Earn 2 Amtrak Guest Rewards for every dollar spent. Select: Get 25% more Amtrak Guest Rewards for every dollar spent. Select Plus: Get 50% more Amtrak Guest Rewards for every dollar spent. Select Executive: Get 100% more Amtrak Guest Rewards for every dollar spent.
To become a member, travelers must simply sign up online or by phone at 1-800-307-5000. That's when you'll receive a unique Amtrak Guest Rewards number. It's free to join, and if you travel within 90 days of becoming a member, you'll receive an additional 500 bonus points.
If the passenger does not produce a valid ticket or proof of payment, the conductor may ask them to pay the fare or exit the train at the next station.
Each passenger paying a fare will be entitled to a seat, to the extent coach seats are available. Passengers are entitled to one seat per fare, to ensure other paying passengers are not excluded.
We'll track your purchases automatically and calculate how many points you've earned. Your points will show in your Amtrak Guest Rewards Points for Shopping account as “Pending” within five working days.
As far as travel rewards points go, this is pretty exceptional value for those who enjoy taking Amtrak trains. Depending on how you choose to redeem your points, the 50,000-point welcome bonus would be worth between $1,100 and $1,400 in Amtrak tickets!
The $99-annual-fee Amtrak credit card features a limited-time welcome offer: Earn 40,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in the first three billing cycles (as of March 2023).
Amtrak points are worth more than most other reward currencies, with each point worth about 2.9c toward most train fares (or 2.56 on Acela fares). That means that the 40K offer on the Amtrak Rewards Preferred card will buy you well over $1,000 in train tickets (nearly $1200 on non-Acela service!).
While not nearly as expensive, taking an Amtrak train across the US is also largely the domain of rail enthusiasts as it takes multiple days and costs significantly more than flying. In countries like Japan, South Korea and much of Europe, the opposite is true as the train is simply a way to travel larger distances.