Here’s a great opportunity for reduced price Amtrak travel!

The Deal

Amtrak is running a special promo that gives you a 50% bonus on purchased points until June 30, 2014. Typically, the number of points that you’re allowed to purchase for yourself or receive as a gift from another member is 10,000 per calendar year but, because this is a 50% bonus on purchased points, you can buy up to 10k points for $275 and will get 15k points:

Analysis

This is a great deal, especially for those who don’t have a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Plus/Bold that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to Amtrak. We’ve used Amtrak points a good deal in the past, and squeezed an enormous amount of value out of them. Here are a few of our Amtrak related posts:

• Amtrak Silver Meteor 98 Roomette – Charleston to New York Penn Station
• Amtrak Acela Express First Class: Washington, D.C.-WAS to New York-NYP
• Amtrak Acela First Class: ClubAcela Lounge at Union Station Washington, D.C.

If you end up purchasing the full 15k points for $275, you’ll easily be able to get much more than $275 worth of value out out of them. We suggest booking a Roomette or Bedroom:

Amtrak’s award chart, like most airlines, is zone based:

The best bang for your buck is a One Zone Roomette or Bedroom redemption. This will get you a private room and all meals provided in the dining car. Roomettes require 15k points and Bedrooms require 25k points:

To put this in perspective, 2 people could travel from Miami to Boston in a private sleeper car for just 15k Amtrak points, or a $275 purchase. Booking this trip with cash could cost as much as $1,205:

How to Get It

1. Register for Amtrak Guest Rewards (if you do not have an Amtrak account): Amtrak Guest Rewards
2. Head to Amtrak Guest Rewards: Buy Points
3. Buy any amount of points from 500 to 10,000 in increments of 500 points
4. Points should post within 72 hours of purchase

Don’t Forget!

• Transactions must be completed between 12:01 AM ET May 15, 2014 and 11:59 PM ET June 30, 2014 to be eligible for bonus points. Points may only be purchased online and not through the Service Center.
• Points will be posted to your Amtrak Guest Rewards account within 72 hours after your transaction is complete.
• Members may buy or receive up to a total of 10,000 points in a calendar year (Select Executive members have no annual limit).
• Purchased points do not count toward Select, Select Plus or Select Executive status.
• Transactions are final and non-refundable.

BOTTOM LINE: For those who can’t transfer into the Amtrak Guest Rewards program, this is a great deal for purchasing points! You can easily turn $275 into 15,000 points …and then into a one-way trip in a long distance train’s sleeper cabin.