by KeystoneRider
As I'm sure you all know, the Guest Rewards program has changed it's policy for rewarding points by adding a minimum 100 point award for any trip, no matter the price. Previously, the point award was 2 points for each dollar spent, with occasional point premiums for certain trips, online ticket purchasing, etc.
I'm very happy about this change because I take a lot of short Amtrak trips - mostly to Philly and what I used to get 64 points for a RT ticket from LNC to PHL, I'll now get 200 points since points are awarded for each trip segment. In other words, I used to get 32 points each way for LNC-PHL, but will now get, I assume, 100 points each way.
I copied my Guest Rewards info into an Excel spreadsheet and figured that had this policy been in place in 2004, I would have earned more than 8,000 points vs. the slightly more than 4,000 I actually earned. That means I should have no problem getting "Select Tier" status during 2005, since just my monthly ticket purchases alone bring me a little more than 3,000 points in a year. I'll also rack up additional points beyond my current 10,500 at a much faster rate. I always thought 50,000 would take forever, but now it seems more likely that I'll get there in a few years. With any luck, Amtrak will still be around and I can take the whole family on a cross country trip for free (at least one way).
Does anyone know the genesis of this program change? It seems like it will be a boon to those of us who take a lot of short trips. Not that I'm complaining! Just curious.
I'm very happy about this change because I take a lot of short Amtrak trips - mostly to Philly and what I used to get 64 points for a RT ticket from LNC to PHL, I'll now get 200 points since points are awarded for each trip segment. In other words, I used to get 32 points each way for LNC-PHL, but will now get, I assume, 100 points each way.
I copied my Guest Rewards info into an Excel spreadsheet and figured that had this policy been in place in 2004, I would have earned more than 8,000 points vs. the slightly more than 4,000 I actually earned. That means I should have no problem getting "Select Tier" status during 2005, since just my monthly ticket purchases alone bring me a little more than 3,000 points in a year. I'll also rack up additional points beyond my current 10,500 at a much faster rate. I always thought 50,000 would take forever, but now it seems more likely that I'll get there in a few years. With any luck, Amtrak will still be around and I can take the whole family on a cross country trip for free (at least one way).
Does anyone know the genesis of this program change? It seems like it will be a boon to those of us who take a lot of short trips. Not that I'm complaining! Just curious.