Amtrak not accepting Amtrak Guest Rewards Mastercard

When I try to charge a US$2660 trip to my Amtrak Mastercard issued by FNBO the bank accepts the transaction but then Amtrak reverses the charge and says on screen that the transaction was declined--which is a lie because I have called the bank which tells me the transaction was approved, and my bank statement indeed shows the transaction was approved by the bank and then reversed by the merchant.

I called Amtrak and the customer service rep got the same result--transaction declined--but in fact FNBO approved the sale. I asked to escalate but the Amtrak rep said the only "escalation" available is to call the bank. The bank rep even kept me on the line while I tried again to make the purchase. She saw real-time that the charge was approved by FNBO then reversed by Amtrak.

I spent hours going back and forth between Amtrak and FNBO, trying this multiple times on the Amtrak website and on the phone--and will not do this anymore. It is apparent that Amtrak is fraudulently offering extra rewards points for using their rewards credit card, but then disallowing the transaction in order to force me to use another payment method where I won't earn the points.

This is consumer fraud. I will not cave in to this manipulation and use another credit card, thereby foregoing the advertised bonus points. I will drive for days to my destination rather than patronize this horrible company.

This has prompted me to log into my Amtrak Guest Rewards account and see that I can't add any credit card to the account (with a "null" error message). My old Bank of America Amtrak card is still listed there.

I don't think this is hostility on Amtrak's part, but is more likely a classic cock up. "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." I'll report back once I call Amtrak about my inability to put a card on that side.

You also have the option of calling on the Amtrak Inspector General.

I eventually got an error code attempting to add a credit card (both an Amtrak Guest Rewards one and a non-Amtrak affiliated one) that would mean something to their IT people and reported it to Amtrak. I'll report any feedback I get. I think there has been some IT cock up at Amtrak that means Amtrak's system does not recognize a successful credit card transaction right now.

I had the same problem trying to book an Amtrak ticket with FNBO card about three weeks ago. FWIW the card worked fine in the Cafe car during the trip.

you're not going to get anywhere in life with a persecution complex like that!