Status: checked against official sources; automated independent review
GUIDE
How to use the Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card
Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card is an Amtrak-branded Mastercard that earns points in Amtrak Guest Rewards, the loyalty programme of Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. [6] Its published role inside the programme is twofold: points that can be spent on Amtrak reward travel from 400 points, and additional Tier Qualifying Points that count toward Select, Select Plus or Select Executive status. [6]
Facts checked: 18 October 2026
Key takeaways
- Amtrak Guest Rewards is free to join, and points earned in it go toward reward travel, upgrades, gift cards, coupons and more. [6]
- The card's documented status role is that an Amtrak Guest Rewards Mastercard cardholder can receive additional Tier Qualifying Points, which count toward Select, Select Plus or Select Executive tier status. [6]
- Reward travel begins at just 400 points, and a Points & Cash option lets a member book Amtrak travel with more options and fewer points. [6]
- Card offers vary, and the programme page carried an apply-by date of 11/4/26 next to the Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard. [6]
How do you earn Guest Rewards points with the Amtrak card?
Points in Amtrak Guest Rewards are earned both on and off the train, and Amtrak lists two earning routes alongside the cards: Amtrak Travel, and Retail & Specialty Partners. [6] The credit card is presented on the programme site as a way to get more from membership, in its own Our Credit Cards section that links to a separate card page. [6]
The card named on the programme page is the Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard, and Amtrak states that card offers vary, showing an apply-by date of 11/4/26 beside that offer. [6] The member benefits menu lists Preferred Mastercard Benefits and Mastercard Benefits pages alongside the Select, Select Plus and Select Executive benefits pages. [6]
Earning is not limited to spending on the card: the programme menu also carries Buy Points, Gift Points and Share Points tools. [6]
How do you redeem points earned on the card?
Points collected on the card are spent inside Amtrak Guest Rewards, where the programme lists reward travel, upgrades, gift cards, coupons, lounge passes and promotions as redemption options. [6] Reward travel begins at just 400 points, and points can be used to reach more than 500 destinations. [6]
A Points & Cash option lets a member book Amtrak travel with more options and fewer points, which changes the arithmetic of a booking when the points balance alone would not cover the trip. [6] Buy Points, Gift Points and Share Points sit in the same redemption menu, alongside the Points & Cash tool. [6]
Does the Amtrak credit card help with elite status?
Tier Qualifying Points count toward Amtrak Guest Rewards tier status and are earned each calendar year by travelling on Amtrak. [6] A member can receive additional TQPs by travelling in Business class or Acela First class, or as an Amtrak Guest Rewards Mastercard cardholder. [6] The three tiers are Select, Select Plus and Select Executive, each with its own benefits page. [6] The member account states the TQP total needed for the next tier by 31 December. [6]
Other programmes show how far a card-linked status benefit can go. In Canada, WestJet Rewards gives holders of the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard a Status Lift worth 200 CAD in tier qualifying spend for every 5,000 CAD of eligible purchases, up to 50 lifts in a qualifying year. [2] Each lift is awarded about ten business days after the monthly statement date on which the threshold is reached, and the tier qualifying spend it produces has no monetary or other exchange value and cannot be sold or transferred. [2] In Amtrak Guest Rewards, the cardholder route to Tier Qualifying Points is stated as one of the ways a member can receive additional TQPs, which count toward Select, Select Plus or Select Executive status. [6]
Exceptions and limits
- The Amtrak offer shown on the programme page is time-limited: the page carried an apply-by date of 11/4/26 for the Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard, and notes that offers vary. [6]
- TQP counting runs on the calendar year, and the qualifying deadline shown in the member account is 31 December. [6]
- Points & Cash, Buy Points, Gift Points and Share Points appear under the programme's Ways to Redeem menu rather than in the Our Credit Cards section of the site. [6]
- At WestJet Rewards, eligible purchases for Status Lift exclude cash advances, balance transfers, cash-like transactions, interest charges and fees, and only the primary cardholder receives the tier qualifying spend. [2]
- Status Lift is capped at 50 lifts per qualifying year, equivalent to 10,000 CAD in tier qualifying spend, and purchases posted after the December statement date count toward the following year rather than the current one. [2] WestJet and Royal Bank of Canada reserve the right to change or withdraw the benefit at any time. [2]
Frequently asked questions
How many points do I need before I can book Amtrak travel?
Reward travel begins at just 400 points, and points can be used across more than 500 destinations. [6]
Does holding the Amtrak card count toward elite status?
Yes. Amtrak says an Amtrak Guest Rewards Mastercard cardholder can receive additional Tier Qualifying Points, which count toward Select, Select Plus or Select Executive status and are earned each calendar year. [6]
What can I redeem Amtrak Guest Rewards points for?
The programme lists reward travel, upgrades, gift cards, coupons, lounge passes and promotions, and a Points & Cash option lets a member book Amtrak travel with fewer points. [6]
Which Amtrak credit card does the programme advertise?
The programme page features the Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard, states that offers vary, and shows an apply-by date of 11/4/26 for that offer. [6]
Sources
Sources checked on 18 October 2026. Airline programmes and hotel programmes outside the WestJet Rewards comparison are not covered here; see the Amtrak Guest Rewards guide for the wider programme.
- WestJet Rewards: World Elite Status Lift, checked 18 October 2026
- Amtrak Guest Rewards programme overview and credit cards, checked 18 October 2026