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Amtrak is offering 1,000 bonus points when you make a minimum 2-night stay with Starwood and choose to earn Amtrak points instead of Starpoints. While I probably wouldn’t choose to earn Amtrak points over Starpoints in most circumstances, this promotion might make sense if you’re close to a strategic redemption.
The Deal
- Earn 1,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards points points on a stay of 2 or more nights at participating SPG hotels between now and December 31st, 2017.
Key Terms
- From the terms included in the email (bold print is mine for emphasis):
Terms and conditions:
To receive Amtrak Guest Rewards in lieu of Starpoints®, recipient must participate in the Airline Direct DepositSM portion of the Starwood Preferred Guest program. With Airline Direct Deposit, Starpoints earned from eligible hotel stays and select bonus offers will be converted automatically into Amtrak Guest Rewards points, will be credited to your Amtrak Guest Rewards—account, and may not be transferred back to your SPG account. If recipient does not participate in Airline Direct Deposit, Starpoints will be earned in the Starwood Preferred Guest program. Minimum stay 2-nights stay required to earn bonus points. Guest must be an SPG member to be awarded points. Offer is valid at participating Starwood Hotels & Resorts in North and Latin America. Offer is valid for stays completed by December 31, 2017. Book online, call your travel professional, or call (877) 782-0108 and mention rate plan AIRPRO.
Quick Thoughts
You can normally transfer Starpoints to Amtrak Guest Rewards at a rate of 1:1, but non-elites must move a minimum of 2,500 Starpoints and SPG Gold members have a minimum of 1,500 Starpoints for a transfer (there is no minimum for Platinum members). If you have a use in mind and you need just over a thousand Amtrak points, this deal might work out well when paired with a cheap Starwood stay. That’s a lot of stars lining up, but it might beat transferring over more points than you need.
Of course, if you’re not in a hurry, you can always earn points through the Amtrak shopping portal. I earned a number of points that way and recently redeemed for a roomette from Boston to Albany, NY. I had never traveled more than an hour or so by train in the US, so it was a new experience. We had fun on the train and I thought it was a nice value on points — for just about 4,700 Amtrak points, I saved myself the cost of a one-way car rental and didn’t have to drive. I’d definitely do it again — though I don’t know as though I’d give up on earning Starpoints in order to do it.
What about you? Do you plan to take advantage of this promo?
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[…] 1K bonus Amtrak points with SPG (Expires 12/31/17) […]
Nick, thank you for the quick reply!
My husband and I are taking our first Amtrak ride, a roomette on the Coach Starlight from LAX to PDX. Looking forward to it! I have no Amtrak points, but have wondered the points values. I can’t find where you can see points values on their site (it’s an awkward site).
Thanks for the shopping portal tip! We will be earning 2X points with their current promo on this trip, so I’d like to rack up enough points via shopping for another journey. I understand their points expire fairly quickly.
Point values vary depending on when you book and the category and route, but it’s generally better than 2 cents a point (up to 2.9 cents). When you look up a ticket, you can toggle a switch to view the price in “Dollars” or “Points”. It’s at the top-left just above the first train journey on the results page — it’s on “Dollars” by default, but you can click “Points” to switch it. There is a lot of variance from day to day with regard to the pricing of roomettes and bedrooms. I’d compare the price on several different says to get a better idea.
[…] 1K bonus Amtrak points with SPG (Expires 12/31/17) […]