As reported by Doctor of Credit yesterday, the Amtrak credit cards are no longer available for new applicants. Doctor of Credit speculates that this has to do with Amtrak potentially moving to a new bank partner (Bank of America has been the issuer of the Amtrak credit card). Given the end -of-year timing, that certainly seems plausible.
Hopefully we’ll see a return of some sort of Amtrak credit card. Amtrak points are quite valuable for those who travel by train. I collect Amtrak points now and then through the shopping portal and I’ve often been pleasantly surprised by the value one can get when redeeming Amtrak points for train travel.
Years ago, Amtrak was a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner. It would be great to see Amtrak partner up with a bank program that would enable transfers from a bank points currency. Hopefully at the very least we see Amtrak and Bank of America work things out to offer these cards again, but a new issuer probably wouldn’t hurt.