In March 2019, I traveled by train from Portland, Oregon, to Chicago on an Amtrak Roomette. I won something Amtrak Guest Rewards points on this trip but I haven’t traveled with Amtrak since. So I wasn’t surprised when I recently received a notification from AwardWallet that my Amtrak points would expire on April 6.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever use these points, but I thought I’d look into Amtrak’s expiration policy and if I could extend them. This is what I found.
Do Amtrak points expire?
Amtrak points expire after 24 months of inactivity.
According to section D of Amtrak Terms and Conditions“Points earned under the Program do not expire as long as the Program continues and the Member’s Program account is active. ‘Active’ means that the Member earns and/or redeems Program points using their Membership Number within a 24-month period .If no qualifying activity initiated by a Member is recorded or reported within 24 months, the Member’s points will expire.”
So the key to keeping your Amtrak points from expiring is account activity.
Related: Best Credit Cards for Amtrak and Train Travel
How to Determine When Your Amtrak Points Expire
If you log into your Amtrak Guest Rewards account and look around, you won’t see an expiration date for your points anywhere. The solution is a bit complicated.
After you log in to your account, click your name in the upper right corner of the window and select “My Account.” From here, click “My Transactions” in the left sidebar to view your recent Amtrak Guest Rewards activity.
Your recent activity won’t be helpful if you’re worried about your points expiring. So, change the “from” date to 24 months before the current date and click “Search.”
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The most recent activity on my account was canceling an award reservation on April 5, 2023. Based on that, if I did nothing, my Amtrak points would expire on April 6 after 24 months of inactivity.
Related: The Jet vs. Amtrak: What’s the best way to get between New York City and Washington, DC?
How I kept my Amtrak account active
Amtrak terms and conditions state that any earning or redemption activity on my account will prevent my points from expiring.
I have many options since my points don’t expire for two months. As an infrequent Amtrak user, the options that would make the most sense to consider would be earning points on Amtrak travel, earning points by taking a Survey Points Club survey, purchasing Amtrak points, redeeming points for Amtrak travel, or earning points by shopping. with one of Amtrak’s retail partners.
Unfortunately, I have no upcoming travel needs with Amtrak, so earning or redeeming points for Amtrak travel is not a useful way to keep my account active. Amtrak no longer charges award cancellation fees, so it’s unclear if it would reset your expiration clock if you booked and canceled an award.
I also don’t need to purchase from Amtrak retail partners like 1-800-Flowers.com, Teleflora, or Vinesse Wines.
Related: You can now search for Amtrak routes on Google Flights
The smallest amount of points I could buy is 500, which would cost me $18.85 at a purchase rate of 3.77 cents per point. Since I may never redeem my Amtrak points, I’m not willing to pay $18.85 for 500 more points to extend the validity of my existing points.
My best bet is to earn some Amtrak points by taking a Survey Points Club survey. Points for completing surveys are often posted instantly, but may take up to a week. I signed up for the Survey Points Club, answered a few demographic questions, and started my first survey.
After starting the survey, I didn’t get past the first few pages of questions. Once I said that a doctor had not prescribed me any prescription painkillers in the last six months, the survey loaded a message saying it was not a good fit. However, I still got five points for starting the survey.
Now, my Amtrak points should expire on January 12, 2027. However, I would feel better if Amtrak indicated the expiration date on my account.
Related: How to prevent points and miles from your airlines, hotels and rental cars from expiring
In a nutshell
Annoyingly, Amtrak points expire if your account is inactive for 24 months. However, earning points through the Survey Points Club was a relatively easy way to keep my Amtrak account active. The points posted to my account almost immediately, so Survey Points Club may be an option even if your points expire in just a few days.
Remember to manually track when your Amtrak points expire or rely on an award travel tool that tracks your points and miles expiration dates. After all, the expiration date of your Amtrak points will not appear in your Amtrak account and Amtrak will not notify you before your points expire.
