I just applied for it yesterday. Does anyone on this board have it? Does it have a lot of advantages? Any drawbacks?
Posted by Chucky (Member # 2263) on :
Dear shanghaiamtrak,
The Guest Rewards Mastercard rocks!
I'm about to charge the cost of a new roof to it. With the points I will earn from that purchase, I will be able to get a one way ticket from Los Angeles to Chicago in Coach. And with just a few more points, I will be able to make that a round trip ticket!
So long as you pay off your credit card at the end of the month, you will not have to pay any interest.
The Guest Rewards people have gotten really good at issuing tickets, too. The last time I ordered tickets, I do believe they arrived in just a few days.
I've got one, too. I put EVERYTHING on it (including having my house painted). I'm looking to travel in a bedroom to the west coast - possibly roundtrip! Just pay your balance each month & no worries.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Additional discussion regarding the Guest Rewards card"
Used responsibly, it's a great card. I like being able to transfer miles/points between Guest Rewards and Continental Airlines.
Frank in Sunny SBA
Posted by shanghaiamtrak (Member # 2323) on :
cool, i look forward to using it. How long will it be until i can start using it? (i applied yesterday).
I think there is no doubt that ill get accepted, the card is through MBNA and I already have two cards through them, and have an excellent credit history.
will they send the card with the acceptance letter? i want to start using it asap.
Posted by North Coast Hiawatha (Member # 2323) on :
testing, North Coast Hiawatha is my new user name.
Posted by graynt (Member # 17) on :
I do appreciate the low interest rate I have on my Guest Rewards card, Ireally hope it doesn't go up. I charge everything on it. I ve taken a few free trips already and after a cross country trip I ll be taking shortly andthe triple points I ll be getting using the Empire Buider during their promotion, I should have enough for another trip.
This is one credit card I enjoy using. Its nice to see those points add up.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
I use the Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card for
1) Hotel stays
2) Amtrak and Airline Tickets
3) All gasoline purchases
So far that has turned out to be about three single region roomette trips (and I do 'doglegs' to squeeze two nights out of the trip.) every 24 months.
Gas prices being what they are now I may find myself earning 2 or more first-class trips per year!
I like the card but do try to get it paid off each month. MBNA is sneaky about raising your interest rate as the prime rate creeps up.
Posted by North Coast Hiawatha (Member # 2323) on :
I got my card today!!!
I was wondering, whats the best way to rack up points?
I see if i order items from one of the merchants in "the online mall" i can get points. so if i get 1 point for each dollars spent from the merchant, do i also still get the 1 point for every dollar for using the credit card? (so im thinking maybe id get a total of 2 pts)??
Posted by gregbkc (Member # 3726) on :
North Coast Hiawatha, one thing you will want to do now that you have recieved the card is to make sure they attached the card to your Guest Rewards account correctly. When I got my MBNA card, instead of attaching it to my current Guest Rewards account, they opened up a completely new Guest Rewards account so that I had two seperate accounts. When I called Amtrak to get the situation resolved, they said that it was a common error and had to close my old account and transfer my points to the newly opened one. Anyway, your Guest Rewards number should be in the lower left hand corner of your MBNA card, be sure to make sure it mataches your Geust Rewards number.
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
Good point, Greg. I had the same problem, but it was resolved with one phone call.
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
I think it must be a very common problem since the same thing happened to me! As I recall they issued a new credit card rather than change the Guest Rewards #.
Frank in cool SBA
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
quote:Originally posted by notelvis: I like the card but do try to get it paid off each month. MBNA is sneaky about raising your interest rate as the prime rate creeps up.
Keep this last sentence very much in mind. I no longer cary any MBNA plastic for that reason. Any slip up on your part is likely to see a serious jump in your interest rate.
Posted by North Coast Hiawatha (Member # 2323) on :
I wonder, to get double points, do i have to purchase things from jcpenney, target, etc through the online mall or can i buy things from their stores and still get double points?
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Absent a specific delineated provision, I can't think why it would be necessary to have your purchases from JC Penney made on line, as distinct from a store. Even though last time I was in one it seems as if Penney's checkout systems appear to be "stone age'(it looked like a DOS screen), the issuer's (MBNA) procsssing system still knows that you shopped at Penney's .
Posted by North Coast Hiawatha (Member # 2323) on :
well it appears that one must make the purchase through the online mall, just wondering if anyone has gotten the bonus points buy purchasing from these same retailers either through the retailers own website or in person:
Shop online at the Amtrak Guest Rewards Mall and earn points. More info
* How do I earn points with Amtrak? * More points for credit card purchases * What can I use my points for? * Find a complete Partner List
Go to our online mall to shop and earn points for all your purchases. Before you know it, you will be able to redeem for Amtrak travel or retail certificates, so you can shop more! Sign up now.
Earn up to 5 points for every dollar you spend with over 200 Amtrak Guest Rewards Mall retailers like: Eddie Bauer®, Hallmark®, JC Penney®, The Disney® Store, Office Max® and more.
* Go to our online mall, enroll as an Amtrak Guest Rewards member and shop! * Personalize your shopping experience by establishing preferred retailers using the special "My Mall" feature - and review your account and purchases anytime. * Membership is free - just sign up and start earning points.
Join Now Start Shopping
Posted by Grandma Judy (Member # 3278) on :
Northwest Airlines website has a similar "mall" scheme. I can get frequent flyer miles from NWA and Amtrak points when I use my Amtrak card for purchases, and I have done so.
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
The following from an article is in the Summer/Fall 2005 Continental Quarterly (Published for the Employees of Continental Airlines and Their Families.) It does a pretty good job of how this works and why it's important to a company like Continental or Amtrak.
CO's OnePass Partner Marketing group generated more than $400 million in renue in 2004, or roughly 5 percent of the company's revenue. They bring in revenue through the sale of OnePass miles to more than 100 marketing partners that, in turn, award the miles to customers for doing business with them.
CO's OnePass partners include credit and debit card issuers, telecommunication companies, hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines, grocery stores, mortgage companies, utilities and restaurants. The airline also has agreement with online retailers that offer miles when shoppers enter their sites via "ShopOnePass" at continental.com. These retailers include Target, Sears, L.L.Bean, Gap, Circuit City, Dell, Netflix, Farnes and Noble and Macy's.
Aside from generating revenue, Partner Marketing aims to build loyalty to CO through the frequent flyer program.
I would imagine that GuestRewards works pretty much the same way.