Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard

The Preferred is the card for genuinely frequent Amtrak riders, earning 3x points on Amtrak travel and onboard purchases, plus 2x on dining, other travel, and other transit and rideshare. Its real value is in the anniversary perks: each year you get a round-trip companion coupon, a one-class upgrade coupon, and a single-day station lounge pass, along with 20% back on onboard food and drink. Heavy spenders also earn 1,000 Tier Qualifying Points toward Amtrak elite status for every $5,000 in purchases. The tradeoff is the $99 annual fee, which only pays off if you actually use the companion and upgrade coupons, and the welcome offer was recently trimmed from 30,000 to 25,000 points after $1,500 in spend over three billing cycles. If you take only one or two train trips a year, the no-fee version is the safer pick.