Are you looking for a gift for that traveler in your life? What about Amtrak Gift Cards?
These cards make for an excellent gift for the traveler in your life, or you could buy and save up for a trip. These gift cards come in physical and digital forms, and you can store them in your Amtrak account.
There are a few things that you should know about Amtrak Gift cards, and this article will cover them!
Basic Facts For Amtrak Gift Cards
- Choose an amount up to $500.
- Cards bought in stores come in set amounts, and denominations can vary.
- No fees.
- Cards Never expire.
- Email or send through the mail.
- Redeem online, in the app, phone, or station.
Giving Amtrak Gift Cards
A great way to help a traveler out is to give them the gift of travel. Or sometimes, a great way to save up for a trip is to get yourself gift cards. That way, your money is tied up just for travel.
The nice thing about new Amtrak gift cars is that they are more flexible than traditional ones. Years ago, you could only use them over the phone or at a staffed station.
You can also store them in your account, so they never get lost!
Best Way To Buy Amtrak Gift Cards
There are two ways you can buy these cards, physically or digitally, for your convenience.
Be aware that you cannot use Amtrak Vacation gift cards on the Amtrak website, nor can Amtrak gift cards be used on Amtrak Vacation. While they have the same branding, they do operate separately.
Physical Cards
Physical gift cards could be the best option for those who want to include the gift card in a letter or greeting card.
You can purchase physical gift cards online through Amtrak; they can send your gift to you or your traveler for free. For a fee, Amtrak will expedite shipping. Amtrak can send the gift card with a personal message from you.
If you buy gift cards from stores like Target, you will leave with it and maybe a card to send to your traveler.
Digital Gift Cards
One fun advantage of buying digital cards bought through Amtrak is they offer several designs, including route-specific cards. This option could be a neat touch if your traveler plans to go on a specific route.
Target and other retail locations may send digital cards, but the traveler will receive an Amtrak-branded digital copy in the email. Messages may be available depending on the retailer.
Places To Shop
A few places that sell Amtrak Gift Cards (there can change at any time)
How To Get Discounts On Amtrak Gift Cards
Who doesn’t like a good deal? Amtrak does not run (or at least I have seen any) deals on these cards, but there are a few ways to save.
If you have a Target Red Card, you receive 5% off when you use it at checkout, and this works for both physical cards bought in-store and digital online.
Sometimes stores offer gift card deals, so keep your eyes out for that. If you use your Amtrak Credit Card, you can earn points while buying travel for others!
How & Where Travelers Can Use Them
Amtrak gift cards can be used online, in person, or over the phone for Amtrak travel only, not for onboard purchases. (I am unsure if you can use them in Amtrak tick machines).
If you purchase or receive a gift card, log into your account, and from there, you can store these cards and use them towards your next ticket purchase.
Gift Card Limits
Recently one of my readers informed me that there is a limit on how many Amtrak gift cards you can use per transaction. They tried to use eight at a time and could not. This situation leads me to believe that you can use up to six per transaction. You may need to break up the reservations if you have more than six.
Final Thoughts
I have received a few Amtrak gift cards that were easy to use.
Amtrak had a somewhat archaic paper gift certificate system not long ago, and you could only redeem the gift certificates at staffed stations.
These new cards are more convenient and valuable for travelers.
If the traveler in your life enjoys riding the rails, these cards will be a welcome gift! They also are great gifts for your favorite travel blogger (that’s me, right?)!
If you receive an Amtrak gift card and don’t know how to travel on Amtrak, fear not; I have you covered! Check out the Riding Amtrak Page as a starting point for your next Amtrak adventure. If you like what you see, there are other ways to follow my work, or if you want to know when new stories come out, join my email list.
Safe Travels!
Kev
Do you like travel tips?
Are you interested in getting travel tips in your inbox, or want to know when new articles come out? If so, join my email list! Here is an example of an email.
