What happens to Amtrak Guest Rewards points when someone dies
Amtrak publishes no process specific to a deceased person's account; a written request goes by mail.
Under Amtrak's terms, Amtrak Guest Rewards points are forfeited when the account holder dies.
Amtrak publishes no process specific to a deceased person's account; a written request goes by mail to Amtrak Guest Rewards, P.O. Box 14368, Philadelphia, PA 19115. The request takes 4 documents. Amtrak Guest Rewards Service Center answers at 1-800-307-5000 (Daily 8:00 AM-8:00 PM ET).
What to do
- •The deceased member's membership number
- •The death certificate
- •The survivor's name and own Guest Rewards membership number
Required Documents
- Death certificate
- Deceased member's Amtrak Guest Rewards membership number: The membership number is what the Service Center uses to identify the account.
- Documentation identifying the survivor: for a courtesy-transfer request naming a survivor
- The survivor's own Guest Rewards membership number: for a courtesy-transfer request naming a survivor. Share Points move only between member accounts.
What Amtrak's terms say at death
- Section F — Amtrak Guest Rewards Conditions
“Accrued points are not transferable in the event of Member death or divorce. All points are subject to all other Program rules. Once points have expired in accordance with the Program rules, they will not be reinstated.”1
What Amtrak says happens6
- Who owns the asset
Section C states that accrued points, reward trips and coupons have no cash value except where required by applicable law and do not constitute property; points are a limited, revocable, non-transferable contractual right granted by Amtrak.1
The terms disclaim the balance as property at all, rather than treating it as an asset of the member or of the member's estate.1
- Transfer at death
Share Points and Buy/Gift Points operate between living members, and neither survives the member's death.1
- Closing the account
Under Section D, a member's points automatically and immediately expire, and the member forfeits them, if the member terminates membership; forfeited or expired points are not reinstated even if the individual later re-joins the Program.1
- Inactive accounts and expiry
Under Section D, points expire when no member-initiated qualifying activity is recorded or reported within a 24-month period, and expired or forfeited points are not reinstated.1
- How requests are reviewed
A written request asking Amtrak to credit the balance to a named survivor as a one-time courtesy sits outside the published rules, and Amtrak is under no obligation to grant it.1
- Passwords and login
Section F provides that pooling of points or using another individual's account is considered fraudulent and may result in the loss of all points.1
Not in Amtrak Guest Rewards's published guidance6
- A process for a deceased account holder
- How long a request takes
- Whether a certified death certificate is required
- An exception to the forfeiture of points at death
- An estates portal, email, fax or estates-specific address
- A bereavement fare page
A written request to Amtrak can ask it to transfer the points to a named family member, preserve the account while the estate is opened and close the account.
The value that can still be kept is what the account holder moved while alive: Amtrak allows transfers to another member and gift purchases.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter for Amtrak Guest Rewards drafts that request from the estate's details.
Sources
Data sourced from Amtrak primary sources (5 pages reviewed). How we research.
Amtrak Guest Rewards estate claims
Amtrak Guest Rewards Service Center
Phone
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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