question about points transferal

[sutton8596]

Hi again guys,

I couldn't access the Amtrak website so thought I'd ask here.

I know I can tranfer my Amtrak points to UNited airlines, but can I transfer United Airlines to Amtrak? At what ratio?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[PRR 60]

To the best of my knowledge, United Mileage Plus does not offer a redemption option for either Amtrak travel or Guest Reward points.

 

[AlanB]

Scott,

PRR60 is correct, you can only transfer your Amtrak GR points to United's Mileage Plus program. At present there is no way to take points from United and transfer them to Amtrak's GR program.

The only airline offering transfers in both directions is Continental and their One Pass program.

 

[Amfleet]

The only airline offering transfers in both directions is Continental and their One Pass program.

Here's Continental's deal with Amtrak.

Earn 250 bonus miles per Coach class segment and 325 bonus miles per Business class segment on Amtrak when you fly on Continental and make a connection at Newark Liberty International Airport to any of the following Amtrak destinations: New Haven Rail Station, CT; Stamford Rail Station, CT; Philadelphia 30th Street Station, PA; Wilmington Rail Station, DE. Make sure you provide your OnePass number to Continental or your travel agent when making reservations.
Earn 500 miles per Business class segment and 750 miles per First class segment on Metroliner and Acela Express trains (no connecting flight required) between New York's Penn Station and the following train stations: Boston's South Station, MA; Boston's Back Bay Station, MA; Boston's Route 128 Station, MA; Washington D.C. Make sure you call Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL to provide your OnePass number for OnePass mileage credit on the Metroliner and Acela Express markets listed above.

 

[snake]

Continental Airlines OnePass members can transfer miles to Guest Rewards points at 1:1 in blocks of 5,000.

It's a great deal, often the value of the Amtrak points will exceed the cost of the air travel!

Example, lets say you do 3 cross country trips @ $250 for 5,000 miles each (plus 1,000 per ticket bonus if you book on line)

That will yield in excess of 15,000 points for $750, 15,000 points will get you a 1 zone sleeper for 2!

I called earlier this week to do a transfer in order to do a trip this summer from Arizona to Glacier National Park, the milage transfers take about a week. 40,000 points for a deluxe sleeper that would cost $3,000 round trip.

Amtrak, however has a limit to the number of points that can be transfered out of Guest Rewards to 25,000 (50,000 for Select members)

 

[PRR 60]

Amtrak, however has a limit to the number of points that can be transfered out of Guest Rewards to 25,000 (50,000 for  Select members)

The reason for that is a little trick some frequent flyers were playing to transfer points from Continental to United (and thus to the Star Alliance).

Lets say you have 200,000 miles with CO One Pass, but you wish they were with UA so you could take advantage of the international opportunities with Star. The solution was easy. Open an Amtrak Guest Rewards account (even if you have never ridden or would ever ride a train): transfer all your CO points to Amtrak: and then transfer them to UA. Guest Rewards was simply the intermediate stop for a CO to UA transfer scheme.

United, Continental, and Amtrak figured out what was going on and closed off the loophole.

 

[Anthony]

FlyerTalk's Guest Rewards forum has some more info about Amtrak-to-airline transfers and vice versa...

(If you do any flying, FlyerTalk is an incredible resource... )

 

[sutton8596]

thanks for the info guys. I'll check out a couple of the sites you mention!

Cheers!

Looks like it's time to join the Continental Onepass program.

 

[snake]

You don't have to join the OnePass program in order to get Amtrak credit for Continental flights, you'll get the same mileage/points credit by giving your Guest Rewards number when you make your reservation.

The disadvantage with the OnePass transfer is that you have to transfer in blocks of 5,000 miles. Also remember that partnerships can end with as little as 60 days notice.

There are, however, some advantages to the OnePass program, such as the 1,000 mile bonus for online booking, credit for partner airline flights, (Alaska, Delta, Northwest and others)

You should look at your travel patterns and reward travel expectations to determine the the best path to take.

If you're thinking about "free" air travel you'd be well advised to take a look at FlyerTalk for information about the availability (or lack thereof) of reward seats on Continental flights for OnePass members. This is one of the reasons that people were using Amtrak to transfer great numbers of miles to the United program.

All in all you get a lot of bang for your buck when you use your air travel credits for a trip on the choo-choo. Happy travels!

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

Flying i will never get on a plane again there unsafe.

 

[Anthony]

Flying i will never get on a plane again there unsafe.

I got fed up with planes too, but I'm willing to take on the burden of a day's air travel if it means avoiding a month long boat ride :lol:

 

[PRR 60]

Flying i will never get on a plane again there unsafe.  

You may not like planes, but they are not unsafe.

 

[Amfleet]

Flying i will never get on a plane again there unsafe.  

You may not like planes, but they are not unsafe.

PRR 60 is right. After the formation of TSA and some of the most advance technology being put into commerical aircraft nowadays, it is extrememly safe to fly. There has not been a major crash in the US in over 2 years. Now most of that is due in part that the government has been giving airlines quite a bit of money since 9/11. If only the same could be done for passenger rail.