Tier Status

[denmarks]

Too bad tier status can not be transferred between travel companies. I am Elite at Princess and am done taking cruises. I would like to take more train trips and it would have been nice to have the status transferred to Amtrak.

 

[me_little_me]

There is no reason for Princess and Amtrak to share tier status unless it is of mutual benefit. Does Amtrak bring a significant number of people to Princess? Vice-Versa? Not just Amtrak carrying people that happen to take a Princess ship but people who are encouraged to do a combination (check in on Amtrak for both train and ship with baggage automatically transferred) and vice-versa.

The only reason Amtrak and United (Continental) shared lounge access was their connecting train/plane deal, since dissolved (). Now, if the two made a deal, or better yet, if Amtrak and an airline could make a deal (say Amtrak runs regularly from Atlanta airport to Macon and makes a deal with Delta to replace the puddle jumpers with connecting trains), then such shared tier status would be possible. Similarly, shared status between Amtrak and Marriott or Hilton if they could feed each other.

 

[MARC Rider]

The only reason Amtrak and United (Continental) shared lounge access was their connecting train/plane deal, since dissolved ().

It's a shame that relationship was dissolved. United has a hub at Newark, and there's an Amtrak station for the Newark Airport. Amtrak could be a feeder service for United overseas flights out of Newark from points all along the NEC. Actually, Southwest could do the same thing for flights out of BWI, but they don't run as many international flights as United, just a few to the Caribbean.

At least I got one chance to use my S+ to access a United Lounge at Dulles before the relationship ended.

 

[jis]

One problem was that you could *almost always* get a cheaper itinerary by purchasing the Amtrak and United legs separately, and there was zero schedule coordination of any sort at EWR. So it was not used much by savvy travelers.

I guess the AGR S+ access to United Lounges was the only tier status related advantage to come out of that relationship. In the reverse direction that access to Club Acelas using United Club Card was something that one acquired by becoming a paid member of the United Club. Merely being United Platinum did not confer that right.

 

[daybeers]

One problem was that you could *almost always* get a cheaper itinerary by purchasing the Amtrak and United legs separately, and there was zero schedule coordination of any sort at EWR. So it was not used much by savvy travelers.

Wow, that makes me less upset about the partnership ending. Sounds like SEPTA and NJT in Philadelphia these days. I only fly when I'm visiting family overseas, but it seems silly there's bad schedule coordination at EWR. Long way from gold-standard transit connections in many other countries.

 

[jis]

Anyhow one could at least get tier qualifying point on United for qualifying Amtrak rides (Acela rides even without any connection at EWR where Acelas don't stop for example) and on AGR for qualifying United flights, which always had to be an EWR connecting flight. So you could take Amtrak from Philly to EWR and then fly to Hong Kong in United C and stash many thousands of AGR point, tier qualifying no less!

 

[me_little_me]

Wow, that makes me less upset about the partnership ending. Sounds like SEPTA and NJT in Philadelphia these days. I only fly when I'm visiting family overseas, but it seems silly there's bad schedule coordination at EWR. Long way from gold-standard transit connections in many other countries.

If Gold Standard still means what it used to - the top of the line, then what we have here , a downgrade from the much higher meal nickel slug standard from years back when it comes to Amtrak and the airlines, is more like wooden nickel standard. Sad.

 

[BlackDiamond]

Too bad tier status can not be transferred between travel companies. I am Elite at Princess and am done taking cruises. I would like to take more train trips and it would have been nice to have the status transferred to Amtrak.

Princess doesn't even transfer tier status to other Carnival PLC subsidiaries such as Carnival, Cunard, Holland America etc. You can be Platinum on Princess then take a Carnival cruise and you start at the bottom with them. So it is unlikely they would do this for a non cruise line.