Aug 31, 2015, 6:08 am
Last edit by: beltway
Changes to Amtrak Guest Rewards in 2016
Amtrak Guest Rewards (AGR) underwent numerous changes beginning on January 24, 2016. This wiki attempts to provide a summary of those changes (and Amtrak's ongoing unannounced revisions of the rules). For additional details, see the Amtrak website.
Table of Contents
Earning Status
AGR altered its expiration policy, which previously required paid travel once every 36 months. Effective August 27, 2015, any points-earning or redemption activity will reset the 36-month clock. Effective April 2019, points expire after 24 months of inactivity.
As today, AGR MasterCard cardholders' points will not expire as long as their credit card accounts are open. AGR has moved its co-branded credit card relationship to Bank of America, which now offers two different versions of the card, including one with no annual fee. All Chase AGR MasterCards were converted to Chase Freedom cards on September 30, 2015. Post-Rollout Issues/Unknowns
It remains unclear whether these are merely IT errors or unannounced program devaluations, particularly as in some cases the contradict explicitly stated terms and conditions.
Amtrak Guest Rewards (AGR) underwent numerous changes beginning on January 24, 2016. This wiki attempts to provide a summary of those changes (and Amtrak's ongoing unannounced revisions of the rules). For additional details, see the Amtrak website.
Table of Contents
Earning Status
As in the past, members earn Tier Qualifying Points (TQP) for paid travel at the rate of 2 TQP per dollar. With the 2016 changes, however, AGR has eliminated In addition, AGR now provides new class-of-service TQP bonuses: 25% for qualifying travel in Business class and 50% for qualifying travel in Acela First class. (As noted below, passengers will also earn redeemable AGR points in the same amount.)
The number of TQP required to earn status remains the same: Benefits for each status level, including the Tier Bonus on cash fares (see below), remain the same.
Earning AGR Points Redeemable for Travel- the 100 TQP minimum (so fares under $50 earn fewer TQP), and
- the Acela "select city pairs" TQP minimums for Business class (formerly 500 TQP) and First class (formerly 750 TQP); see post #83
The number of TQP required to earn status remains the same:
- Select - 5,000 TQP
- Select Plus - 10,000 TQP
- Select Executive - 20,000 TQP
Members continue to earn redeemable AGR points for paid travel (except as discussed below in this section) at the rate of 2 points per dollar, plus a new 25% point bonus for qualifying travel in Business class and 50% for qualifying travel in Acela First class. Sleeper-car tickets do not earn a bonus.
With the 2016 changes, however, AGR eliminates In addition to base points, members with status continue to earn Tier Bonus redeemable AGR points (i.e., not TQP) at the same level as in 2015: As was the case before, members do not earn points for Amtrak 7000-series Thruway services or the Canadian portion of joint Amtrak/VIA Rail Canada services.
Redeeming for TravelWith the 2016 changes, however, AGR eliminates
- the 100 point minimum (so fares under $50 earn fewer points), and
- the Acela "select city pairs" minimums for Business class (previously 500 points) and First class (previously 750 points)
- Select - 25%
- Select Plus - 50%
- Select Executive - 100%
For 2016, redemption rules have changed drastically. AGR has discontinued its fixed-point awards and zone system, transitioning instead to a revenue-based system. Under the new program, the points required for an award ticket--including multi-ride tickets and monthly passes--are, with some exceptions noted below, proportional to the cash price of the ticket.
In general, an AGR point is worth roughly 2.9 cents for non-Acela travel and 2.56 cents for Acela. (For example, 5,141 points are redeemable for a WAS-NYP regional one-way $149 ticket.) However, several new restrictions result in a lower yield for award redemptions:
Note: Reward tickets booked before 1/24/16 are subject to the new redemption policy if modified or canceled on or after that date.
Redemption options: With the 2016 changes, AGR members are able to redeem points for multi-ride tickets or monthly passes as well as standard one-way & round-trip tickets.
Sleeper-car travel: The number of points required for sleeper-car travel is calculated using the prevailing fare, which reflects the actual number of passengers occupying the room. Amtrak assesses a single accommodation charge for the room, plus one adult/child rail fare per occupant.
Auto Train travel: Members are able to redeem points for Auto Train travel using the same process as for other itineraries. Vehicle(s) are priced the same as other portions of the itinerary per standard Amtrak Auto Train policies. Priority Vehicle Offloading may not be redeemed using points.
Credit card rebate: Holders of either new Bank of America co-branded credit card (see below) receive a 5% points rebates on Amtrak award tickets. This is the same as the benefit offered by the recently discontinued Chase card.
Blackout dateseliminated: On the plus side, AGR will eliminate award redemption blackout dates and Acela time-of-day restrictions. When the 2016 changes were announced, AGR claimed that blackout dates were being eliminated. As of January 24, 2016, the AGR website still makes that claim. Unfortunately, it is a lie.
On January 24--the day the new program changes took effect--AGR Insider posted new information making clear that the blackout-date policy has not been abandoned:
Amtrak quietly added similar language to the website in early February 2016. The website also indicates that the point costs for "peak travel" dates and times may be increased in addition to any increase resulting resulting from a higher cash fare. To date, additional points costs of 50% and 100% have been observed on certain itineraries.
Under the old program rules, AGR published an advance list of blackout dates. AGR has provided no public information specifying the "peak travel dates or times" when general members are charged additional points or blacked out entirely from redeeming for travel.
Cancellation penalties: Canceling or modifying a standard ticket incurs an automatic 10% penalty. Doing so less than 24 hours in advance for non-sleeper tickets (or 14 days for sleeper-car travel) results in a "close-in" penalty of an additional 10% (i.e., a total penalty of 20%) for most travelers; however, this additional 10%/close-in penalty does not apply to Select Executive members.
No-shows result in 100% forfeiture for the missed segment, as well as cancellation and forfeiture for any later segments on the same itinerary. (As a result, it is less risky to book round-trip travel as two separate one-way tickets and, where possible, to book passengers individually rather than on a single shared ticket.)
For multiple-segment tickets, you can cancel the remainder even after travel begins. Thus, on a round-trip ticket you can cancel the return leg even if you have already begun the outbound leg.
Points & cash redemption: AGR has indicated that a points+cash redemption option will be introduced in 2016. No details are available, and it is unclear how this will work with respect to earning TQP and redeemable points.
Points ExpirationIn general, an AGR point is worth roughly 2.9 cents for non-Acela travel and 2.56 cents for Acela. (For example, 5,141 points are redeemable for a WAS-NYP regional one-way $149 ticket.) However, several new restrictions result in a lower yield for award redemptions:
- Minimum award pricing: Regardless of the cash fare, a non-Acela award ticket costs a minimum of 800 AGR points. As a result, using AGR points for such tickets with a cash price under $24 (e.g., LNC-PHL or BWI-WAS) results in lower yields.
Acela award tickets cost a minimum of 4,000 points. Using AGR points for Acela tickets costing less than $103 results in lower yields.
- No redemption for Saver awards: Per AGR's FT representative, members cannot redeem points for tickets at the least-expensive Saver rate. For instance, even if a $52 Saver WAS-NYP cash fare is available, points can be used only to purchase tickets at the equivalent of an $86 Value fare or higher (resulting in a yield of 1.75 cents/point at best).
- Peak travel dates/times: As discussed below under "Blackout Dates," Amtrak has quietly introduced a "peak travel" penalty in which certain high-demand itineraries (not published in advance) will cost 50% or even 100% more points than would normally correspond to the available cash fare.
- Most discount fares inapplicable: Under the 2016 program, AGR points are redeemable for tickets based only on the Adult or Child price, and not at the equivalent of Senior, AAA, or other discounted fares. (See post #83.)
- As was the case before, members may not redeem points for Amtrak 7000-series Thruway services or the Canadian portion of joint Amtrak/VIA Rail Canada services.
Redemption options: With the 2016 changes, AGR members are able to redeem points for multi-ride tickets or monthly passes as well as standard one-way & round-trip tickets.
Sleeper-car travel: The number of points required for sleeper-car travel is calculated using the prevailing fare, which reflects the actual number of passengers occupying the room. Amtrak assesses a single accommodation charge for the room, plus one adult/child rail fare per occupant.
Auto Train travel: Members are able to redeem points for Auto Train travel using the same process as for other itineraries. Vehicle(s) are priced the same as other portions of the itinerary per standard Amtrak Auto Train policies. Priority Vehicle Offloading may not be redeemed using points.
Credit card rebate: Holders of either new Bank of America co-branded credit card (see below) receive a 5% points rebates on Amtrak award tickets. This is the same as the benefit offered by the recently discontinued Chase card.
Blackout dates
On January 24--the day the new program changes took effect--AGR Insider posted new information making clear that the blackout-date policy has not been abandoned:
you may find limited availability on peak travel dates or times and it is possible that not every seat will be available for redemption. When redeeming points for trips during peak travel dates and times, some itineraries may be available only to our Select Plus and Select Executive members.
Under the old program rules, AGR published an advance list of blackout dates. AGR has provided no public information specifying the "peak travel dates or times" when general members are charged additional points or blacked out entirely from redeeming for travel.
Cancellation penalties: Canceling or modifying a standard ticket incurs an automatic 10% penalty. Doing so less than 24 hours in advance for non-sleeper tickets (or 14 days for sleeper-car travel) results in a "close-in" penalty of an additional 10% (i.e., a total penalty of 20%) for most travelers; however, this additional 10%/close-in penalty does not apply to Select Executive members.
No-shows result in 100% forfeiture for the missed segment, as well as cancellation and forfeiture for any later segments on the same itinerary. (As a result, it is less risky to book round-trip travel as two separate one-way tickets and, where possible, to book passengers individually rather than on a single shared ticket.)
For multiple-segment tickets, you can cancel the remainder even after travel begins. Thus, on a round-trip ticket you can cancel the return leg even if you have already begun the outbound leg.
CAUTION: The new policy is worded to imply that reservation "modification" and "cancellation" are treated differently. A "modification" ostensibly triggers a penalty only of "any fare difference returned to member," implying that changing to a more expensive fare should involve no penalty and changing to a less expensive fare should be subject to a penalty only on the refunded points difference.
Unfortunately, there are now multiple reports that there is no difference in practice: AGR is treating any change as a full cancellation and rebooking, and penalizing accordingly. This includes asking to be rebooked in a different room on the same train (at the same price), changing dates, or altering routing. It is unclear how the new policy will be applied to travel affected by service disruptions such as weather-related train cancellations.
For complete details on the 2016 change rules, including the special rules for multi-ride tickets and monthly passes, see the AGR website.Unfortunately, there are now multiple reports that there is no difference in practice: AGR is treating any change as a full cancellation and rebooking, and penalizing accordingly. This includes asking to be rebooked in a different room on the same train (at the same price), changing dates, or altering routing. It is unclear how the new policy will be applied to travel affected by service disruptions such as weather-related train cancellations.
Points & cash redemption: AGR has indicated that a points+cash redemption option will be introduced in 2016. No details are available, and it is unclear how this will work with respect to earning TQP and redeemable points.
As today, AGR MasterCard cardholders' points will not expire as long as their credit card accounts are open. AGR has moved its co-branded credit card relationship to Bank of America, which now offers two different versions of the card, including one with no annual fee. All Chase AGR MasterCards were converted to Chase Freedom cards on September 30, 2015.
- Class-of-service bonuses have been posting initially as non-TQPs, although subsequent data points suggest there is currently a delay of ~12 days in proper crediting.
- Agents have claimed that any change incurs the 10/20% penalty (up to and including asking for a changed room assignment) on the full value of the ticket, rather than just anything involving a reduction in price being penalized 10/20% on the changed portion
It remains unclear whether these are merely IT errors or unannounced program devaluations, particularly as in some cases the contradict explicitly stated terms and conditions.
Introducing the next stop for Amtrak Guest Rewards
Sep 4, 2015, 7:08 am
#182
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: MSY
Programs: BA GfL
Posts: 5,925
There's plenty of evidence from past cases with Chase, Citi, Amex, etc. that a company with a card-to-points transfer relationship moving to a different card issuer results in very quick removal of the ability to transfer points to that company's program. Hence my belief.
Sep 4, 2015, 3:45 pm
#183
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 44
About the Bank of America card...
The rumor on the BOA card is that there will be two iterations.
One no-fee card and one annual fee card with more perks and earning potential, but I haven't heard that from any official sources.
About Chase Sapphire Preferred UR points transfers...
I specifically asked Chase a few days ago, if in the future AGR were to cease UR points transfers, would card holders be notified prior to that change. The Sapphire Preferred rep told me that if any partners left the program cardholders would receive notice prior to them leaving.
However, while I was typing this I figured I'd call again today and see what answer I got. Another Chase rep indicated there could be no warning. Apparently at one time Korean air dropped out and transfers ended that very same day with zero warning.
The strange thing is, the Chase told me that they had no plans to end the partnership but if Amtrak ended it on their end they wouldn't be able to do anything. I called Guest Rewards and was told that it's a Chase card perk and that Amtrak didn't have any control over it, so it's strange that one rep makes it sound like a two way street where the other says it's all Chase. Personally if you only plan on using UR points on Amtrak, I'd cash out ASAP to make sure your points are in AGR. I was considering leaving my points in Chase because I could use them elsewhere if AGR goes off the deep end, but now I'm questioning that line of thinking since I'll most likely use them on Amtrak anyway.
By the way, AGR rep was very helpful and I let them know I did not like the changes in the program and they seemed very interested in feedback. So if you get a chance, let them know your issues with the program. My gut tells me that they'll proceed as stated and only make changes if membership or ridership takes a big enough hit.
The rumor on the BOA card is that there will be two iterations.
One no-fee card and one annual fee card with more perks and earning potential, but I haven't heard that from any official sources.
About Chase Sapphire Preferred UR points transfers...
I specifically asked Chase a few days ago, if in the future AGR were to cease UR points transfers, would card holders be notified prior to that change. The Sapphire Preferred rep told me that if any partners left the program cardholders would receive notice prior to them leaving.
However, while I was typing this I figured I'd call again today and see what answer I got. Another Chase rep indicated there could be no warning. Apparently at one time Korean air dropped out and transfers ended that very same day with zero warning.
The strange thing is, the Chase told me that they had no plans to end the partnership but if Amtrak ended it on their end they wouldn't be able to do anything. I called Guest Rewards and was told that it's a Chase card perk and that Amtrak didn't have any control over it, so it's strange that one rep makes it sound like a two way street where the other says it's all Chase. Personally if you only plan on using UR points on Amtrak, I'd cash out ASAP to make sure your points are in AGR. I was considering leaving my points in Chase because I could use them elsewhere if AGR goes off the deep end, but now I'm questioning that line of thinking since I'll most likely use them on Amtrak anyway.
By the way, AGR rep was very helpful and I let them know I did not like the changes in the program and they seemed very interested in feedback. So if you get a chance, let them know your issues with the program. My gut tells me that they'll proceed as stated and only make changes if membership or ridership takes a big enough hit.
Sep 4, 2015, 4:00 pm
#184
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Philly suburbs
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards, BOA Travel Visa,
Posts: 56
About the Bank of America card...
The rumor on the BOA card is that there will be two iterations.
One no-fee card and one annual fee card with more perks and earning potential, but I haven't heard that from any official sources.
About Chase Sapphire Preferred UR points transfers...
I specifically asked Chase a few days ago, if in the future AGR were to cease UR points transfers, would card holders be notified prior to that change. The Sapphire Preferred rep told me that if any partners left the program cardholders would receive notice prior to them leaving.
However, while I was typing this I figured I'd call again today and see what answer I got. Another Chase rep indicated there could be no warning. Apparently at one time Korean air dropped out and transfers ended that very same day with zero warning.
The strange thing is, the Chase told me that they had no plans to end the partnership but if Amtrak ended it on their end they wouldn't be able to do anything. I called Guest Rewards and was told that it's a Chase card perk and that Amtrak didn't have any control over it, so it's strange that one rep makes it sound like a two way street where the other says it's all Chase. Personally if you only plan on using UR points on Amtrak, I'd cash out ASAP to make sure your points are in AGR. I was considering leaving my points in Chase because I could use them elsewhere if AGR goes off the deep end, but now I'm questioning that line of thinking since I'll most likely use them on Amtrak anyway.
By the way, AGR rep was very helpful and I let them know I did not like the changes in the program and they seemed very interested in feedback. So if you get a chance, let them know your issues with the program. My gut tells me that they'll proceed as stated and only make changes if membership or ridership takes a big enough hit.
The rumor on the BOA card is that there will be two iterations.
One no-fee card and one annual fee card with more perks and earning potential, but I haven't heard that from any official sources.
About Chase Sapphire Preferred UR points transfers...
I specifically asked Chase a few days ago, if in the future AGR were to cease UR points transfers, would card holders be notified prior to that change. The Sapphire Preferred rep told me that if any partners left the program cardholders would receive notice prior to them leaving.
However, while I was typing this I figured I'd call again today and see what answer I got. Another Chase rep indicated there could be no warning. Apparently at one time Korean air dropped out and transfers ended that very same day with zero warning.
The strange thing is, the Chase told me that they had no plans to end the partnership but if Amtrak ended it on their end they wouldn't be able to do anything. I called Guest Rewards and was told that it's a Chase card perk and that Amtrak didn't have any control over it, so it's strange that one rep makes it sound like a two way street where the other says it's all Chase. Personally if you only plan on using UR points on Amtrak, I'd cash out ASAP to make sure your points are in AGR. I was considering leaving my points in Chase because I could use them elsewhere if AGR goes off the deep end, but now I'm questioning that line of thinking since I'll most likely use them on Amtrak anyway.
By the way, AGR rep was very helpful and I let them know I did not like the changes in the program and they seemed very interested in feedback. So if you get a chance, let them know your issues with the program. My gut tells me that they'll proceed as stated and only make changes if membership or ridership takes a big enough hit.
Sep 4, 2015, 7:43 pm
#185
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 44
You seem to have the same thinking going forward that I have had for years. I have both the AGR MasterCard and the Sapphire Preferred Card. 95% of my charges were on the SP card and I let a huge amount of points (several hundred thousand ) sit on the SP acct because I was always fearful of the AGR program ending. Lets face it they are at the whims of congress and this always concerned me. If the AGR program went out of business I could redeem them for air travel at SP. Long story short I now transferred all the points into AGR. I have more points there than I will use for the foreseeable future. I too was concerned about the UR transfer option so I called the SP team and got two different answers. The first rep told me that the UR transfer option would also end on the 30th. This surprised me as it was different than what I have heard. I waited 10 minutes called back and got a different rep. She said that they could continue for a brief time. Again not a firm answer. I asked to speak to a supervisor. He wasn't sure either but stated what I figured and that is when the AGR MasterCard leaves it is highly unlikely that the UR transfer option will stay around much longer. He even went to his supervisor and got a response that no one knows when it will end. He said that when the negations between Amtrak and Chase were ongoing the UR transfer option was not addressed. He is sure that it will come up in the future but couldn't say when. He did say the same thing, with the relationship ending with Amtrak it is unlikely for the UR transfer option to stay for any length of time. And as with the Korean Air transfer which disappeared overnight we have to keep an eye on this daily. Please also keep this site updated and I will do the same.
It's so strange that they have absolutely no answer for this and none of them seem phased that if it ended overnight and inconvenienced tons of their customers that it wouldn't be a problem. You'd think one of them, or hopefully both of them, would give enough of a crap about their customers to at least give card members a week grace period to transfer points. I'm going to go ahead and cash out, it seems like it's on even more shaky ground than I thought. I wonder if the BOA deal has any exclusivity agreements in place that would preclude transferring points from other cards, e.g. the Starwood AMEX card that also trades at 1:1. It's really a bummer, I really liked my Sapphire Preferred card, despite the annual fee.
Sep 5, 2015, 8:12 am
#186
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Philly suburbs
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards, BOA Travel Visa,
Posts: 56
It's so strange that they have absolutely no answer for this and none of them seem phased that if it ended overnight and inconvenienced tons of their customers that it wouldn't be a problem. You'd think one of them, or hopefully both of them, would give enough of a crap about their customers to at least give card members a week grace period to transfer points. I'm going to go ahead and cash out, it seems like it's on even more shaky ground than I thought. I wonder if the BOA deal has any exclusivity agreements in place that would preclude transferring points from other cards, e.g. the Starwood AMEX card that also trades at 1:1. It's really a bummer, I really liked my Sapphire Preferred card, despite the annual fee.
Sep 5, 2015, 9:04 am
#187
In Memoriam
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: New York, NY, USA
Programs: HH Diamond, Amtrak Exec
Posts: 3,262
I can assure you that AGR is indeed reading the calm, well reasoned comments being posted here and that they are being considered where practical & possible. So keep them coming!
However, I have no idea if what you ask for is actually possible or not. Sorry!
However, I have no idea if what you ask for is actually possible or not. Sorry!
Sep 5, 2015, 9:10 am
#188
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
However, while I was typing this I figured I'd call again today and see what answer I got. Another Chase rep indicated there could be no warning. Apparently at one time Korean air dropped out and transfers ended that very same day with zero warning.
The strange thing is, the Chase told me that they had no plans to end the partnership but if Amtrak ended it on their end they wouldn't be able to do anything. I called Guest Rewards and was told that it's a Chase card perk and that Amtrak didn't have any control over it, so it's strange that one rep makes it sound like a two way street where the other says it's all Chase. Personally if you only plan on using UR points on Amtrak, I'd cash out ASAP to make sure your points are in AGR. I was considering leaving my points in Chase because I could use them elsewhere if AGR goes off the deep end, but now I'm questioning that line of thinking since I'll most likely use them on Amtrak anyway.
Speaking of which, it is worth noting again that both Korean Air and Virgin Atlantic have their co-branded credit cards with other banks. In fact Virgin Atlantic's credit card for United States customers is with Bank of America. Yet both of these are Chase UR transfer partners.
That doesn't guarantee that UR-->AGR will continue, of course, but it's at least a set of data points that it could continue.
Sep 5, 2015, 9:17 am
#189
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Philly suburbs
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards, BOA Travel Visa,
Posts: 56
The (temporary) Korean Air issue was an unexpected technical glitch, not an end to their partnership due to terminating an agreement/contract. Transfers were later restored once whatever programming changes were made to correct the problem. Recently technical issues cropped up again and transfers could only be made on the phone but not online, to Korean Air.
Speaking of which, it is worth noting again that both Korean Air and Virgin Atlantic have their co-branded credit cards with other banks. In fact Virgin Atlantic's credit card for United States customers is with Bank of America. Yet both of these are Chase UR transfer partners.
That doesn't guarantee that UR-->AGR will continue, of course, but it's at least a set of data points that it could continue.
Speaking of which, it is worth noting again that both Korean Air and Virgin Atlantic have their co-branded credit cards with other banks. In fact Virgin Atlantic's credit card for United States customers is with Bank of America. Yet both of these are Chase UR transfer partners.
That doesn't guarantee that UR-->AGR will continue, of course, but it's at least a set of data points that it could continue.
Sep 5, 2015, 12:50 pm
#190
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: East Coast, USA
Posts: 1,032
At this point, my only wish list (far fetched?) is the reinstatement of the 500/750 city pair TQP for S+/SE, just like the airlines do with their elites. But I understand that it is a long shot!
Sep 5, 2015, 1:53 pm
#191
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 8,135
, I'd like to urge AGR to rethink their announced policy of excluding Saver fares from awards redemption. It's illogical, not to mention petty.
Sep 5, 2015, 1:58 pm
#192
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 44
The (temporary) Korean Air issue was an unexpected technical glitch, not an end to their partnership due to terminating an agreement/contract. Transfers were later restored once whatever programming changes were made to correct the problem. Recently technical issues cropped up again and transfers could only be made on the phone but not online, to Korean Air.
Speaking of which, it is worth noting again that both Korean Air and Virgin Atlantic have their co-branded credit cards with other banks. In fact Virgin Atlantic's credit card for United States customers is with Bank of America. Yet both of these are Chase UR transfer partners.
That doesn't guarantee that UR-->AGR will continue, of course, but it's at least a set of data points that it could continue.
Speaking of which, it is worth noting again that both Korean Air and Virgin Atlantic have their co-branded credit cards with other banks. In fact Virgin Atlantic's credit card for United States customers is with Bank of America. Yet both of these are Chase UR transfer partners.
That doesn't guarantee that UR-->AGR will continue, of course, but it's at least a set of data points that it could continue.
Sep 5, 2015, 2:03 pm
#193
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 44
I actually mentioned this to the AGR rep I spoke with and she had never even heard that Saver fares were not being accepted for point buys, but she admitted that if it was stated here by AGRInsider that it was probably true.
Sep 6, 2015, 11:03 am
#194
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
The Chase Sapphire Preferred rep actually used the Korean Air deal as an example of the unexpected things that can happen when the partnerships end. She didn't elaborate but basically said that the partnership ended and they stopped points transfers immediately and she was dealing lots of unhappy customers. She did note that they later reinstated them after they renewed a partnership deal but never said it was a glitch. I think she wanted to impress upon me that, in some cases, cardholders will have zero warning. I can't say whether that is true or not, I was just reiterating what the Sapphire rep told me. I had never even heard of the Korean air debacle before speaking with her.
- Starting a few days after UR transfer availability was interrupted in December 2014, KE's website noted the following, which isn't in line with an end to the partnership if they already had an anticipated date to resume transfers.
Chase Ultimate Rewards point transfer is temporarily unavailable. It is planned to re-open during Jan, 2015.
As a security measure, a business decision was made to suspend this benefit so that we can review processes and make appropriate changes. Regretfully, at this time, no date has been determined as to the return of this functionality. We do realize this feature is part of the rewards earning structure. Although we reserve the right to make changes to the program at anytime, we ask that you trust we are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.
- A couple of the more connected miles bloggers contacted Chase and while the current inability to process transfers was noted, Chase stated that the website would be updated when (not "if", which was telling) functionality returns.
- For a short time initially, using certain browsers and settings allowed KE to appear again in the UR transfer menu.
So I don't see the KE temporary issue as directly analogous to what might happen with AGR. Of course, I'm not asserting that it's guaranteed that transfers won't end without advance notice. But so far UR doesn't have a history of no-notice permanent terminations. Keep our fingers crossed I guess!
Sep 7, 2015, 8:33 pm
#195
Company Representative - Amtrak
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards (Select Executive)
Posts: 528
I noticed a typo error in my August 28th post in this thread. It pertains to the first bullet about our new class of service earning bonus (Business and First class). It will be tier qualifying. It was always the intent to make this tier qualifying as it is replacing the current Select City Pair structure on Acela, which today is all tier qualifying. I went back to the post and removed the word "not" in that bullet, because it was not correct. Our Web page currently does not state whether or not the class of service earn bonus is tier qualifying, but we will make this clarifying update on the page later this week.
Anthony
Anthony