fransknorge

Since the 13th June, the Frequent traveller program of DB is called BahnBonus. It now has 3 tiers, with different benefits.
- Silver at 1500 pts
- Gold at 2500 pts
- Platinium at 6000 pts

Overall it is a loss compared to the previous program:
- Unlimited lounge access requires now 500 pts extra compared to before
- New benefits are limited amount of free drinks at the Restaurant car, and a 30% discount for all dishes if you are Platinium.
- The main one might be the new Premium lounge area for Platinium. I saw it at Frankfurt Hbf and this looks a bit nicer than the regular lounge.

Here is the biggest drawbacks and DB is taking a lot of criticism for it, but in its true fashion will not care: everything will go through the Bahnbonus app: card, vouchers for free drinks and lounges, order free tickets using points. You must have the app to do this, the section to book free tickets using points will disappear from the website. The app requires Android 9 or iOS 14 or higher. This is very limiting, my phone is at Android 8, and can not be upgraded for example, and a lot of other peoples are in the same situation.

Concerto

Apparently a lot of these so-called benefits are not being recognised by train staff, especially the free drinks. And you know how it can be in Germany with customer interactions. At least they haven't changed or raised the cost of redemption possibilities, such as free tickets and upgrades. But it's certainly something that I, despite traveling extensively with the train, will not be able to make much use of.

fransknorge

I read the same concerning lack of recognition by train staff. OTOH someone witnessed a train controller enforcing that the seating area reserved for status customer was used only by status customer (which I have never seen myself in over a hundred segments in the last years). I am confident also the stringent OS requirement for your phone will create pretty sour interaction with staff (I will try to get a free coffee next week without the app, and will stand my ground).

fransknorge

Just got my first free drink, a Cappuccino. It was painful: you must have the app (I put it on my iPad since my phone is “too old”), Internet to get the QR code and the train staff must have Internet too to scan the QR code. And their app is ..... It took a whole of 10 minutes to pay for it.

ajeleonard

Do any of these tiers now come with Star Alliance status?

fransknorge

There are no details about that yet. The integration of DB Bahn in Star Aliiance will take months I expect and for the time being we only have one press releases, no more information.

mangoMan

I expect to be traveling to Germany every year and will take a train 3-4 times every time I visit. I tried signing up for the BahnBonus program but it complained about my address (in the USA). Is this program only open to German residents? Apparently the sign-up bonus is 250 pts and a 1st class upgrade, which seems worth getting if the program is free. Also, I already have a ticket I bought a few weeks ago for travel later this month. If I can get a BahnBonus account, is it possible to get credit for this purchase even though I already bought it?

fransknorge

I could not find anything in the Terms and Conditions or FAQ suggesting only german residents can sign up. It might be you need to contact them to see if this is a bug or a feature.

mangoMan

I sent an email to BahnBonus support. We'll see if they can fix it.

If I do end up being able to sign up, does anyone know if I can add a BahnBonus number to a ticket already purchased, but before travel occurs?

Concerto

I have just received a letter saying that my Bahncard credit card will be cancelled next year on 29th September. They are ceasing their partnership with the Commerzbank. Wonder how I will be able to keep my points from expiring after that. Maybe it's because of this that they are stopping the credit card offer. Could be that they really don't want too much liability hanging around with piles of unused points.

mangoMan

I finally was able to register for BahnBonus. Had to do it while purchasing a ticket. So now I have to re-ask: does anyone know if I can add a BahnBonus number to a ticket already purchased, but before travel occurs? If so, how?

I booked 2 other tickets before I saw I could register for BahnBonus during purchase.

fransknorge

This is not possible to do it on the app or website. You might try it via an agent at the departing station.

enelym1978

Urgh that's annoying, I have the exact same issue, bought 2 trips and then realized I should have signed up for BahnBonus.... which is done now.

fransknorge

I would contact Customer Service and ask them to link the bookings to your account. This costs nothing.