Does CO->Amtrak->UA really work?
 

Title says it all. If there are threads I should be reading in a different forum about this, let me know.

Thanks

Lots of threads in the CO forum.

Lots of threads in the Amtrak forum.

And, yes it works. You must transfer in 5,000 mile increments with a 25,000 mile per year limit. Usually it takes around three or four days to get the miles from OnePass into Guest Rewards and another week or so to move them from Guest Rewards into Mileage Plus.

It absolutely works. I've done it myself. My most recent experience is 7 days CO --> Amtrak.

Amtrak does impose a cap of 25k Guest Rewards points moved out of the program to any of its transfer partners in a year (50k is the limit for Amtrak elites). Why? Because it works too well -- and Amtrak has to buy all those darned United miles! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

The details are:

Get an Amtrak account first -- www.amtrakguestrewards.com

Continental miles can be transferred to Amtrak
http://www.continental.com/company/alliance/amtrak.asp

Here's how you do it -- call the Continental One Pass Service Center at (713)/952-1630 (6:30am to 8:00pm Central). Have your Continental and Amtrak account numbers and your Continental password ready. They will move miles to Amtrak in 5000 point increments. The transfer should be accomplished within 10 days.

You can move Amtrak --> United online
http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/Redemption/online_rewards.cfm?CFID= 2646599&CFTOKEN=41006491&category=PE

Amtrak transfers allow you to move pretty much any airline into United miles.

AA: credit your miles to Midwest and transfer Midwest --> Amtrak --> United

NW: credit your miles to CO and transfer --> Amtrak --> United.

DL: credit your miles to CO and transfer --> Amtrak --> United.

AS: credit your miles to CO and transfer --> Amtrak --> United.

US: credit your miles to UA. (obvious)

UA: credit your miles to UA. (obvious)

YX: transfer your miles --> Amtrak --> United.

This doesn't work for HP unfortunately, since they're no longer partnered with CO.

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View from the Wing: A blog about Free Miles and Free Markets

[This message has been edited by gleff (edited 08-22-2003).]

Works perfectly... and quickly!

William

Thanks so much for the help. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Why the transfer to Midwest? Why not transfer from CO directly to Amtrak?

Sorry - typo - corrected. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif

Got it!

Does Amtrak let you transfer to any other program other than Continental?

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AA, Onepass, Skymiles, Hhonors Gold, Starwood Gold

Can you go from UA to Amtrak to CO? If so, how long does it take?

Thanks in advance.

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mylez2go
DTW
Worldperks/HHonors

Racefan6: This link that gleff originally posted gives you a good idea of the redemption opportunities.
http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/Re...91&category=PE

I am assuming this only works with new NW flights crediting to OnePass? I have 4,972 "orphaned" NW miles that I'd like to move. Any way to do this?

Not that I'm aware of. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Midwest
Hilton
United
(You can claim certificates/vouchers with other programs.. but can't transfer points to other programs besides the above.)

You cannot transfer United miles INTO Amtrak.. only Amtrak --> United.

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View from the Wing: A blog about Free Miles and Free Markets

OK, I know this is picky, but does anyone know if the limit on transfers is based on calander year or actually a one year time period? Can I make a transfer on Nov 2003 and then another on Jan 2004? Has anybody tried this?

Calendar year.

http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/Re...91&category=PE
(Bold emphasis mine.)

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View from the Wing: A blog about Free Miles and Free Markets

OK...so how about comparing the value of an Amtrak mile vs. an airline miles, such as UA?

I have about 40,000 Amtrak miles from BOS-NYC Acela trips...maybe I should transfer 25,000 this year and the balance next year to UA or CO vs. leaving them in Amtrak?

By the end of next year, I'll probably have 50,000 Amtrak miles...

Well we'll see how it goes. I setup the accounts in AMEX Rewards and then transfered 20,000 points from AMEX to CO and I made sure that my Amtrak account (never used) and profile was current.

Does anyone know if there are any restrictions imposed on the following situation(s):

I transfer CO miles to a family member's AMTRAK account, which in turn goes into their UA account. Or vice versa, a family member transfers their CO miles into my AMTRAK account, which in turn goes into my UA account.

[This message has been edited by cab747 (edited 08-25-2003).]

Nice easy to follow primer on this subject gleff. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

I am not very bright, which is a well known fact as my brain is inverted and thus my head hurts a lot, and thus do not grasp the big picture here. Maybe someone can explain to me: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

If Amtrak needs to buy the UA miles ... what do they get from CO as that part of the deal?

Say we are talking 25,000 CO miles that get moved to Amtrak. If Amtrak pay UA a penny or 2 a mile ..... what does CO give Amtrak as their part of the deal?

Thanks for the assistance, gleff.


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mylez2go
DTW
Worldperks/HHonors

Presumably the same thing. CO certainly has to buy Amtrak points since essentially what OnePass members are doing is claiming a frequent flier reward (on Amtrak).

gleff, thanks for such a clear step by step explanation. I opened my Amtrak account last night. Today, I transferred my 15K CO orphan miles into it. Now, what to do, what to do - free Hertz rentals? Hilton points? Hmmm....... (continues to study the Amtrak transfer list....)

Not so fast http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

If you have 40 hours to spare, and any interest in train travel, I'd recommend the 15K sleeper award on the coast starlight to Seattle. I did it a few months ago (actually the trip you helped me out w/ hyatt on- thanks again!) and had a blast.

Whoever is being relieved of a future obligation pays.

CO --> Amtrak, CO pays Amtrak
Amtrak --> UA, Amtrak pays UA

Since Amtrak pays when it transfers out, you can see why they'd limit it. OTOH, you'd think the limits could be higher, like 100K. Otherwise, you have to question the math.

Another angle:

Amtrak points can be used for flights on most US airlines and many interntional.

GR = Guest Rewards

GR --> CO = DL, NW, KLM, et. al.
GR --> YX = AA, F9
GR --> UA = US, *A

Also, GR can be turned into HHonors points:
GR --> HH 1:2

Or redeemed directly for Marriot and Starwood. The Starwood redemption scheme is not favorable, but the Marriot one is decent, IMHO.

It would seem to me that 25,000 GR points is worth more as an airline mile than as a GR point.

For example, I would use GRs on Amtrak for Acelka to NY. 10,000 GR's = 1 way first class, which currently sells for $150.

So, if you think you can get more than 1.5 cents per mile in value with airline miles, transferring GRs to airline miles is the way to go.

[This message has been edited by nologic (edited 08-26-2003).]

This seems like a pretty good use for 30,000 GR's:

Royal Prestige One-Night Points: 30,000 Item #: 4009
Enjoy a one-night stay in a lavishly appointed suite, featuring classically elegant furnishings and a sumptuous marble bath, at any participating Ritz-Carlton hotel. Known for exquisite service in a luxury setting and winner of many industry and consumer awards, The Ritz-Carlton hotels can be found worldwide in 39 locations. The Royal Prestige Suite Travel Award includes breakfast for two (tax and gratuity included) and all room-related taxes. For more information about The Ritz-Carlton accommodations, you are invited to visit (www.ritzcarlton.com/). The participating hotels are: Amelia Island, Florida - Atlanta, Georgia - Berlin, Germany - Boston, Massachusetts - Buckhead, Georgia - Cancun, Mexico - Cleveland, Ohio - Dearborn, Michigan - Dubai U.A.E. - Half Moon Bay, California - Hotel Arts Barcelona, Spain - Huntington Hotel and Spa, Pasadena, California - Jimbaran, Bali - Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Laguna Niguel, California - Marina Del Ray, California - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Montreal, Canada - Naples, Florida - New Orleans, Louisiana - Osaka, Japan - Palm Beach, Florida - Pentagon City, Virginia - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Phoenix, Arizona - Rancho Mirage, California - San Francisco, California - San Juan, Puerto Rico - Seoul, Korea - Shanghai, China - Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt - Singapore - St. Louis, Missouri - St. Thomas, Virgin Islands - Tysons Corner, Virginia - Washington, D.C. - Wolfsburg, Germany.

Well the points are now in my CO account from AMEX in just over 48 hours - now on to Amtrak. On another note, I have been looking at the Amtrak Rail awards and they're pretty nice. My wife and I are thinking about taking the Coast Starlight from Sacramento up to Seattle and maybe even going out to Whitefish, MT (same number of points). I've only taken a ride on Amtrak once - from NYC to PHL - however we've rode Eurostar many times. I'm somewhat curious what it would be like to ride in a sleeper car for a few days.

*** That was quick. I called the One Pass Service Center and she just asked for my CO account number, PIN and Amtrak Guest Rewards number - then the 20k miles left my account instantly. She said to give it 10 days minimum for the transfer.

[This message has been edited by TravelManKen (edited 08-27-2003).]

I moved about 175K CO to UA through Amtrak and 25K CO to YX before the door slammed almost shut. Worked well. Still will do 25K a year until they ruin that. Would've moved more but was concerned over UA bankruptcy.

Helps me especially because my favorite award is U.S. to Asia in coach (60K or thereabouts), and UA is a good backup for the times CO says it doesn't have award seats on NW.

Hi, I just tried to transfer my AA miles to Midwest, and they said I couldn't do it. On Gleff's post when he says:
"AA: credit your miles to Midwest and transfer Midwest --> Amtrak --> United"

Does he mean, when you take a new flight you tell them to put those miles on your Midwest account? So it's only good for future stuff.

Are there any of these other ones that you can transfer existing miles into CO or Amtrak, and thus United?

Feeling like it might have been to good to be true.....

Yep.

The only way I can think of to get existing AA miles into a UA account is to convert them to Diners Club points (you need a Diners Club credit card) and from there you can convert Diners Club points into United miles.

You'll suffer a 50% devaluation in the process. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Almost to United. I transfered the points from CO on Wednesday and they showed up on Monday in Amtrak. Now we'll see how long before the points show in United.

So you can't actually transfer miles to CO, you have to fly something and have those miles credited to CO? Help me, I'm dense. Have AA and particularly DL miles that I really want in my UA account.


[This message has been edited by lili-dui (edited 09-01-2003).]

My bet is that you'll see the points in your UA account Friday evening.

Does anyone know the answer to this question? This seems like a good way to make use of a family members' orphaned miles.

Similarly, Can I do a UA->Amtrak->CO??

Nope, UA --> Amtrak is not possible.

This is a great way to use orphaned miles. We have consolidated orphaned miles from all family members accts.in Amtrak and then sent out to just one UA acct. We then took the UA miles and sent through DC to BA.