Bilt Points Now Transfer To Amtrak—First Class Train Upgrades And Sleeper Cars

Bilt points now transfer to Amtrak Guest Rewards. Starting September 23, you can turn 2 Bilt points into 1 Amtrak point, with transfers that Bilt says will be near instant. There are a few ways to make this more interesting as well. This is useful for people who actually take the train, especially in the Northeast corridor. Amtrak points have been hard to come by. An Amtrak point being worth around 2.67 cents in travel, but at 2:1 transfers you’re not much better off than booking travel through Bilt’s portal. A transfer bonus would make this better. I’d use a small transfer to top off towards an award Or potentially redeeming for an Acela first class upgrade coupon, though I’ve seen paid upgrades as travel approaches offered cheap. Amtrak Has Been Hard To Transfer Points Into I wrote about the last day to transfer Chase points to Amtrak back on December 7, 2015. American Express, Chase, Citi, Capital One and Wells Fargo don’t offer direct transfers to the program. Amtrak has an exclusive card deal, and Bilt ins’t a card program though they have cobrand cards themselves. The only transfers into Amtrak I’m currently aware of are from Audience Rewards ShowPoints, earned from theater ticket purchases. Transfers are 1:1 with an eligible ticket purchase in the past 12 months, and are limited to 50,000 points per year. Points transferred into Audience Rewards from another program can’t be transferred back out to a partner. Neither Choice Privileges nor Wyndham Rewards transfer into Amtrak any longer. And the old JetBlue workaround through Points.com is long gone. Amtrak’s Union Station in D.C. What Amtrak Points Are Worth Amtrak largely ties award prices to ticket prices. A more expensive train generally costs more points rather than offering a distance-based award chart that lets you book expensive ticket for a fixed number of points. You can expect about 2.67 cents in train travel per Amtrak point. At Bilt’s 2:1 ratio that’s 1.33 cents per Bilt point. Phialdelphia 30th Street Station Some Redemption Options To Consider Acela first class upgrades start at 2,500 points (so 5,000 Bilt points). You apply the upgrade within 12 hours of departure, subject to the coupon’s fare and train restrictions. This may make sense for a $150 upgrade, but they can be offered for less. Northeast Regional, Acela, and regional trains elsewhere can save cash you’d otherwise spend. The award price generally rises with the fare, but trading off actual out of pocket cash can make sense. Some folks will consider a sleeper on the California Zephyr a trip in itself. Private rooms include meals and lounge access at eligible stations. There isn’t an old-style zone redemption like in the old days though. All-points travel starts at 400 Amtrak points. Points & Cash starts with a 100-point balance. Is Bilt Better Than An Amtrak Credit Card? For everyday spend, a Bilt card can be better-earning than an Amtrak card since Bilt Palladium can earn over 3 points per dollar (1.5 Amtrak points per dollar) and unbonused spend on the Amtrak cards earns just one point per dollar. However, Amtrak’s Preferred card earns 1,000 tier qualifying points for every $5,000 spent up to 4,000 per year (with Select status 5,000 qualifying points, Plus at 10,000 and Executive at 20,000). Spend towards status is a reason to go with Amtrak’s card. If you do have an Amtrak card, consider that it offers a 5% rebate on points redeemed for Amtrak travel. And Bilt points transferred to Amtrak are eligible for this treatment. Amtrak’s New Acela Train Keeping Amtrak Points From Expiring Amtrak points expire after 24 months without earning or redemption activity. Holding either Amtrak credit card prevents expiration while the card account remains open. A Bilt transfer should reset that clock. I’ll probably use transfers to keep my Amtrak points balance alive, since I no longer live in the Northeast and take Amtrak often (though I still seem to wind up on them about once a year). Mostly I Prefer Other Transfer Options I value my Bilt Points deeply. A value floor is 1.25 cents apiece when spent through their travel portal, but they have more and better transfer partners than other programs and frequently run Rent Day transfer bonuses up to 125%. Star Alliance: Air Canada Aeroplan, Turkish Miles & Smiles, United Airlines MileagePlus, Avianca LifeMiles, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go oneworld: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Iberia Plus, British Airways Club, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Qatar Airways Privilege Club SkyTeam: Air France KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Non-alliance: Emirates Skywards, Southwest Airlines, Aer Lingus Aer Club Hotels: World Of Hyatt, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, Accor ALL – Accor Live Limitless, Wyndham Rewards, Preferred Hotels I Prefer Other: Amtrak Guest Rewards Topics on this page