A few days ago we let you know that the new Amtrak credit card will be launching this fall, we also did a bit of speculating about what might happen. We now have a bit more information thanks to a leaked document (thanks to @calwatch on Twitter). First of all Amtrak is going to be move towards a redemption value based system (e.g number of points a booking will cost is dependent on the ticketing price), you can read more about this in the PDF or Frequent Miler or Points With A Crew.
Contents
New Credit Cards
I’m really just concerned with the credit cards at this stage, this is what we know thanks to that PDF (P29).
- There will be a new credit card issuer (more on this below and this confirms our earlier suspicions)
- There will be two new cards launched
- Cards will launch September 12th, 2015
We’ll likely see one card with no annual fee and another card with an annual fee with additional benefits and earning rates.
Who Will Issue The New Cards?
There is no bank logo on either of the cards, but @KennyBSAT (author of the excellent blog Miles4more) has noticed that the card holder name is the same name that Bank of America uses as their place holder name. In addition to this @BoonDR also noticed that the card numbers are exactly the same as well. I’d be really surprised if Bank of America doesn’t issue these cards, which is fitting given how similar their logos are in appearance.
Will Chase UR Still Be Able To Be Transferred To Amtrak?
Bank of America doesn’t have it’s own loyalty point program that can be transferred to travel partners, so it’s possible that Chase Ultimate Rewards will still be able to be transferred to Amtrak. Bank of America currently has four airline partners (Alaska, Asiana, Spirit & Virgin Atlantic), let’s look to see if any of these transfer-ability with any other programs.
- Alaska: Starwoods Preferred Guest & Diners Club can be transferred here
- Asiana: Starwoods Preferred Guest can be transferred here
- Virgin Atlantic: Starwoods Preferred Guest, Diners Club, Membership Rewards & ThankYou points can be transferred here
- Spirit: No flexible point partners
Basically it’s a crap shoot, Chase UR might still be able to be transferred and they might not. If you want to transfer your points, I’d do it now rather than later. If you want to know what might happen to existing cardholders, read this.
