Last Day to Transfer Continental Miles to Amtrak

In early November, I blogged about Amtrak-Continental partnership changes set to take effect tomorrow, 01 January 2012.

As a friendly reminder, today is your last day to transfer Continental OnePass miles to Amtrak Guest Rewards and vice-versa.

Elite status on Amtrak or Continental is not required to transfer miles from Continental One Pass to Amtrak Guest Rewards, but in order to transfer points from Amtrak to Continental, one of the two requirements below must be met:

• Members with current Amtrak Guest Rewards Select or Select Plus™ status (limit 50,000 miles transferred per year)
• Cardholders of the Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard® issued by Chase Bank with an Amtrak travel spend on the card of over $200 per calendar year (limit 25,000 miles transferred per year)

An Acela ticket is only 8K points and a Northeast Regional only 3K. You can also use the points for “heritage” trips like a sleeper from New York to Chicago on the Lake Shore Limited or Los Angeles to Seattle on the Coast Starlight.

A few other points about the United-Amtrak partnership:

• Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Plus members will continue to enjoy access to the United Clubs through February 2012. Present your valid Select Plus card at the United Club to enjoy complimentary beverages and snacks, free Wi-Fi and more.
• Through March 2012, members will continue to earn Amtrak Guest Rewards points on Continental operated flights. And beginning in March, members will earn points on United operated flights.
  • Earn 1 point for each air mile traveled on Amtrak/Continental code-share trips taken through Newark Liberty International Airport to Philadelphia, PA; Wilmington, DE; Stamford, CT; or New Haven, CT, with a minimum of 500 points per flight. Plus, earn a 50% point bonus for travel in Business, BusinessFirst, or First Class, with a minimum of 750 points per flight.