Bilt Adds Amtrak as a Transfer Partner: 2:1 Transfers, Redeem for Acela First Class and Sleeper Cars

Bilt Rewards added Amtrak Guest Rewards as a transfer partner today. The transfer ratio is 2 Bilt Points = 1 Amtrak Point, and Bilt says transfers should generally be close to instant. In the past, Amtrak had almost no major bank points programs that could transfer directly to it, so the biggest significance of this new partner is that there is finally a convenient way to top off your Amtrak balance when you are just a little short.

• Transfer link

Amtrak points are worth about 2.67 cents per point when redeemed for train tickets. At Bilt’s 2:1 transfer ratio, that works out to roughly 1.33 cents of value per Bilt Point. That is not especially outstanding, so I would not really recommend transferring a large amount of Bilt points specifically for ordinary train tickets, especially since Bilt also has more interesting transfer partners such as Hyatt, Alaska, JAL, and Aeroplan. That said, there are a few practical use cases.

For example, an Acela First Class Upgrade starts at 2,500 Amtrak Points, which means you would need 5,000 Bilt Points. Amtrak Points can also be used for sleeper cars on long-distance trains, including routes such as the California Zephyr that can be a travel experience in their own right. If you have an Amtrak co-branded credit card, award redemptions for Amtrak travel also receive a 5% Points Rebate, and points transferred from Bilt are eligible as well.

Bilt points are becoming more and more useful. You can also take a look at Bilt’s credit cards, which can significantly speed up how quickly you earn points.