Dear Alex,
I am a frequent rail traveller in first class on East Coast, travelling weekly, if not more, from Yorkshire to London. East Coast has introduced a new loyalty scheme called Rewards. For every £1 spent you earn one point – or one and a half if you travel first class.
The points are redeemed on free tickets. However, I now learn that only tickets purchased through the website earn points. And since my tickets are bought through a travel manager at our company in Yorkshire, I am unable to qualify. Have you heard of a loyalty programme like this one that refuses to reward its highest spending and most loyal members?
Name and address supplied
Alex replies:
It does seem odd but the reason is, basically, that rail technical systems lag behind their airline counterparts. And no immediate solution is in sight.
East Coast explains: “It is because of the complex retail infrastructure on which all rail operators depend. This has to accommodate many different systems, doing different things for different train operators.”
The firm would like a technical solution that works in every retail system, including travel agents, but it admits that “given the complexity of rail retail infrastructure, it’s unlikely a complete solution can be achieved”.
