Philly Plain Dealer

Earlier this month, NJTransit sent me an email alerting me that I have 12,217 NJTransit Rewards. Previous to this email, I had no idea that New Jersey Transit awarded points nor what I could get for them.

Upon entering the NJTRewards website, I quickly realized that my 12,217 points were worthless. Unlike typical airline miles or any other rewards program, New Jersey Transit offers none of their own services as potential rewards, meaning you cannot redeem NJTransit points for rides on NJTransit. 

As far as I can tell, the best NJTransit Reward available is a “Free Black Cold Brew Coffee” from Hidden Grounds Coffee, which costs 400 points. The 400 points even includes creamer, but don’t get greedy because “syrup additions are not included in this offer.”

I won’t belittle the small businesses associated with this program, because they likely expected that New Jersey Transit would build a good or useful rewards program like Amtrak, credit card companies or an airline. However, there are no big ticket items on NJTransit Rewards. All of the redeemables are small ticket discounts ranging from 5% to 25% or have caveats offering free items “with the purchase of” something else. NJTransit Rewards points could be the least useful form of currency available in the United States, and I say that as a man who has booked a night at the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas using points earned through the Tetris mobile app.

One major issue for the NJTransit Rewards program is that $1 spent through the NJTransit App equals 22 rewards points, meaning a round trip ride from Philadelphia to Atlantic City which costs $24.70 would earn you 528 points. There are only five “rewards” that cost more than 500 points. 

Amtrak on the other hand has gotten its reward system right. Although Amtrak points are harder to come by, typically Amtrak riders are given 2 points for every one dollar they spend, but those are subject to bonuses if you book Business class or Acela. These points can be used to buy Amtrak train tickets and gift cards to dozens of places. Recently Amtrak has rolled out a feature on their app where if you don’t have a ton of points, you can spend the remainder of your points for a slight discount on your ticket. According to The Points Guys, an Amtrak Rewards point is worth about 2.67 cents. 

If you are a frequent Amtrak or NJTransit rider who books through their respective apps, you likely have hundreds or thousands of unknown points. Amtrak does a better job of promoting their rewards program, but if you look closely on your NJTransit app – you may be eligible for a nearly endless supply of Free Black Cold Brew Coffee from Hidden Grounds Coffee.