Italo Più collection restarts: program becomes revenue based, and it's not good news
As announced today, the new edition of the Italo Più loyalty program, i.e., the points collection dedicated to [...]
As announced today the new edition of the Italo Più loyalty program was presented, that is, the point collection dedicated to the users of the High-Speed Railway of Italo Train.
In this article:
As per Italian tradition (and legislation) the new loyalty program will last 24 months and all members will restart from zero points, since as per the worst tricolor tradition the managers of loyalty initiatives take advantage of the law to reset points and eliminate a debt from the budget.
What's new in the Italo Più loyalty program
The biggest change, which can also be read as a hidden devaluation, is The shift from fixed accrual to variable accrual linked to ticket spending, now standard practice in aviation and hotel chains, but a momentous change for Italo's loyal HS train customers.
This was the number of points that accumulated with the last edition of the Italo Più program, a fixed number of points depending on the route (short or long) , cabin and fare. If with 6 round-trip tickets in Prima you would accumulate 1200 points today, to rake in the same number of points you will need to spend a minimum of 1200 euros on tickets.
The new regulation no longer makes any distinction and All travelers will accumulate 1 point for every euro spent. Currently, on promotion until the end of September, if you buy a flex fare you will get 2 points for every euro you spend.
Needless to say, one must already mark on one's calendar the April 28, 2026 as the new expiration date Of Italo Più points.
Italo Più Award Tickets
The number of points needed to redeem an award ticket remains unchanged, at least until Sept. 30 aboard Italo trains. On balance, however, this is a devaluation since fewer points will be accumulated for the same number of trips than in the past.
Until May 8 transfer from American Express suspended
For a few more days, it will not be possible to transfer Memebership Rewards points to Italo Più, from the perspective of those who want to Redeeming tickets using American Express card points. there would not appear to have been, at present, any devaluation.
For absolute certainty, we have to wait until May 8 when the ability to convert points between the two programs will be restored and see if the conversion rate will remain as it was previously (2:1).
In conclusion
The expiration of points tout court, without the possibility of renewing them in new collections is an all-Italian specialty in complying with the regulations on prize contests that regulates, unfortunately, loyalty programs. From large retailers to airlines or oil companies, everyone takes advantage of the rule to "clean up" the balance sheet and reset the points of unfortunate members. In this case Italo also took the opportunity to change the basic rules of its program, obviously worse for the vast majority of travelers since the revenue-based model rewards only those who spend a lot and not those who travel often.
