JR East to offer 'Suica' reward points as part of staggered commuting plan

TOKYO -- East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) announced on Nov. 10 that it will start a reward point program from next spring to further promote staggered commuting using its electric money "Suica."

From March 1, 2021, JR East will give points equivalent to the fare for one ride if passengers take trains for the same fare section on local lines 10 times a month using the Suica card. If the fare section is the same, passengers will receive points even if the boarding station and the disembarking station are different each time. After the 11th ride, passengers will receive points equivalent to 10% of the fare each time.

With the spread of the novel coronavirus, JR East aims to support various commuting methods as the movement to adopt new working styles, such as working from home, has been spreading in Japan.

JR East will also start another point reward program for passengers who take trains during off-peak hours on weekday mornings using a Suica commuter pass. For a limited period of one year from the spring of 2021, they can receive 15 to 20 points a day.

The points passengers receive will be JR East's "JRE Points," which can be used for both shopping and riding on trains.

(Japanese original by Yoshitaka Yamamoto, City News Department)