Most corporate discount programs offer actual discounts. The new Amtrak Guest Rewards for Business program, on the other hand, offers companies a match on the points earned by employees, which can be used to offset travel expenses, as an additional reward for the traveling employees, or even upgrades and club passes.

If you’ve got a business that doesn’t qualify for the FORTUNE 500 and your employees are saving time traveling by rail instead of the non-liquid check-in line at the airport, then Amtrak’s new Guest Rewards for Business might be your ticket. Just introduced, the program offers a company account that earns a 25- to 40-percent match of the base point earning of the company’s travelers. The program works on a calendar basis and has a sliding scale for the company match. For instance when employees spend between $20,001 and $50,000 annually the company will earn a 30-percent bonus of the their employees’ base points.

A few of the finer points of the program require that a company have at least five employees enrolled in the program and that points can only be earned when booking Amtrak travel through Amtrak.com and Quik Track self-ticketing machines. As well, the initial program is focused on earnings based on Amtrak travel in the Eastern corridor.

The entire program is Web-based. For more information visit http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/forbusiness

Note: It would appear that, despite the challenges of Amtrak is facing, this program has an immediate chance for success given the inconvenience of traveling by air. The only shortfall we see in the program is the inability to exchange company points for airline miles.