MegaBus Introduces Free "In Bus Entertainment"
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Is it the dawn of the golden age of bus travel? With companies like Cabin driving buses with lie-flat beds and free Wi-Fi onboard carriers like BoltBus, these new amenities are making bus travel more and more attractive.
But what buses have really been missing is something to keep you distracted from your seatmate's BO. Megabus, a large bus company that serves the US and Canada, has announced something that might do just that.
The company will be rolling out its own system for what we might call IBE, or in-bus-entertainment, using a rider's personal device. The free onboard entertainment app called Megabus RIDE is available for download and is already available on a majority of routes. It will be fully rolled out across the fleet nationwide by the end of the month.
RIDE stands for Recreational Innovative Digital Entertainment, although it isn't actually super innovative considering Greyhound released a similar service in 2013, on some routes.
Once Megabus riders download the RIDE app they will have the option to stream from 30 choices of movies, 10 hours of TV shows, 50 audiobooks and music albums and five games. The content is streamed over the buses' Wi-Fi and will change periodically throughout the year on a rolling basis. Although it doesn't have as many choices as many of the airlines' entertainment systems, it's definitely better than what the bus offered before, which wasn't much more than slow and unreliable Wi-Fi.
Megabus told TPG some of the current offerings will include newer movies like Moonlight, Rogue One, The Lego Batman Movie, Moana and Suicide Squad plus the popular TV shows Blackish, Big Bang Theory and Community.
Some airlines are moving to a model of IFE similar to Megabus, American Airlines decided not to install screens in seatbacks on its new 737 MAX but to instead provide flyers content to stream onto their phone or tablet.
If you find yourself looking to buy a Megabus ticket, make sure you use a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or Bank of America Premium Rewards card — bus tickets will code as travel, meaning you'll receive bonus points for these purchases.
Will this improve upon a TPG contributor's experience on a Megabus trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas route? It remains to be seen.
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month