In case you ever wondered what the QR Code reader on JR East station tickets machines is for: picking up online preordered JR East commuter passes, and nothing else. This will change in the Super Suica summer of 2021 along with a ‘renewed’ Ekinet service. Instead of entering a PIN code, users can flash a QR Code in the Ekinet App at station kiosks to pickup reserved paper tickets or pay for tickets at an ATM.
The biggest change is that Ekinet points are morphing into JRE POINT…finally. Just like you use JRE POINT for a free Suica recharge, you can use JRE POINT for ticket purchases, updates to reserved seats, Green Car seats, etc. The expanded Ekinet will support more Shinkansen eTicket discount options and Business Ekinet will be gaining Shinkansen eTickets for the first time. The press release says that the inbound only JR-EAST Train Reservation system will be getting an overhaul at the same time.
Let’s hope the renewed Ekinet is easier to use than the current one.
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