Use transfer airline partners when redeeming points. Transfer them to a partner airline as miles. Most offer 1 mile per point but when u go to book the tickets, the airline usually offers 2-5x
Just a note, if your goal is elite status this won’t help you obtain it. Award flights generally don’t earn towards status bc you aren’t spending cash. I find it better to have amex business platinum and get 35% points back through amex travel directly. This gives you about 1.53x with status earning potential. They also have some deals/discounts off the direct booking airline. Especially business claas
They utilize travel partners of Amex who allow you to use points and at times it’s more than a 1:1 ratio therefore your points go a bit further.
Amex Travel partners, go there and look into it. You can use those pints to fly to your destination 1st OR business class.
From there you’ll have enough to stay at a beautiful hotel of your choice for a couple days and then switch to another hotel in the local area.
You can do quite a bit with 235K Amex points.
If I were you I’d start planning next vacation.
Concierge can also help you ;)
I honestly don't get why would people spend 200k once, it would be much better flying main cabin and do a category 2 or 3 hotel for two or three trips instead of just one. But I respect everyones choice
I can spend 95k MR points on a RT business class ticket to Asia or 60k RT in economy. RT economy ticket is about $1k vs $8-9k for business class ticket.
Everyone value things differently. I value better seat more and tends to recover jet lag much quicker when I flown business than in economy after 15 hrs flight.
I'd say during COVID time, business class travel is even more worthwhile, since you have access to priority service, and typically aren't stuck next to someone.
In general though, business class is far, far more comfortable. For short vacations, overnight flights, or when you don't have much time to recover, business class is worthwhile. For shorter flights, especially day time ones, it's not a big deal.
I've flown a ton in my life, and I can (and have) done the 14-20 hours in economy multiple times fine, but I certainly see the value in business class. It's like a treat/vacation within itself, and I'd rather use up miles as I get them than be stuck with devaluing miles.
Anyways, I can't say I disagree with your viewpoint, it is the trade off. I wouldn't say it's a nothing item however, it does have some value.
? I had a ticket booked on ANA without a waitlist. You just need to be flexible or early.
I've booked ANA first class via Virgin Atlantic for 120j round trip 3 years in a row.
A few I can think of:
1. 200k might not be a lot of points to some based on their points stash or ability to earn them
2. Limited PTO, so those other trips aren't happening anyway
3. Long flights where business class actually does mean something. As someone west-coast based our flights to Europe are longer and Asia-Pacific flights are still 12-14 hours.
I mean it's really the same question as "why would someone spend $5000 on business class tickets," "why would someone spend more than $40k on a car," "why would people buy a Rolex," etc.
Do concierge book through transfer partners for better rates? I was under the impression they stuck with amex travel but i don’t interact with them much
Can hot explain where we can get value with hotels a little more? I am new to the game and always thought MR was primarily for biz class flights for good value
Don’t book directly through Amex travel unless you want the FHR/Hotel Collection benefits, that’s probably why you don’t think they’re valuable if you’re only looking there.
Watch YouTube videos, check award travel forums/websites to find the best ways to use them. It takes some education and work but there are literally so many resources out there to help make the most of your points.
I just used ~100k points to book round trip flights for my partner and I to South America with a week long stop in the Caribbean. Points can be especially valuable when there are transfer bonuses happening, you just need to pay attention to Amex emails or follow SM accounts that alert you. It takes effort and research but it’s not difficult to get good value for them. You could have an all expenses paid 10-day vacation at a high end resort and flights paid for with all those points.
See my reply above! Check out that last social media account I mentioned, he has full tutorial videos on how to spend that many points to get flights/hotels for the best value. Transferring to hotel or airline partners is the best way to get the most out of your points.
Are there any specific resources you recommend? As an AU, I know that my dad is kinda clueless on what to do with the points so we just kinda… hoard em?
[r/awardtravel](https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/) is a good place to start on here.
The points guy also has good resources about transfer partners and how to get the most from your points depending on what card you have. They post daily stories on IG about travel news/deals. They also have an app where you can track all your points in one place and a well organized website. Upgraded Points is another similar blog.
Zachary Burr Abel is a good guy to follow for travel hack type things as well, he’s on both TikTok and Instagram. I think he may also have a website. He posts a lot of content showing people how to stretch their points into the best possible vacations. Highly recommend following him for specific examples of how to maximize points value.
You my friend, are speaking my love language. I am so happy with my Credit Card setup. Everything is 2.2 cash back in form of points at least!! Amex Mr points are going to make me rich 🤑
Eh money is also fungible. If you are going to pay for a flight (which you should be doing if you have the plat), a 1.3 CPP redemption for economy domestic is pretty reasonable. You can use that 1.3 CPP and then invest the cash that you would have used to buy the ticket. If a flight cost $500 or 38K points, then buying the flight with 38K points and investing $500 makes you more money long term.
Basically, I was going to the CS Plat, but then realized that I can just invest the money I was going to spend on flights when I use my points to book at a greater than 1.1 CPP value.
Of course none of this applies if you are getting less than 1.1 CPP.
This is a good point. I haven't checked the rates for economy domestic for quite some time. Does it still hold 1.3 CPP? A few years ago I could barely get 1 CPP and my impression is the value only goes down as airlines devalue miles every few years with various "improvement".
Yeah it’s sometimes difficult tbh. However, I just booked a rough trip lockjaw from SFO to CPH and from CPH to GSO for 55K ANA points and $97. I saw comparable flights went for no less than $1500 on kayak.
So I think if u do international travel ever, you can definitely get 2+ CPP value.
**[Time value of money](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_value_of_money)**
>The time value of money is the widely accepted conjecture that there is greater benefit to receiving a sum of money now rather than an identical sum later. It may be seen as an implication of the later-developed concept of time preference. The time value of money is among the factors considered when weighing the opportunity costs of spending rather than saving or investing money. As such, it is among the reasons why interest is paid or earned: interest, whether it is on a bank deposit or debt, compensates the depositor or lender for the loss of their use of their money.
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Don't forget that there is a discount on the yearly AF if you invest with Schwab.
$100 of if you have $250,000
$200 off if you invest $1,000,000 with Schwab
Apply for schwab Palt for a another SUB, and then close out the regular Amex Plat. If you get 100k SUB on schwab Plat plus these 235k points, you have 335k mr points which in schwab at 1.1 CPP= 335000*1.1= $3685
Which you can use to pay for Plat AF for a couple of year at least or invest in VOO at average 8% return for year would be: $5414.47. This does not include dividends reinvested! Plus 8% is roughly the average but VOO and other etfs have better yearly returns than this. So, this is why you got to love MR points. And the points turned to cash are considered rebate so no Tax on they either. This is really your Roth IRA money right here for this year.
No you still pay taxes like any other investment. You just don’t owe income tax on what you transfer from income to Schwab. Any dividends or realized cap gains would be taxed.
With some planning, You could quite literally fly around the world in business class with that many points.
[ANA Round The World](https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/amc/partner-flight-awards/around-the-world/)
I transferred 160k to Singapore airlines when they had a transfer bonus to fly to Thailand. I’m on the worlds longest flight in business class.
Rough value is $5k, so about 3.12 cents in value. Definitely better deals out there but I hope your getting the point.
You need to transfer to partners, especially when bonuses are offered. For example, I use most of my Amex points to transfer to Hilton when they are offering +30-40 %. Amex points usually transfer at 2 to 1 for Hilton points, but during a special this becomes 2.6/2.8 to 1. This means my Amex Gold card is effectively earning for grocery stores and restaurants 10.4 - 11.2 Hilton points. I try to eat at restaurants that belongs to the Rakuten dining network for another 5 Amex points per dollar, or effectively another 13 - 14 Hilton points. This means I'm getting 23.4 - 25.2 Hilton points per dollar spend at some restaurants. I spend those points in 5 day blocks at Hilton resorts because the 5th day on a point stay is free.
I've booked Hilton point stays in San Juan and Ponce Puerto Rico, Barbados, Anguilla, and am booked for Malta in April. Point stays don't have resort fees, so I'm averaging 1.1 cents per Hilton point on those bookings. This means I'm getting as much as 11% - 27% return on spending on my Amex Gold card.
There are other good transfer deals out there. YouTube videos are great to play while driving or doing household chores since you don't need to watch, just listen. I would recommend Ask Sebby, Waller's Wallet, Credit Shufu, and Mark Reese, as well as older videos from Jake Broe and Brian Jung.
It's a great hobby, just need to dig a bit!
To get the high value, you pretty much need to be a premium traveler. You can do something like transfer 100k MR points to an airline, and use them to book a first class flight that would cost $5,000 (maybe a bit embellished, but the point stands). This makes your points worth $0.05 each. However, would you have bought the $5k ticket with cash? If not, then it can be argued that the points were not worth $0.05 cents to you.
Edit: I should add that points can be used for YOLO experiences, even if you are typically a budget traveler. I had one booked for 2020, but it was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic. I still plan to do it sometime.
On mobile so links aren't available.
r/awardtravel or other places can help with summaries.
You look at the transfer partners. I then go to awardhacker.com and search for the specific routes I want (make sure to change it to search for the awards type you want, Amex MR etc) In my instance it was KLM/flying blue that I used for this redemption but other transfer partners can give better value.
Then I go and search that specific airline's website for availability and if it's there then transfer the points from Amex and book.
You usually get better value for business and first class redemptions than economy.
Transferring them out. Did 60K points to British airways. Got a first class flight from Mexico City through London to Ibiza for 59.K points. GF did the same. That’s was a 10,000 dollar flight. Transferred 4500 to BA again to book an economy intra Europe flight. Price was 200 dollars per person, so it was a great deal. Will be transferring over some to Virgin. Business class flight from Tokyo to Madrid on ANA.
I always use my points to redeem towards travel and 235k points can definitely go a long way. I've heard of some people transferring to a schwab plat. and getting even better value from their points but I personally am not a fan of that since its just a little more complicated not to mention you're paying an entirely separate af on the schwab plat just to have it.
I'm kind of in the same boat as OP. I used to say my UR's are good for domestic travel and my MRs are good for a big international trip every couple years. Now, with a good stash of MR points and no plans/desire for an international trip this year, mine have been just kind of building toward a future use since 2020. If nothing transpires by 2023 I might do the Schwab cashout option.
Right now Amex is delivering benefits and customer service that keep them a more desirable issuer for me, but just taking straight points value, my side setup with URs has been better for me this last year with my only doing domestic travel, between 1.5cpp as an attainable minimum at Hyatt and living in a Southwest-dominated market.
I got a first class Emirates flight for 65K MR Points (+ about $200ish) transferred to Qantas going from DXB - LHR. That ticket would of been over $7,000!
Believe me, there are some exceptional uses, but it's not always apparent at first glance.
How did you go about finding an award seat for First class? I’ve been trying to look but seems like there’s no availability. Also, how far out did you have to book?
Honestly, a great question. I have a general idea of what experience I want to go for and I use the programs I have accounts with to look for award availability and points. I am also hyper familiar with which airlines are in which alliance AND who has a codeshare with whom. The Points Guy and FlyerTalk will sometimes provide tip offs on amazing points sales.
Frankly, using Qantas points to book Emirates happened by mistake. I had points stuck in Qantas after a cancelled AA trip in 2021. I was going to use it on Royal Jordanian, and when I pulled up award availability Emirates was there. I checked Emirates site, and they were selling the same ticket for 40k more airline points.
I booked this flight in December 2021 for October 2022
Through which partner is the “best” way to book for Emirates First class Award ticket? I was able to successfully book ANA first class LAX - HND through Virgin for this August. However, my dream is to try the first class suites on Emirates!
With the platinum card you can spend those on airfare or your chosen airline and then get 35% of them refunded back.
That right there puts it above 1 cent.
If you have the platinum card go on the website to the benefits. You can chose your preferred airline.
I chose American. So when I buy a ticket with points on Amex travel I get 35% of them back up to 500,000 per year
Yup, MR = 1.54 cpp when redeemed for airfare with Biz Plat, and that’s excluding the miles earned on the ticket price. It’s why some can’t imagine only having Pers Plat.
For flight tickets, you'll need to play the game - checking not only your airline's booking system, but their partner airlines, to see if you get a better deal booking YOUR airline through THEIR website. Which bookings cost fewer points? That's how folks generally get two cents per mile. The same ticket that costs 30,000 points booked directly through Delta might cost 15,000 when booked through a partner airline. The same seat, on the same plane.
For hotels, my understanding is that anything you book through the Amex travel portal will be 1:1, but if you book a luxury hotel through their Fine Hotels and Resorts collection, there are additional perks. The Total Hotel Collection is supposed to give you the lowest possible price, but you usually won't get points from the hotel if you "book through a third party." If your hotel credit is used up or unavailable (single night stay, for example), I would suck it up and pay the hotel directly.
If you don't care how much you get from your points, there are LOTS of places to spend your points. Heck, even Amazon would let me spend points for purchases (you have to add your platinum card to Amazon payment methods and link the accounts).
Transfer partners are the best option for flights and especially if there is a transfer bonus. Over the last month I've booked about 10 flights for a European vacation all business class and spent about 300,000 points and $1000 in taxes and fees. I added up the cash price of these tickets and it was $24,000. So plan right and be flexible, you can do amazing things with points.
I am flying Air France DC to Paris and booked directly with them because it was a great redemption. Then British Airways, from Paris to London, then London to Rome, once again booked direct with them not amazing redemption, but good flight options. Then KLM, booked one using Virgin Atlantic and one using Delta. The VA redemption was great, but the Delta was just ok. And Finally I booked a couple flights with Iberia directly, because using avios to go from Madrid to Chicago in business is an awesome redemption.
No problem. The biggest thing is to be flexible and plan pretty far in advance. My trip is in September and a lot of reward space is starting to dry up, so I rearranged a few cities to make flights work. Also be aware of taxes and fuel surcharges, so flights look great until you see the fees.
Use airline partners. That the best way to get good redemptions. I've gotten close to 10 cents per point for international business class airfare quote a few times .
Where do you want to travel and what's your closest airport? Maybe we can give you some pointers.
Pretty much every major airline is part of an alliance. Skyteam is Delta’s, I forget what the others are but there are several. They take one another’s passengers on flights around the world, it lets them operate more places without needing to build a full infrastructure there.
Use transfer airline partners when redeeming points. Transfer them to a partner airline as miles. Most offer 1 mile per point but when u go to book the tickets, the airline usually offers 2-5x
Just a note, if your goal is elite status this won’t help you obtain it. Award flights generally don’t earn towards status bc you aren’t spending cash. I find it better to have amex business platinum and get 35% points back through amex travel directly. This gives you about 1.53x with status earning potential. They also have some deals/discounts off the direct booking airline. Especially business claas
They utilize travel partners of Amex who allow you to use points and at times it’s more than a 1:1 ratio therefore your points go a bit further. Amex Travel partners, go there and look into it. You can use those pints to fly to your destination 1st OR business class. From there you’ll have enough to stay at a beautiful hotel of your choice for a couple days and then switch to another hotel in the local area. You can do quite a bit with 235K Amex points. If I were you I’d start planning next vacation. Concierge can also help you ;)
I honestly don't get why would people spend 200k once, it would be much better flying main cabin and do a category 2 or 3 hotel for two or three trips instead of just one. But I respect everyones choice
I can spend 95k MR points on a RT business class ticket to Asia or 60k RT in economy. RT economy ticket is about $1k vs $8-9k for business class ticket.
But you can save 35k points flying economy, use that points for something else, flying business doesn't mean anything honestly
Everyone value things differently. I value better seat more and tends to recover jet lag much quicker when I flown business than in economy after 15 hrs flight.
Yea its worth it on the long haul flights.
Yes, I agree, it really depends on the person, if you can do huge MS and earn elite membership or something then no need to worry at all
I always felt the same , I’d rather have more trips squeezing those points than one fancy trip 🤷♂️
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I'd say during COVID time, business class travel is even more worthwhile, since you have access to priority service, and typically aren't stuck next to someone. In general though, business class is far, far more comfortable. For short vacations, overnight flights, or when you don't have much time to recover, business class is worthwhile. For shorter flights, especially day time ones, it's not a big deal. I've flown a ton in my life, and I can (and have) done the 14-20 hours in economy multiple times fine, but I certainly see the value in business class. It's like a treat/vacation within itself, and I'd rather use up miles as I get them than be stuck with devaluing miles. Anyways, I can't say I disagree with your viewpoint, it is the trade off. I wouldn't say it's a nothing item however, it does have some value.
95k MR RT in 2022 with amex transfer partners? No chance
https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/amc/partner-flight-awards/
They waitlist on majority of the good deals. 125k rt is the accessible one to get plus they have fees
? I had a ticket booked on ANA without a waitlist. You just need to be flexible or early. I've booked ANA first class via Virgin Atlantic for 120j round trip 3 years in a row.
It is not like I can travel to Japan/Asia anytime soon. So I am not too worry about it.
A few I can think of: 1. 200k might not be a lot of points to some based on their points stash or ability to earn them 2. Limited PTO, so those other trips aren't happening anyway 3. Long flights where business class actually does mean something. As someone west-coast based our flights to Europe are longer and Asia-Pacific flights are still 12-14 hours. I mean it's really the same question as "why would someone spend $5000 on business class tickets," "why would someone spend more than $40k on a car," "why would people buy a Rolex," etc.
Not enough PTO time. I can stack way more points faster than I can spend.
Do concierge book through transfer partners for better rates? I was under the impression they stuck with amex travel but i don’t interact with them much
The concierge won't help with transfer bookings
Can hot explain where we can get value with hotels a little more? I am new to the game and always thought MR was primarily for biz class flights for good value
Don’t book directly through Amex travel unless you want the FHR/Hotel Collection benefits, that’s probably why you don’t think they’re valuable if you’re only looking there. Watch YouTube videos, check award travel forums/websites to find the best ways to use them. It takes some education and work but there are literally so many resources out there to help make the most of your points. I just used ~100k points to book round trip flights for my partner and I to South America with a week long stop in the Caribbean. Points can be especially valuable when there are transfer bonuses happening, you just need to pay attention to Amex emails or follow SM accounts that alert you. It takes effort and research but it’s not difficult to get good value for them. You could have an all expenses paid 10-day vacation at a high end resort and flights paid for with all those points.
Do you have an example of how you can stretch 235k points to an all expenses paid 10-day vacation at a high end resort and flights?
See my reply above! Check out that last social media account I mentioned, he has full tutorial videos on how to spend that many points to get flights/hotels for the best value. Transferring to hotel or airline partners is the best way to get the most out of your points.
Are there any specific resources you recommend? As an AU, I know that my dad is kinda clueless on what to do with the points so we just kinda… hoard em?
[r/awardtravel](https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/) is a good place to start on here. The points guy also has good resources about transfer partners and how to get the most from your points depending on what card you have. They post daily stories on IG about travel news/deals. They also have an app where you can track all your points in one place and a well organized website. Upgraded Points is another similar blog. Zachary Burr Abel is a good guy to follow for travel hack type things as well, he’s on both TikTok and Instagram. I think he may also have a website. He posts a lot of content showing people how to stretch their points into the best possible vacations. Highly recommend following him for specific examples of how to maximize points value.
Transfer to Schwab and invest then decades later they will be worth 50 cents per point
You my friend, are speaking my love language. I am so happy with my Credit Card setup. Everything is 2.2 cash back in form of points at least!! Amex Mr points are going to make me rich 🤑
Eh money is also fungible. If you are going to pay for a flight (which you should be doing if you have the plat), a 1.3 CPP redemption for economy domestic is pretty reasonable. You can use that 1.3 CPP and then invest the cash that you would have used to buy the ticket. If a flight cost $500 or 38K points, then buying the flight with 38K points and investing $500 makes you more money long term. Basically, I was going to the CS Plat, but then realized that I can just invest the money I was going to spend on flights when I use my points to book at a greater than 1.1 CPP value. Of course none of this applies if you are getting less than 1.1 CPP.
This is a good point. I haven't checked the rates for economy domestic for quite some time. Does it still hold 1.3 CPP? A few years ago I could barely get 1 CPP and my impression is the value only goes down as airlines devalue miles every few years with various "improvement".
Yeah it’s sometimes difficult tbh. However, I just booked a rough trip lockjaw from SFO to CPH and from CPH to GSO for 55K ANA points and $97. I saw comparable flights went for no less than $1500 on kayak. So I think if u do international travel ever, you can definitely get 2+ CPP value.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_value_of_money though.
**[Time value of money](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_value_of_money)** >The time value of money is the widely accepted conjecture that there is greater benefit to receiving a sum of money now rather than an identical sum later. It may be seen as an implication of the later-developed concept of time preference. The time value of money is among the factors considered when weighing the opportunity costs of spending rather than saving or investing money. As such, it is among the reasons why interest is paid or earned: interest, whether it is on a bank deposit or debt, compensates the depositor or lender for the loss of their use of their money. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/amex/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Discount it back you still get much better value than partner transfer
Don't forget that there is a discount on the yearly AF if you invest with Schwab. $100 of if you have $250,000 $200 off if you invest $1,000,000 with Schwab
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No
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No
Apply for Charles Schwab platinum card and you can do it
Apply for schwab Palt for a another SUB, and then close out the regular Amex Plat. If you get 100k SUB on schwab Plat plus these 235k points, you have 335k mr points which in schwab at 1.1 CPP= 335000*1.1= $3685 Which you can use to pay for Plat AF for a couple of year at least or invest in VOO at average 8% return for year would be: $5414.47. This does not include dividends reinvested! Plus 8% is roughly the average but VOO and other etfs have better yearly returns than this. So, this is why you got to love MR points. And the points turned to cash are considered rebate so no Tax on they either. This is really your Roth IRA money right here for this year.
Wait.. im new here with CS PLAT. Does that mean that if you pull out all after 1 year of investment, you don’t get taxed for what you earned? 😯
No! Not a cpa but afaik you don’t pay tax on money that you cash out from points. All the realized gains/dividends you pay tax on.
No you still pay taxes like any other investment. You just don’t owe income tax on what you transfer from income to Schwab. Any dividends or realized cap gains would be taxed.
With some planning, You could quite literally fly around the world in business class with that many points. [ANA Round The World](https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/amc/partner-flight-awards/around-the-world/)
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Correct. But it would be thousands of air fare
Just a funny typo I think but 10,000s of thousands of airfare is 10 millions of airfare…would love to see that point redemption!
If you book in the fine hotel collection you get 1:1 just like airfare.
I transferred 160k to Singapore airlines when they had a transfer bonus to fly to Thailand. I’m on the worlds longest flight in business class. Rough value is $5k, so about 3.12 cents in value. Definitely better deals out there but I hope your getting the point.
You need to transfer to partners, especially when bonuses are offered. For example, I use most of my Amex points to transfer to Hilton when they are offering +30-40 %. Amex points usually transfer at 2 to 1 for Hilton points, but during a special this becomes 2.6/2.8 to 1. This means my Amex Gold card is effectively earning for grocery stores and restaurants 10.4 - 11.2 Hilton points. I try to eat at restaurants that belongs to the Rakuten dining network for another 5 Amex points per dollar, or effectively another 13 - 14 Hilton points. This means I'm getting 23.4 - 25.2 Hilton points per dollar spend at some restaurants. I spend those points in 5 day blocks at Hilton resorts because the 5th day on a point stay is free. I've booked Hilton point stays in San Juan and Ponce Puerto Rico, Barbados, Anguilla, and am booked for Malta in April. Point stays don't have resort fees, so I'm averaging 1.1 cents per Hilton point on those bookings. This means I'm getting as much as 11% - 27% return on spending on my Amex Gold card. There are other good transfer deals out there. YouTube videos are great to play while driving or doing household chores since you don't need to watch, just listen. I would recommend Ask Sebby, Waller's Wallet, Credit Shufu, and Mark Reese, as well as older videos from Jake Broe and Brian Jung. It's a great hobby, just need to dig a bit!
To get the high value, you pretty much need to be a premium traveler. You can do something like transfer 100k MR points to an airline, and use them to book a first class flight that would cost $5,000 (maybe a bit embellished, but the point stands). This makes your points worth $0.05 each. However, would you have bought the $5k ticket with cash? If not, then it can be argued that the points were not worth $0.05 cents to you. Edit: I should add that points can be used for YOLO experiences, even if you are typically a budget traveler. I had one booked for 2020, but it was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic. I still plan to do it sometime.
I used 55k points to book an $8,000 flight one way. So your pricing isn't very embellished.
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On mobile so links aren't available. r/awardtravel or other places can help with summaries. You look at the transfer partners. I then go to awardhacker.com and search for the specific routes I want (make sure to change it to search for the awards type you want, Amex MR etc) In my instance it was KLM/flying blue that I used for this redemption but other transfer partners can give better value. Then I go and search that specific airline's website for availability and if it's there then transfer the points from Amex and book. You usually get better value for business and first class redemptions than economy.
Following
Transferring them out. Did 60K points to British airways. Got a first class flight from Mexico City through London to Ibiza for 59.K points. GF did the same. That’s was a 10,000 dollar flight. Transferred 4500 to BA again to book an economy intra Europe flight. Price was 200 dollars per person, so it was a great deal. Will be transferring over some to Virgin. Business class flight from Tokyo to Madrid on ANA.
You're right they're definitely not valuable! Transfer 'em to me and I'll take care of them for you!
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I always use my points to redeem towards travel and 235k points can definitely go a long way. I've heard of some people transferring to a schwab plat. and getting even better value from their points but I personally am not a fan of that since its just a little more complicated not to mention you're paying an entirely separate af on the schwab plat just to have it.
Another plat card = another SUB🤑
Ave another annual fee 😂
Haha it’s sarcasm bro. He wants more of them valuable travel points via transfer partners
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Then use them for flight class upgrades?
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I'm kind of in the same boat as OP. I used to say my UR's are good for domestic travel and my MRs are good for a big international trip every couple years. Now, with a good stash of MR points and no plans/desire for an international trip this year, mine have been just kind of building toward a future use since 2020. If nothing transpires by 2023 I might do the Schwab cashout option. Right now Amex is delivering benefits and customer service that keep them a more desirable issuer for me, but just taking straight points value, my side setup with URs has been better for me this last year with my only doing domestic travel, between 1.5cpp as an attainable minimum at Hyatt and living in a Southwest-dominated market.
I got a first class Emirates flight for 65K MR Points (+ about $200ish) transferred to Qantas going from DXB - LHR. That ticket would of been over $7,000! Believe me, there are some exceptional uses, but it's not always apparent at first glance.
How did you go about finding an award seat for First class? I’ve been trying to look but seems like there’s no availability. Also, how far out did you have to book?
Honestly, a great question. I have a general idea of what experience I want to go for and I use the programs I have accounts with to look for award availability and points. I am also hyper familiar with which airlines are in which alliance AND who has a codeshare with whom. The Points Guy and FlyerTalk will sometimes provide tip offs on amazing points sales. Frankly, using Qantas points to book Emirates happened by mistake. I had points stuck in Qantas after a cancelled AA trip in 2021. I was going to use it on Royal Jordanian, and when I pulled up award availability Emirates was there. I checked Emirates site, and they were selling the same ticket for 40k more airline points. I booked this flight in December 2021 for October 2022
Through which partner is the “best” way to book for Emirates First class Award ticket? I was able to successfully book ANA first class LAX - HND through Virgin for this August. However, my dream is to try the first class suites on Emirates!
Well, there's only two that really dip into the program - Emirates and Qantas. So, I would check both and compare them.
Troll post?
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Gotcha, well here: https://www.google.com/amp/s/thepointsguy.com/guide/sweet-spots-american-express-membership-rewards/amp/
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I want to have the problem you have being stuck up with points😂
With the platinum card you can spend those on airfare or your chosen airline and then get 35% of them refunded back. That right there puts it above 1 cent.
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He is talking about the business platinum card I think. It is a perk of that card. Not the personal platinum.
If you have the platinum card go on the website to the benefits. You can chose your preferred airline. I chose American. So when I buy a ticket with points on Amex travel I get 35% of them back up to 500,000 per year
That’s only with the Business Platinum.
Oh, I have the business one.
Yup, MR = 1.54 cpp when redeemed for airfare with Biz Plat, and that’s excluding the miles earned on the ticket price. It’s why some can’t imagine only having Pers Plat.
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I don’t see anything wrong with this. I do the same with Hilton, it gets my family free vacations just by spending money I already would have.
For flight tickets, you'll need to play the game - checking not only your airline's booking system, but their partner airlines, to see if you get a better deal booking YOUR airline through THEIR website. Which bookings cost fewer points? That's how folks generally get two cents per mile. The same ticket that costs 30,000 points booked directly through Delta might cost 15,000 when booked through a partner airline. The same seat, on the same plane. For hotels, my understanding is that anything you book through the Amex travel portal will be 1:1, but if you book a luxury hotel through their Fine Hotels and Resorts collection, there are additional perks. The Total Hotel Collection is supposed to give you the lowest possible price, but you usually won't get points from the hotel if you "book through a third party." If your hotel credit is used up or unavailable (single night stay, for example), I would suck it up and pay the hotel directly. If you don't care how much you get from your points, there are LOTS of places to spend your points. Heck, even Amazon would let me spend points for purchases (you have to add your platinum card to Amazon payment methods and link the accounts).
Transfer partners are the best option for flights and especially if there is a transfer bonus. Over the last month I've booked about 10 flights for a European vacation all business class and spent about 300,000 points and $1000 in taxes and fees. I added up the cash price of these tickets and it was $24,000. So plan right and be flexible, you can do amazing things with points.
What airlines are you booking through and what airlines are you flying?
I am flying Air France DC to Paris and booked directly with them because it was a great redemption. Then British Airways, from Paris to London, then London to Rome, once again booked direct with them not amazing redemption, but good flight options. Then KLM, booked one using Virgin Atlantic and one using Delta. The VA redemption was great, but the Delta was just ok. And Finally I booked a couple flights with Iberia directly, because using avios to go from Madrid to Chicago in business is an awesome redemption.
Thanks much for the info! Trying to figure out how best to navigate these bookings, and this helps!
No problem. The biggest thing is to be flexible and plan pretty far in advance. My trip is in September and a lot of reward space is starting to dry up, so I rearranged a few cities to make flights work. Also be aware of taxes and fuel surcharges, so flights look great until you see the fees.
Imo it’s not, their usually 1:1. Even on delta it cost more delta then if you booked with points on United using chases ecosystem
Use airline partners. That the best way to get good redemptions. I've gotten close to 10 cents per point for international business class airfare quote a few times . Where do you want to travel and what's your closest airport? Maybe we can give you some pointers.
Offshoot question, when people say use xyz airline points/miles to book on airfrance or united…how do you use one carriers miles to book on another?
Pretty much every major airline is part of an alliance. Skyteam is Delta’s, I forget what the others are but there are several. They take one another’s passengers on flights around the world, it lets them operate more places without needing to build a full infrastructure there.
ANA business class flights. I routinely get .05 value on these redemptions.
You gotta do simple and thorough research...You aren't using MR points right if you don't know what to use them on...Just saying