AMEX points

[patty5ia]

Can Amex points be exchanged for tickets on ANY US Airline and partner airlines?

 

[driftdiver]

No.

Transfer partners include Delta, AeroMexico, Air Canada, Airtran, Alitilia, ANA, British Airways, KLM, Frontier, Hawaiian, Iberia, JetBlue, Singapore, Virgin American and Virgin Atlantic.

Transfers may not be 1-to-1, depending on the program.

 

[DeniseM]

We have a link to that Info. in Starwood Owner Resources at the top of the page, under "Starpoints." - http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/account/starpoints/transfer/airline_partner_list.html

 

[YYJMSP]

You can also turn your points in to a statement credit against any travel charge you book yourself.

Not the best value -- 1,000 Membership Rewards points = $10 for AMEX Canada "TripFlex rewards". I'm pretty sure it's very similar in other countries.


From AMEX Canada's Membership Rewards web site:

TripFlexTM rewards* from Membership Rewards gives you and your points the ultimate flexibility. You can book flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, vacation packages and more. Use a travel agency, tour operator or even an online travel website - it’s your choice. Redeem only the points you need to cover the exact charge, and not a point more.

Travelling last minute? Don’t worry.

You have 12 months from the date your travel transaction is posted to your account to redeem.

The minimum redemption requirement is 1,000 points for a $10 credit.

Please note: Corporate Cards are not eligible for TripFlex rewards.
​

 

[beach.bar.bob]

Can Amex points be exchanged for tickets on ANY US Airline and partner airlines?

Are we talking about Membership Miles points?
If so, a little known feature is the ability thru the Amex travel website to "pay with points". Book a reservation for air, hotel, rental car and pay with points. Points convert @ $ .01 per point. Thus, every 10,000 membership miles points are worth $100. Often a far more advantageous conversion rate versus converting points to your favorite airline.

Amex charges your card with the actual costs then uses the points to issue a credit to your account. That way the purchase to the vendor looks like a typical amex charge and you will accrue flight miles on a free ticket. Sweet. This is one of my favorite double dips.

Safe travels.

bbb

 

[Ken555]

Amex charges your card with the actual costs then uses the points to issue a credit to your account. That way the purchase to the vendor looks like a typical amex charge and you will accrue flight miles on a free ticket. Sweet. This is one of my favorite double dips.

If this is how you redeem your points, you'd be better off switching to their Purple or other cash cards which offer at least 1.5% on all purchases. That way you get the cash and can simply buy whatever ticket you want, and come out significantly ahead.

AMEX had two large booths at CES last week in Las Vegas promoting their new point system with the traditional Gold card, and even that would do better than your 1%. For myself, the Starwood card is still the best, since I average greater than 2.5% on rooms I would otherwise pay for (and even higher if I count at the actual sale price, which I would most likely not pay, at the European destinations I've been to). Fwiw, I need another card for a new business and colleagues have told me about the Fidelity card, which I believe offers 2%...even better than AMEX directly, and the Fidelity card is an AMEX.

 

[patty5ia]

Thanks for all your help. Trying to figure out how to use the 150,00 points I have accrued. Would like to spend them on a trip to Europe. Air or hotels? Many of the hotels are more points than I would normally spend on lodging. Decisions.......

 

[LisaRex]

Thanks for all your help. Trying to figure out how to use the 150,00 points I have accrued. Would like to spend them on a trip to Europe. Air or hotels? Many of the hotels are more points than I would normally spend on lodging. Decisions.......

Do have you gold status? If so, then many FlyerTalkers report fantastic upgrades in Europe.

 

[bizaro86]

Thanks for all your help. Trying to figure out how to use the 150,00 points I have accrued. Would like to spend them on a trip to Europe. Air or hotels? Many of the hotels are more points than I would normally spend on lodging. Decisions.......

That seems like a perfect use for the "Nights and Flights" Option to me.
If you select a category 3 hotel, you get 5 nights and 50000 airline miles for 60,000 spg points. If you select a category 4 hotel, you get 5 nights and 50,000 airline miles for 70,000 spg points. (Assuming you pick a 1:1 airline)

So you could get two stays of 5 nights in a cat 4 hotel plus 100,000 airline miles for 140,000 spg. If you have even a few airline miles already, you'd probably be able to spin that into 2 return tickets to Europe.

And while many of the European hotels are higher categories, some aren't.
Category 4 includes the Sheraton Salzburg and the Le Meridien Vienna (and Austria is wonderful!) 4 choices in Brussels, the Sheraton in Prague, lots of coverage in Germany, the Westin Dublin (right downtown in a heritage building), 5 choices in Portugal, 4 in Turkey, the Sheraton in Edinburgh, and the Aloft in London.

Also, you don't need to use the hotel stay and the airline points at the same time. So if you were planning on making a cat 3 stay in the US or elsewhere, you could use nights and flights instead to get a further discount on airline miles to use for your European trip.

 

[patty5ia]

Thanks for the tips! Nights and flights sounds great. How can I find out about this? My Star Central?

 

[LisaRex]

Thanks for the tips! Nights and flights sounds great. How can I find out about this? My Star Central?

SPG.com.

https://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/account/starpoints/redeem/nights_flights.html

 

[alohakevin]

That seems like a perfect use for the "Nights and Flights" Option to me.
If you select a category 3 hotel, you get 5 nights and 50000 airline miles for 60,000 spg points. If you select a category 4 hotel, you get 5 nights and 50,000 airline miles for 70,000 spg points. (Assuming you pick a 1:1 airline)

Thanks Lisa never knew this we are trying to get to Italy. We were trying to figure the most efficient way to do it,this is a no brainier. Do you know if it applies to anything in Rome? I suppose you would sign up for this on spg.com ?
Thanks again

 

[Ken555]

Thanks Lisa never knew this we are trying to get to Italy. We were trying to figure the most efficient way to do it,this is a no brainier. Do you know if it applies to anything in Rome? I suppose you would sign up for this on spg.com ?
Thanks again

Unfortunately the SPG hotels in Rome are all cat 5 or greater, at least those I consider within reasonable distance of the city center.

To redeem n&f you should call SPG.

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

One of the best things about Starwoods Amex points program is that when you transfer 20,000 points to an airlines program, they add 5,000 points. So, for 40,000, they add 10,000 points.
Liz