Why AMEX MR Points?
Sep 17, 2011, 12:33 am
#1
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Southern California (LAX)
Programs: Marriott Gold, Identity Platnium (Cosmopolitan), Palladium Card, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 177
Why AMEX MR Points?
So I have a question regarding MR points. I guess I have used a lot of the "low end" cards since I was 17, and continue to use them (Amazon Visa, Discover, etc). Last year, I applied for regular AMEX Gold (which I regret, because all I got was a Flip Camcorder... lol), and have only made a few large purchases which equated to 7306 points.
I know that's not a lot, but I don't see what is so special about this AMEX card. Sure, the benefits are nice. But the points do not equate exactly cent per point. For example, if I spend $10,000 on my Discover, I have the option of getting $100 back. With that $100, I spend to buy myself something nice, and get another 1% on it, which equates to $1.
However, if I want to buy something with 7306 points, it does not equate to $73.06. A 4th generation IPod touch 8GB costs 34,712 at a discounted price even though it would only be ~$215 if I bought it anywhere else. So why would I spend my points to only get lesser value for something, when I can get cent per cent on my Discover? Am I paying a premium for all the "benefits" on my AMEX Gold?
Thanks for helping me understand this, I greatly appreciate it.
I know that's not a lot, but I don't see what is so special about this AMEX card. Sure, the benefits are nice. But the points do not equate exactly cent per point. For example, if I spend $10,000 on my Discover, I have the option of getting $100 back. With that $100, I spend to buy myself something nice, and get another 1% on it, which equates to $1.
However, if I want to buy something with 7306 points, it does not equate to $73.06. A 4th generation IPod touch 8GB costs 34,712 at a discounted price even though it would only be ~$215 if I bought it anywhere else. So why would I spend my points to only get lesser value for something, when I can get cent per cent on my Discover? Am I paying a premium for all the "benefits" on my AMEX Gold?
Thanks for helping me understand this, I greatly appreciate it.
Sep 17, 2011, 1:31 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 425
The real value in MR points is transferring them to airline FF programs and redeeming for international business or first class travel. Think of it as an aspirational reward, it allows you to travel in luxury somewhere you might not otherwise be able to go.
Most of us are here because we love to travel, and credit card bonuses help us go more places more comfortably. The Gold Premier Amex is a great travel card but a mediocre cash back card.
Most of us are here because we love to travel, and credit card bonuses help us go more places more comfortably. The Gold Premier Amex is a great travel card but a mediocre cash back card.
Sep 17, 2011, 2:09 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: LAS
Programs: DL PM, UA PS, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 4,904
I had 40K UA MP/CO OnePass miles. I found a trip to India today in Lufthansa J/Thai J/Thai F/ANA F and transfered 80K AMEX MR (from a 75K Gold card bonus) + 20K Chase points to book it.
The key is in flexibility. Sadly, they are losing CO as a partner on 9/30/2011 and I found CO's *A availability online to be amazing. That leaves ANA (which has distance-based awards), Aeroplan (which just increased award chart), and Singapore. Hopefully another US airlines can take CO's place (AA or US?) but I doubt that will happen soon.
The key is in flexibility. Sadly, they are losing CO as a partner on 9/30/2011 and I found CO's *A availability online to be amazing. That leaves ANA (which has distance-based awards), Aeroplan (which just increased award chart), and Singapore. Hopefully another US airlines can take CO's place (AA or US?) but I doubt that will happen soon.
Last edited by amolkold; Sep 17, 2011 at 2:15 am
Sep 17, 2011, 6:20 am
#6
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Location: Miami, Mpls & London
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Your thread has been moved to the dedicated Membership Rewards forum. I suggest reading this thread for a recent comparison of point redemption values:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...giftcards.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...giftcards.html
Sep 18, 2011, 4:11 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Southern California (LAX)
Programs: Marriott Gold, Identity Platnium (Cosmopolitan), Palladium Card, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 177
Thank you all for your reply. The link that mia provided was especially helpful to see the breakdowns. Thank you all again!
Sep 19, 2011, 1:48 pm
#8
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL PM, SPG Plat
Posts: 885
Everything said so far is correct. You'll get the most value from MR points by transferring to airline programs to use for expensive first class international tickets.
Using MR points on merchandise is not going to provide anywhere near as much value. And probably not as much value as using "cashback" bonuses that other cards provide. But remember, there are lots of ways to earn bonus MR points. I'm not sure there are many ways to get bonus "cashback". So, turning to your example of the 4th gen IPod which retails for ~$215: This requires $21,500 in spend on your discover. On Amex, it would require 34,712 MR points; however, this is NOT necessarily $34,712 in spend once you factor in bonus MR points. The Premier Rewards Gold card offers 2x points on every gas and grocery purchase... not to mention a minimum 10K sign up bonus (although bigger sign ups are common)... bonuses like 10k for downloading a search bar... 3x points on airline tix... and so on. So, earning 34K MR points could be as easy as signing up (10K), downloading a search bar (10K), purchasing an international ticket ($1000 x 3 points = 3K) and spending $7,500 on gas and groceries (very reasonable over the course of a year)... total spend is $8,500 and you've got enough MR points to buy the IPod with points.
Of course, as someone else above pointed out, using MR points to buy an Amex Gift card and using the Gift Card to buy the IPod is an even better value. With the $8,500 spent in the example above, you can cash that in for $400 in Gift Cards, a much better return than Discover's cash back.
Using MR points on merchandise is not going to provide anywhere near as much value. And probably not as much value as using "cashback" bonuses that other cards provide. But remember, there are lots of ways to earn bonus MR points. I'm not sure there are many ways to get bonus "cashback". So, turning to your example of the 4th gen IPod which retails for ~$215: This requires $21,500 in spend on your discover. On Amex, it would require 34,712 MR points; however, this is NOT necessarily $34,712 in spend once you factor in bonus MR points. The Premier Rewards Gold card offers 2x points on every gas and grocery purchase... not to mention a minimum 10K sign up bonus (although bigger sign ups are common)... bonuses like 10k for downloading a search bar... 3x points on airline tix... and so on. So, earning 34K MR points could be as easy as signing up (10K), downloading a search bar (10K), purchasing an international ticket ($1000 x 3 points = 3K) and spending $7,500 on gas and groceries (very reasonable over the course of a year)... total spend is $8,500 and you've got enough MR points to buy the IPod with points.
Of course, as someone else above pointed out, using MR points to buy an Amex Gift card and using the Gift Card to buy the IPod is an even better value. With the $8,500 spent in the example above, you can cash that in for $400 in Gift Cards, a much better return than Discover's cash back.
Sep 27, 2011, 4:13 pm
#9
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Moderator action
Discussion of targeted giftcard redemption specials have been transplanted to this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...-targeted.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...-targeted.html
Sep 27, 2011, 7:18 pm
#10
Join Date: Jul 2004
Programs: Priority Club Platinum & Ambassdor, Hilton Honors Diamond, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 505
I had 40K UA MP/CO OnePass miles. I found a trip to India today in Lufthansa J/Thai J/Thai F/ANA F and transfered 80K AMEX MR (from a 75K Gold card bonus) + 20K Chase points to book it.
The key is in flexibility. Sadly, they are losing CO as a partner on 9/30/2011 and I found CO's *A availability online to be amazing. That leaves ANA (which has distance-based awards), Aeroplan (which just increased award chart), and Singapore. Hopefully another US airlines can take CO's place (AA or US?) but I doubt that will happen soon.
The key is in flexibility. Sadly, they are losing CO as a partner on 9/30/2011 and I found CO's *A availability online to be amazing. That leaves ANA (which has distance-based awards), Aeroplan (which just increased award chart), and Singapore. Hopefully another US airlines can take CO's place (AA or US?) but I doubt that will happen soon.