Best place to transfer Amex points in Canada?
Oct 3, 2011, 1:08 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Programs: aeroplan, amex, priority club
Posts: 115
Best place to transfer Amex points in Canada?
have 37, 000 amex points in canada , was gonna transfer them over to aeroplan , just wanna know if anything else is out there that i dont see thats best to maybe transfer them to
Feb 21, 2012, 6:38 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 6,385
Best Conversion for Amex Points in CANADA
I just realized that Amex has pretty bad conversions. Aeroplan got severely devalued, Alitalia and Avios are not at 1:1, Asia Miles I think has pretty bad redemption levels...?
What should I transfer to? Or should I just leave the points? I might be planning some travel but I already have other FF points to use so whether I transfer is not really an issue...
What should I transfer to? Or should I just leave the points? I might be planning some travel but I already have other FF points to use so whether I transfer is not really an issue...
Feb 21, 2012, 7:17 pm
#7
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 39
Unless you're planning to close your AMEX account, suggest hanging tight till you need to claim an award. Transfers to Aeroplan are instantaneous so that helps.
There's little upside to transfering ahead of needing the points unless you're taking advantage of an attractive transfer bonus. 20 ~ 25% bonus with Aeroplan seems to happen once or twice a year however there's usually a cap on how many you can transfer. Bonuses with Delta are also fairly common.
One word of caution is that transfer ratios and partners are subject to change (usually for the worse).
Hope that helps!
There's little upside to transfering ahead of needing the points unless you're taking advantage of an attractive transfer bonus. 20 ~ 25% bonus with Aeroplan seems to happen once or twice a year however there's usually a cap on how many you can transfer. Bonuses with Delta are also fairly common.
One word of caution is that transfer ratios and partners are subject to change (usually for the worse).
Hope that helps!
Nov 10, 2012, 10:27 pm
#8
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: YVR
Posts: 1,846
MR Worth More for Transfers in US vs Canada?!
I was just looking at other possible transfers for my MR besides AE or BA (like to a hotel programs and other airlines) and was shocked to find that not only are there waaaay less transfer options for us Canadian Amex Gold cardholders, but that the transfer ratios are less favorable! I was already bummed that Americans get much higher sign-up bonuses! Now they can get more for their transfers on top of that!? Yeah, I am jealous!
HH (1:1.5), Skymiles (1:1), Asia Miles (1:1) - all better transfer ratios than in Canada. The only exception was SPG - that seems to be worse in the US. I can see why Americans love their SPG cards - seems to be much better value when you compare the SPG Amex with the Amex Gold.
There also seems to be a loophole when transferring MRs to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points, as those 1:1 transfers can then be transferred to HH at a 1:2 ratio (seems those points that have been transferred from another program are fair game to be re-transferred!). Ah...too bad us Canadians cannot transfer MRs to Virgin Atlantic.
Will likely be transferring points mostly to BA and maybe AE, but wondering if any other Canadians have a lucrative transfers/redemptions they want to share?
HH (1:1.5), Skymiles (1:1), Asia Miles (1:1) - all better transfer ratios than in Canada. The only exception was SPG - that seems to be worse in the US. I can see why Americans love their SPG cards - seems to be much better value when you compare the SPG Amex with the Amex Gold.
There also seems to be a loophole when transferring MRs to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points, as those 1:1 transfers can then be transferred to HH at a 1:2 ratio (seems those points that have been transferred from another program are fair game to be re-transferred!). Ah...too bad us Canadians cannot transfer MRs to Virgin Atlantic.
Will likely be transferring points mostly to BA and maybe AE, but wondering if any other Canadians have a lucrative transfers/redemptions they want to share?
Last edited by pokee; Nov 10, 2012 at 10:33 pm
Nov 14, 2012, 11:27 am
#9
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: YYZ
Programs: CX*GO, SPG Platinum
Posts: 147
If you can think of 1W airlines to spend these with, BA Avios also offers lucrative (50%) bonuses every now and then.
Mar 13, 2013, 8:31 pm
#10
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: YYZ, HKG, MFM
Programs: AC35K, AS MVP, WS Gold, ITA EP, Marriott Plat, Hyatt-Explorist, IHG Diamond
Posts: 2,019
AMEX Gold Canada
Hi everyone,
I just received my Gold card in Canada, I looked into the transfer rate to the FFP and majority of them are 1 : 0.75 ratio, except for AC, BA and HHPoints. Which program has the best value? and does AMEX Canada run Promos often (such as the 50% bonus from BA transfer). Would like to hear from everyone
I just received my Gold card in Canada, I looked into the transfer rate to the FFP and majority of them are 1 : 0.75 ratio, except for AC, BA and HHPoints. Which program has the best value? and does AMEX Canada run Promos often (such as the 50% bonus from BA transfer). Would like to hear from everyone
Mar 13, 2013, 10:17 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,784
It's up to you, and your home base, destination and preference
I have tons of AMEX MR and my real options are, to diversify
1. Aeroplan - hopefully 20-25% bonus at least once in 2013
Real useful for *A redemptions, especially Mini-RTW, hopefully on no-YQ airlines
Still beats Avios in general routes & availability I'd say, at least to Asia (where Avios is difficult on CX YYZ-HKG)
2. BA Avios - twice a year you get 50% transfer bonus. It's up to you where you fly with Avios on American Airline (Google around, The Points Guy has blogs on it and RedFlagDeal too)
btw, if you only have 15-20K MR on your Gold, it makes no big difference really
I'd do 50% to Avios (30K Avios is more useful than 20~24K Aeroplan), unless you already have Aeroplan and is short on rewards
I have tons of AMEX MR and my real options are, to diversify
1. Aeroplan - hopefully 20-25% bonus at least once in 2013
Real useful for *A redemptions, especially Mini-RTW, hopefully on no-YQ airlines
Still beats Avios in general routes & availability I'd say, at least to Asia (where Avios is difficult on CX YYZ-HKG)
2. BA Avios - twice a year you get 50% transfer bonus. It's up to you where you fly with Avios on American Airline (Google around, The Points Guy has blogs on it and RedFlagDeal too)
btw, if you only have 15-20K MR on your Gold, it makes no big difference really
I'd do 50% to Avios (30K Avios is more useful than 20~24K Aeroplan), unless you already have Aeroplan and is short on rewards
Mar 13, 2013, 10:41 pm
#12
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 668
Think about where you want to travel.
I was going to put everything into AP, but with the current promotion with BA Avios, it took me 30K MR to have 45K Avios for 3 flights that would have been otherwise 60K MR for 60K AP (1 flight = 15K Avios or 20K AP). So, in MR it cost me half to fly through BA Avios, but the fees are about $100 more with BA than AC. It all depends on where you want to fly.
I was going to put everything into AP, but with the current promotion with BA Avios, it took me 30K MR to have 45K Avios for 3 flights that would have been otherwise 60K MR for 60K AP (1 flight = 15K Avios or 20K AP). So, in MR it cost me half to fly through BA Avios, but the fees are about $100 more with BA than AC. It all depends on where you want to fly.
Mar 14, 2013, 9:41 am
#13
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: YYZ, HKG, MFM
Programs: AC35K, AS MVP, WS Gold, ITA EP, Marriott Plat, Hyatt-Explorist, IHG Diamond
Posts: 2,019
It's up to you, and your home base, destination and preference
I have tons of AMEX MR and my real options are, to diversify
1. Aeroplan - hopefully 20-25% bonus at least once in 2013
Real useful for *A redemptions, especially Mini-RTW, hopefully on no-YQ airlines
Still beats Avios in general routes & availability I'd say, at least to Asia (where Avios is difficult on CX YYZ-HKG)
2. BA Avios - twice a year you get 50% transfer bonus. It's up to you where you fly with Avios on American Airline (Google around, The Points Guy has blogs on it and RedFlagDeal too)
btw, if you only have 15-20K MR on your Gold, it makes no big difference really
I'd do 50% to Avios (30K Avios is more useful than 20~24K Aeroplan), unless you already have Aeroplan and is short on rewards
I have tons of AMEX MR and my real options are, to diversify
1. Aeroplan - hopefully 20-25% bonus at least once in 2013
Real useful for *A redemptions, especially Mini-RTW, hopefully on no-YQ airlines
Still beats Avios in general routes & availability I'd say, at least to Asia (where Avios is difficult on CX YYZ-HKG)
2. BA Avios - twice a year you get 50% transfer bonus. It's up to you where you fly with Avios on American Airline (Google around, The Points Guy has blogs on it and RedFlagDeal too)
btw, if you only have 15-20K MR on your Gold, it makes no big difference really
I'd do 50% to Avios (30K Avios is more useful than 20~24K Aeroplan), unless you already have Aeroplan and is short on rewards
One more question, If I get a HKG Amex is it possible to transfer my MR points to my BA account along with my Canadian BA card?
Mar 14, 2013, 9:49 am
#14
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: YYZ, HKG, MFM
Programs: AC35K, AS MVP, WS Gold, ITA EP, Marriott Plat, Hyatt-Explorist, IHG Diamond
Posts: 2,019
Think about where you want to travel.
I was going to put everything into AP, but with the current promotion with BA Avios, it took me 30K MR to have 45K Avios for 3 flights that would have been otherwise 60K MR for 60K AP (1 flight = 15K Avios or 20K AP). So, in MR it cost me half to fly through BA Avios, but the fees are about $100 more with BA than AC. It all depends on where you want to fly.
I was going to put everything into AP, but with the current promotion with BA Avios, it took me 30K MR to have 45K Avios for 3 flights that would have been otherwise 60K MR for 60K AP (1 flight = 15K Avios or 20K AP). So, in MR it cost me half to fly through BA Avios, but the fees are about $100 more with BA than AC. It all depends on where you want to fly.
Mar 14, 2013, 3:43 pm
#15
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,784
I've read "The Points Guy" Article, and it looks like that BA points are more value in short distance Canada/US on AA, some intra Euro trips travel and partners award such as Aer L and CX in Asia. If BA does the 50% twice a year, then I am more likely to go with them because I will be moving to HKG very soon.
One more question, If I get a HKG Amex is it possible to transfer my MR points to my BA account along with my Canadian BA card?
One more question, If I get a HKG Amex is it possible to transfer my MR points to my BA account along with my Canadian BA card?
HKG-TPE is only 4500 one-way too + $40 CAD tax
Not sure about transferring HK AMEX MR, I'd think not, but look up their website to see if they have BA as transfer partner
If they do, and you get some HK AMEX MR, of course you can transfer to same BA Avios account I'd think
