Apr 22, 2015, 10:57 am
Last edit by: mia
Effective June 2017 the USA Business Platinum airfare Pay-with-Points refund was reduced to 35%. This brings the net value to $0.0153 per point, essentially the same as Chase Sapphire Reserve's Pay-with-Points redemption rate.
USA Business Centurion cardholders will continue to receive a 50% refund. The Centurion version is also broader than the Platinum benefit:
Centurion: beginning October 6, 2016 you will get 50% Membership Rewards® points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight on any airline. The maximum rebate per calendar year for Centurion members is (_______?)
Platinum: Business Platinum Card Members will receive 5 extra points for every 10 points they redeem for either a First or Business class flight on any airline, or for flights with their selected qualifying airline using Membership Rewards Pay with Points with American Express Travel (35% Airline Bonus). The maximum rebate per calendar year for Business Platinum Card Members is 1,000,000 points.
FAQ
Q1. How does the process work?
A1. Here is an example, buying a $1,000.00 ticket:
Q2. Must the Business Centurion or Platinum card be used to purchase the ticket?
A2. When the benefit was refreshed in October 2016 you could pay with any card linked to the same Membership Rewards account, but it appears this changed in April 2017.
Q3. Will I earn Membership Rewards points on the purchase price?
A3. You will not earn base points, but you may earn bonus points if you pay with a card that awards a bonus for airline ticket purchases, such as Business Platinum, Personal Platinum, Business Rewards Gold, Premier Rewards Gold.
Q4. What happens if I cancel the ticket?
A4. There are mixed reports, but in most examples the cost of the ticket is refunded (a second time) to the card account. In one example American Express refunded the remainder of the points instead. If you prefer the points refunded rather than a cash credit, phone into AMEX and they will restore the points and remove the credit.
Q5. Can this benefit be combined with the International Airline Program companion ticket?
A5. One poster was told no, but another was able to do so.
USA Business Centurion cardholders will continue to receive a 50% refund. The Centurion version is also broader than the Platinum benefit:
Centurion: beginning October 6, 2016 you will get 50% Membership Rewards® points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight on any airline. The maximum rebate per calendar year for Centurion members is (_______?)
Platinum: Business Platinum Card Members will receive 5 extra points for every 10 points they redeem for either a First or Business class flight on any airline, or for flights with their selected qualifying airline using Membership Rewards Pay with Points with American Express Travel (35% Airline Bonus). The maximum rebate per calendar year for Business Platinum Card Members is 1,000,000 points.
FAQ
Q1. How does the process work?
A1. Here is an example, buying a $1,000.00 ticket:
- $1,000 charged to American Express card [Day 1]
- 100,000 Membership Rewards points redeemed [Day 1]
- $1,000 credited to American Express card [Day 2]
- _35,000 Membership Rewards points returned [~a month later]
- Net: $1,000 ticket for 65,000 points = $0.0154/point
Q2. Must the Business Centurion or Platinum card be used to purchase the ticket?
A2. When the benefit was refreshed in October 2016 you could pay with any card linked to the same Membership Rewards account, but it appears this changed in April 2017.
Q3. Will I earn Membership Rewards points on the purchase price?
A3. You will not earn base points, but you may earn bonus points if you pay with a card that awards a bonus for airline ticket purchases, such as Business Platinum, Personal Platinum, Business Rewards Gold, Premier Rewards Gold.
Q4. What happens if I cancel the ticket?
A4. There are mixed reports, but in most examples the cost of the ticket is refunded (a second time) to the card account. In one example American Express refunded the remainder of the points instead. If you prefer the points refunded rather than a cash credit, phone into AMEX and they will restore the points and remove the credit.
Q5. Can this benefit be combined with the International Airline Program companion ticket?
A5. One poster was told no, but another was able to do so.
Pay-with-Points flights. BUSINESS Centurion 50% refund, Plat 35%, Gold 25% (2015-23)
Jun 15, 2017, 2:35 pm
#646
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 315
Not sure if this has been shared here before. I talked with a MR rep today to ask for a manual rebate posting. She couldn't do that but mentioned these two points:
1) if you book your ticket through airline website, you have 45 days to use MR to offset the cost;
2) if you book your ticket through Amex Travel, you have 11 months to redeem MR for that ticket.
If these work as she told me, I think ~31d delay is not that a big deal. Any thoughts?
1) if you book your ticket through airline website, you have 45 days to use MR to offset the cost;
2) if you book your ticket through Amex Travel, you have 11 months to redeem MR for that ticket.
If these work as she told me, I think ~31d delay is not that a big deal. Any thoughts?
Jun 16, 2017, 6:31 pm
#647
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 315
My bookings (after 6/1) never got the "congrats" emails. Did anyone receive the "congrats" email recently?
Jun 20, 2017, 9:54 am
#650
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 599
No congrats email for a Jun 3rd booking. Hopefully the rebate posting doesn't take longer than beyond 4th of July since I need to buy another ticket early July.
Jun 20, 2017, 12:42 pm
#651
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: TPA/DFW/K15
Programs: AA EXP, Mar AMB, HH LT DIA
Posts: 1,649
Jun 20, 2017, 6:12 pm
#652
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: TX
Posts: 2,734
I booked on June 9th. I have not received an email and the rebate points have not posted yet. I was looking at past redemption postings and they posted within one to two days. When I contacted AmEx they told me that it could take up to 6 weeks for that to show up.
Jun 20, 2017, 6:40 pm
#653
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,953
Jun 24, 2017, 9:21 pm
#655
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,431
My dad has the personal Plat and the Business Plat. The personal Plat airline he assigned is DL, the business Plat is assigned to JB. Since the 2 cards share MR and pay with points can be done with the personal Plat, would he get the 50% points rebate for booking DL economy?
Jun 24, 2017, 10:15 pm
#656
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: AF Plat, DL Gold
Posts: 366
Hi all- I just wanted to chime in with another DP that i got my 50% refund on Pay With Points in 31 days. It seemed like an eternity since we were used to getting our points back within 48 hours.
Jun 24, 2017, 11:33 pm
#657
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,431
One more question-- I tried making a domestic first class booking LAX-HNL for my dad and I never saw any indication for the 50% (or 35%) rebate. I thought I remember seeing the rebate mentioned somewhere in the flight selection or checkout screens before, but I don't see it now. Am I just remembering wrong?
Also, I know people have chosen to "pay" with the personal Plat card to earn 5X MR, and they still got the rebate. I read this before the change to 35%. Does this still work?
Also, I know people have chosen to "pay" with the personal Plat card to earn 5X MR, and they still got the rebate. I read this before the change to 35%. Does this still work?
Jun 28, 2017, 4:35 pm
#658
Suspended
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 860
I'm looking to book some QR flights that I can see on Google Flights (and book directly with QR or via an online travel agency) but searches on AmEx Travel don't return any QR options.
Has AmEx dropped QR as an airline/provider? I've tried some other QR heavy routes and also couldnt see anything on the website.
Has AmEx dropped QR as an airline/provider? I've tried some other QR heavy routes and also couldnt see anything on the website.
Jun 28, 2017, 4:42 pm
#659
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,953
Jun 28, 2017, 5:24 pm
#660
Suspended
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 860
I was using the US website and searching for HEL-BKK.