cactus47

Hi, my company uses Amex to book corporate travel over the phone. Does anyone know whether that will qualify for the 5x? Thanks!

TheSpecialMan

I have been wondering as well if I switch my business to using Amex Global Business Travel as a booking tool and set my Business Plat to be the card of record paying for this travel if that will count for 5x rewards on both airfare and hotels.

We currently use Concur for employee travel, which used to be under the Amex umbrella, but isn't any longer. Anecdotally, I also have a Business Gold card, which I have linked to Concur for all of my employee travel booking, and I do get 3x points on airfare booked through Concur, even though the terms say the airfare has to be booked directly through the airline.
It would be nice, however, to get that up to 5x and to get 5x on hotels as well.

Unfortunately, the regular Amex travel portal, as it exists today, doesn't have the controls I need or the ability to create rules governing employee travel, so I can't just tell employees all travel has to be booked there.

mia

American Express Travel is currently outsourced to Orbitz. I speculate that Orbitz is sharing the cost of, at least, the hotel bonus points.


Global Business Travel appears to be outsourced to someone else:

I think it's this company:

http://www.globalbusinesstravel.co.uk/aboutus.html

miketravelparty

Same question here regarding purchasing flights on a corporate website. The purchase came through but it didn't say united in the title of the transactions. In the details it said business under United. I am hoping this should get 5x bonus points. The purchase is named under our travel corporation that works with concur. Any thoughts do you think this will be 5x eligible? The purchase isn't directly with amex travel nor the airline themselves.

mia

Is the transaction still pending or posted?

miketravelparty

It's posted already. I called customer support, they said when it was pending it said it was a direct purchase from united but once it posted, the description changed to the name of the travel agency. The customer representative couldn't say if the system would grant the points until my month end closes. I asked her in her opinion and she said she didn't think this was acceptable 5x bonus criteria. We will see at the end of this month.

TheSpecialMan

Please let us know how it goes.

As a reference, when I book through Concur using my Business Gold Card, the transaction is listed under: FROSCH/GANT TRAVEL MANAGE - BLOOMINGTON, IN
However, when clicking on the description it shows Doing Business As: American Airlines (or whatever airline it is).

Then in the Card Bonus Detail on the Membership Rewards Activity Detail, it clearly shows that transaction and the 3x bonus for the Gold Card, which means Amex still views it as booking direct through the airline.

I've attempted to attach screenshots here.

Given that information, I don't see how these Concur transactions would count for the Platinum 5x as they don't go through Amex travel. But, if for some reason they do, it would certainly be nice.

miketravelparty

I confirmed I was able to receive the 5x bonus on the concur purchase. They look at the vendor name and since it said business as United, it triggered the bonus. Thank you for your information

gooselee

Any data points about this occurring with tickets booked through Egencia (Expedia powered)?

Charge came through similar to the Concur screenshot above - with the "title" of the charge as Egencia but DBA Delta and the flight info as if I'd booked on DL.com.

If nobody else has encountered it, I'll keep an eye on how the points post next month and try to remember to return here with a DP.

kay_jay

I do have Amex Platinum and I have chosen United Airlines as my airline.
Spent $1400 on United.com for purchasing tickets using Amex Platinum. From what I see in the monthly statement, I don't see 5x points or $200 airline credit for this year.
Usually how long does it take to post these?
Should I contact Amex or should I wait?
Is it open for everyone?
Should I register with Amex that I forgot to do?

(I again purchased $400 ticket on United.com today)

AwardBee

The 5x MR (4 additional bonus pts/$) may need to wait till your statement closes, IIRC. As for the $200 airline credit, it doesn't apply to ticket purchases, only for incidentals such as gift cards, baggage fees, etc. Most people just buy gift cards totaling $200 to cash out the credit.

If you think now you want to buy gift cards first before purchasing your flight, then you should probably cancel the booking you just made, buy the gift cards then repurchase the flights. Assuming of course the flight prices haven't gone up.

roberta_h

no experience with egencia but as another similar data point, i booked a ticket through priceline with the same result as miketravelparty: while pending the charge said virgin atlantic but then changed to priceline when it posted (with 'doing business as: virgin atlantic airways' in the details and category: travel - airline) -- i did receive the 5x bonus, this was back in march so it has already posted to my account

bgriff

The 5x bonus points will appear in your account about a month after your statement closes. (They will appear as "pending" in your account a day or two after the statement closes.)

The $200, as someone else mentioned, is not applicable to ticket purchases (so it is not the same as the more broadly applicable credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, for example). This thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...016-a-153.html has lots of ideas for how to maximize the $200 credit with United.

gooselee

Thanks for the data point!

kay_jay

Thanks.