American Express Membership Rewards - Blue Sky: award redemption and possible account upgrade questions

I received a targeted offer for the Blue Sky card with 0% APR for 15 months and 30k bonus points. The 15 month period is a few months more generous than other intro offers for travel rewards cards and would fit well as a financing option for a major purchase I'm considering.

Search brings up quite a few Blue Sky threads with not very specific answers about two questions I'd like to have settled before I decide one way or the other:

- Amex states the rewards redemption is in the form of a statement credit. Does this need to be booked through Amex or can this be through any travel site? (If the latter, being able to book a regular revenue ticket and still get AA miles for the reward travel sounds like a plus.)

- I understand the charge and credit products are pretty well segregated in the Amex world, but I also see a report of a user upgrading to Amex Gold/Plat later. I also understand that the Blue Sky points are different from the other rewards points Amex offers; I wouldn't be looking to attempt conversion from one set of points to the other. In a year or two my travel habits might justify the Gold or Plat cards. Is it really possible to upgrade an existing Blue Sky account to Gold/Plat?

(and yes, I have contemplated the SPG card for the last year, but at this time don't forsee meeting the minimum spend to take full advantage of the bonus offers)

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I received a targeted offer for the Blue Sky card with 0% APR for 15 months and 30k bonus points. The 15 month period is a few months more generous than other intro offers for travel rewards cards and would fit well as a financing option for a major purchase I'm considering.

Search brings up quite a few Blue Sky threads with not very specific answers about two questions I'd like to have settled before I decide one way or the other:

- Amex states the rewards redemption is in the form of a statement credit. Does this need to be booked through Amex or can this be through any travel site? (If the latter, being able to book a regular revenue ticket and still get AA miles for the reward travel sounds like a plus.)

- I understand the charge and credit products are pretty well segregated in the Amex world, but I also see a report of a user upgrading to Amex Gold/Plat later. I also understand that the Blue Sky points are different from the other rewards points Amex offers; I wouldn't be looking to attempt conversion from one set of points to the other. In a year or two my travel habits might justify the Gold or Plat cards. Is it really possible to upgrade an existing Blue Sky account to Gold/Plat?

(and yes, I have contemplated the SPG card for the last year, but at this time don't forsee meeting the minimum spend to take full advantage of the bonus offers)

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I can answer the first question - Blue Sky rewards can be redeemed for credit against any "travel" purchase on your card (any airline, cruise, hotel, car hire or package etc booked through any agent, website... not just Amex travel).

The upgrades is a slightly different story. Someone else may say different, but I believe if you show a healthy spend and good behaviour it is possible (or even likely) you may be "invited" to apply for a more premium product (platinum for example) at some point. And may even be targeted for an offer! In my books this isn't exactly an upgrade, in the biblical sense.

People classify upgrades differently, but an upgrade in my eyes is when my existing Gold card is upgraded to Platinum card for example (ie. my product is switched out completely and turned in to a higher tiered card) - as opposed to being invited to apply for a premium charge card in addition to my existing credit card. I'm not sure that a Blue Sky card itself would be turned into a Gold or Platinum charge card.

Not sure if that makes sense or not, lol

I'd prefer that the Blue Sky become a Gold card, rather than open an entirely new account, but at this point it doesn't influence my decision. The cents/point value is relatively low with this card, but for 30k points off the bat, the ability to still collect miles for the rewards travel, no annual plus the intro APR -- seems like an easy way to get some points and establish a history with Amex. I think I'll be going ahead with this one. Thanks for the info!

...The cents/point value is relatively low with this card, but for 30k points off the bat, ..

Agreed. Blue Sky is a mediocre program. If you like the idea of a program which reimburses paid travel there are much better programs from Bank of America, Fidelity and Capital One.