American Express Membership Rewards - Flight Companion useless?

Today I call Amex to ask for a Businees flight to Denver eith flight companion program.

What a surprise. The price is aprox. 4600 Euro (American Airlines).

So whats the deal? I can buy a United ticket for aprox. 2000 Euro.

Someone made some better ecperiences with it?

Tazmania

It's a useless benefit unless your company pays full-fare tickets and lets you charge it to your personal card, through Amex.

Tazmania, there is something wrong here. AA doesn't even participate in the Amex Companion Flight program. I should also say that last year I had occasion to try the program (AF Boston to India) and I was satisfied. For Business Class, they offered me exactly the same price I found on Expedia, and it was as cheap as anything I found other than consolidator fares.
[Diners Card is another story. They jacked up the price a couple of thousand dollars for me to get the 'free' companion ticket.]
Edited to add that perhaps Amex in other countries deos have AA as a partner?
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Tazmania:
Today I call Amex to ask for a Businees flight to Denver eith flight companion program.

What a surprise. The price is aprox. 4600 Euro (American Airlines).

So whats the deal? I can buy a United ticket for aprox. 2000 Euro.

Someone made some better ecperiences with it?

Tazmania

</font>

[This message has been edited by Drummer (edited 11-05-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Drummer (edited 11-05-2003).]

It is USELESS!!!!!!!!!! ALL THE TIME

Drummer, in Germany AA is Amex partner. How much have you paid for the tickets last year?

All parnter for Germany are gere:
http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif/cda/page/0,1641,14720,00.asp?

January 2003, I paid $6017.20 for rt BOS-DEL in Business on Air France, and got a free companion Business ticket for my wife. [I only wished AA were a partner in the US, as I mainly accumulate miles on AA.]
[Edited for typos.]
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Tazmania:
Drummer, in Germany AA is Amex partner. How much have you paid for the tickets last year?

All parnter for Germany are gere:
http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif/cda/page/0,1641,14720,00.asp?

</font>



[This message has been edited by Drummer (edited 11-06-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Tazmania:
Someone made some better ecperiences with it?
</font>

LHR-MXP in C with Alitalia is £674+taxes full-fare. It's cheaper to fly with the Flight Companions programme than it is to buy discounted business-class tickets.

With Alitalia, at least, you always have the same conditions associated with a full-fare yearly ticket. So when our client wanted us to come out a day earlier, it was only £20 for a ticket change fee from Amex, rather than £x00 for a new ticket.

In fact, if you're flying from LON to MIL, I think the cheapest flexible ticket you can get is an Alitalia Prima Eurobusiness Flight Companions fare, including economy options. (well, cheapest option not including throw-away ticketing)

Out of interest, do the companion tickets earn miles ?? (UA or AC)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Eric the half a bee:
Out of interest, do the companion tickets earn miles ?? (UA or AC)</font>

Nope!

Thanks :-(

I use the free companion ticket from AMEX Platinum all the time. Company pays for me to fly Business Class to Europe for meetings and I usually take someone else that I work with on the companion ticket. (Fare for my ticket is usually the same as published fare on Expedia or Orbitz plus companion only pays taxes.) For this reason, my company has agreed to pay the yearly membership fee for me. Its cheaper for them to pay the AMEX fee than to pay for several peoples Business Class tickets who get to fly free with me. I sure hope LH never leaves this program in the US!

[This message has been edited by christianj (edited Nov 12, 2003).]

Just saw that LH is a partner with Amex in the US. Unfortunately the arn't in Germany.

Looks like it is a good idea to sign in for the US Platinum they offered me.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Tazmania:
Just saw that LH is a partner with Amex in the US. Unfortunately the arn't in Germany.

Looks like it is a good idea to sign in for the US Platinum they offered me.</font>

One thing to keep in mind is that with the US AMEX Platinum card free Business Class Companion ticket the two people need to travel on the same flights and the flights must originate in the US!

This surely is a fantastic price since a Consolidator Business Class ticket on AF from BOS - DEL in Z Class is around $3500 odd plus taxes per person. So essentially you did land up saving.

Very interesting, I wonder what class of service it was ? I am sure it wasnt a FULL J.


<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Drummer:
January 2003, I paid $6017.20 for rt BOS-DEL in Business on Air France, and got a free companion Business ticket for my wife. [I only wished AA were a partner in the US, as I mainly accumulate miles on AA.]
[Edited for typos.]


[This message has been edited by Drummer (edited 11-06-2003).]</font>