laramegreene
Oct 15, 06, 2:31 pm
Any thoughts on the best use of reward points for either car rental or United Airline tickets?
American Express Membership Rewards - Using points for car rental or United Aitlines
View Full Version : Using points for car rental or United Aitlines
mia
Oct 15, 06, 2:56 pm
Welcome to Flyertalk.
As you know Membership Rewards points cannot be transferred to UAL. However, they can be transferred to Aeroplan (Air Canada) or to ANA. Both are Star Alliance members and offer reward travel on all Star Alliance carriers including United. However, this means you will not be able to combine the Membership Rewards points with the miles alreday in your UA account.
Also, Membership Reward points can be used to pay (or partially pay) for airlines tickets purchased on americanexpress.com. These tickets can be on any airline, including UAL. The full amount of the purchase is charged to your American Express account, and then a credit is posted based on the number of points redeemed on the basis of only $0.01 per point. This is really no different than redeeming the points for, say, a store gift card, but some people are able to think of it as an award ticket.
dennis
As you know Membership Rewards points cannot be transferred to UAL. However, they can be transferred to Aeroplan (Air Canada) or to ANA. Both are Star Alliance members and offer reward travel on all Star Alliance carriers including United. However, this means you will not be able to combine the Membership Rewards points with the miles alreday in your UA account.
Also, Membership Reward points can be used to pay (or partially pay) for airlines tickets purchased on americanexpress.com. These tickets can be on any airline, including UAL. The full amount of the purchase is charged to your American Express account, and then a credit is posted based on the number of points redeemed on the basis of only $0.01 per point. This is really no different than redeeming the points for, say, a store gift card, but some people are able to think of it as an award ticket.
dennis
brosnan6
Oct 15, 06, 3:22 pm
Also, Membership Reward points can be used to pay (or partially pay) for airlines tickets purchased on americanexpress.com. These tickets can be on any airline, including UAL. The full amount of the purchase is charged to your American Express account, and then a credit is posted based on the number of points redeemed on the basis of only $0.01 per point. This is really no different than redeeming the points for, say, a store gift card, but some people are able to think of it as an award ticket.
dennis
Don't forget that when you use MR points on the travel website you can still earn mileage with the respective airline or its partners. So technically it's a mileage earning award ticket.
dennis
Don't forget that when you use MR points on the travel website you can still earn mileage with the respective airline or its partners. So technically it's a mileage earning award ticket.
mia
Oct 15, 06, 7:39 pm
...when you use MR points on the travel website you can still earn mileage with the respective airline or its partners.
True, BUT I assume American Express deducts the Membership Rewards points earned by the airline ticket purchase when issuing the corresponding credit. It would be better to simply buy the airline ticket and redeem the points for a similar amount of gift cards, assuming you would actually be able to use them.
True, BUT I assume American Express deducts the Membership Rewards points earned by the airline ticket purchase when issuing the corresponding credit. It would be better to simply buy the airline ticket and redeem the points for a similar amount of gift cards, assuming you would actually be able to use them.