American Express Membership Rewards - Does anyone Know What is “Membership Rewards First”? Did Anyone Else Get a Letter?

In my statement (plat) dated 11/2/06:

Membership Rewards
Effective April 15, 2007, your Membership Rewards program account will be upgraded to a Membership Rewards FirstSM program account.
Accordingly, your Card(s) will be enrolled in the Membership Rewards First program and will no longer be eligible for enrollment in the
Membership Rewards program. Enrollment in the Membership Rewards First program is a complimentary benefit of the Platinum Card ,
Ameriprise Platinum Card, Ameriprise Platinum Financial Services Card, Fidelity American Express Platinum Card, Centurion Card, Business
Platinum Card, Business Centurion Card or Corporate Platinum Card account. The number of points you have accrued in your program
account will be unaffected by this change.

No other details at all.

In my statement (plat) dated 11/2/06:



No other details at all.


Interesting...I have been looking through Amex's website for a little bit and I cannot seem to find any mention of this anywhere. I checked the MR T&C and a few site searches. Maybe a "premium" redemption program where we get more for our points instead of .01/point? Sure would be nice if they offered $25 gift cards for 2000 points instead of 2500 :D

Interesting...I have been looking through Amex's website for a little bit and I cannot seem to find any mention of this anywhere. I checked the MR T&C and a few site searches. Maybe a "premium" redemption program where we get more for our points instead of .01/point? Sure would be nice if they offered $25 gift cards for 2000 points instead of 2500 :D

Somehow, I think that I will not be holding my breath on that one! ;)

Enrollment in the Membership Rewards First program is a complimentary benefit of the Platinum Card , Ameriprise Platinum Card, Ameriprise Platinum Financial Services Card, Fidelity American Express Platinum Card, Centurion Card, Business Platinum Card, Business Centurion Card or Corporate Platinum Card account. bottom line: Plat and Cent (logically implies it will be better than MR for Gold/Green) Sounds like good news! Just have to wonder how good :P

Hmm, so it sounds like all your cards become Membership Rewards First cards, just like having a regular MR card linked with MR Options cards that then act as regular MR.

I wonder what happens with a Gold Rewards Plus if linked to a Membership Rewards First account.

Sounds like good news...

But one should wonder why they eliminated the MR Options program and consolidated MR if they were planning this...

Sounds like good news...

But one should wonder why they eliminated the MR Options program and consolidated MR if they were planning this...

Could the 2x MR promos that are suddenly popping up in force be a handout to soften the blow of an MR devaluation? Hmm... That could make sense if MR First is somewhat like the current MR program.

http://www.membershiprewards.com/catalog/partners/luxury.aspx?endeca_url=CardProduct%3dGold%2bCard%2 6userType%3dpremium%26zone%3dHome%2bRecognized%2b-%2bFirst%2bCollection%26isPremiumSearch%3dtrue%26T ier%3dBASIC%26us_nu%3ddd%26RequestId%3d801fdf70ec7 644ad97c0debc41e8fbb3_1%26isPremiumUser%3dtrue%26r ule%3dHome%2bRecognized-%2bFirst%2bCollection%2b2%26is_recognized%3dfalse% 26style%3dHome%2bRecognized%2b-%2bFirst%2bCollection%26Points%3d0%26session_id%3d f9c614f2-9646-4b1a-976e-ef80be63d18a

:td: instead of buying 100 gift cards to the gap, you can now wisely spend your points on $1000.00 gift cards from EOS airlines and get the pleasure of flying into London-Stansead or pay 9,150,000 points for a 1 yr lease for a lamborghini.

What will they think of next?!?

I have the same thing on my platinum statement. Maybe they are going to relaunch this troubled and extremely devalued program for their best members. One can only hope. :confused:
-UFFA

I emailed & asked what this was about. Here is the response I received:

Dear ...:

Thank you for your recent inquiry about the Membership Rewards program.

Please be advised the Membership Rewards program on the Platinum & Centurion Charge will be enhanced early next year. The program name will be changed to Membership Rewards First.

• The Membership Rewards First program offers a wide variety of exciting premium rewards and experiences – and it is especially designed to provide greater travel redemption flexibility and exclusive access to premium rewards and experiences.
o We offer several options for redeeming for travel, including Pay with Points, Point Transfer and Travel Certificates.
o You will also gain exclusive access to the First Collection, our new set of luxury redemption partners.
o And - as a member of Membership Rewards First, you can earn triple points at the Bonus Points Mall (effective with the program launch 2007)
o And you will have access to a dedicated 1-800 number when the new program launches.
 Eligible Platinum and Centurion Charge Card products.

[deleted boiler-plate stuff & signature]

Bonus Points Mall and MR First are completely useless.

o We offer several options for redeeming for travel, including Pay with Points, Point Transfer and Travel Certificates.

So they offer the same options they already offer!


o You will also gain exclusive access to the First Collection, our new set of luxury redemption partners.
o And - as a member of Membership Rewards First, you can earn triple points at the Bonus Points Mall (effective with the program launch 2007)

And you can spend even more points and dollars on useless, overpriced stuff!


o And you will have access to a dedicated 1-800 number when the new program launches.

But it's okay—there's a dedicated 800 number to call when the MR site consistently spits out errors every time you try to do an airline transfer. :)

Wow....and I thought *I* had a lot of points sitting around...


I don't have quite the 93 MILLION points to redeem for the Chopard 18K white gold and diamond watch http://www.membershiprewards.com/catalog/productdetail/?CardProduct=Gold+Card&userType=premium&isPremiumSearch=flase&result_id=CMP1135&Nu=RewardCodeSubCode&Nty=1&isPremiumUser=true&N=213+29+98+211+208+104935&Ns=Basic+Points%7cDESC&session_id=ab7982a0-be66-4ac8-9060-922da18b4eb9&aid=62950

And I thought the trip into space was expensive at 25 million points (IIRC).

the EOS redemption option is an incredible value. its available now.

EOS tix are indeed unrestricted.

$6850 - 85000 - save $6850

2x $500 RT certs - 90000 + $1000 - save a whopping $12700


hopefully this is where theyll add the SQ transfers, and maybe more

and while we may not see the point in having a watch the cost of a car or house on our wrist, im sure many centurion holders do :D

the EOS redemption option is an incredible value. its available now.

EOS tix are indeed unrestricted.

$6850 - 85000 - save $6850

2x $500 RT certs - 90000 + $1000 - save a whopping $12700

Ok. Let me understand.

For 45,000 MR points you can get a voucher that allows you to buy an EOS round-trip/return ticket for $500.00 plus taxes?

Are there any blackout dates?

If I understand correctly that is a great deal and MAY respond to the upgrade offers I get.

hopefully this is where theyll add the SQ transfers, and maybe more


Yet another reason to upgrade to Plat. IF SQ transfers are allowed.

I wonder what happens to my current MR balance if I upgrade my card to Plat. and join the MR First program?

and while we may not see the point in having a watch the cost of a car or house on our wrist, im sure many centurion holders do :D

Don't worry....I definitely would not be sporting a watch like that on my wrist :). Just pointing out the fact how absurdly point expensive that thing is.

I could, however, go for one of the IWC watches they have.

http://www.membershiprewards.com/catalog/partners/luxury.aspx

unfortunately i cant login now. they made it so you have to login to see it now.

the eos tickets are unrestricted/full fare, no blackout dates, and i believe $500 includes tax. the main thing in the T&C was that they dont earn club48 points.

the EOS redemption option is an incredible value. its available now.

EOS tix are indeed unrestricted.

$6850 - 85000 - save $6850

2x $500 RT certs - 90000 + $1000 - save a whopping $12700


hopefully this is where theyll add the SQ transfers, and maybe more

and while we may not see the point in having a watch the cost of a car or house on our wrist, im sure many centurion holders do :D

The best value may be if you can redeem 45,000 points for the voucher that lets you buy an EOS ticket for $500, and then redeem 50,000 points for the companion ticket voucher. There's nothing in the (rather short) terms and conditions that explicitely prohibits this, but somehow I doubt they'll go for it.

ok i dont get it...

title says $500 Round Trip Ticket on Eos Airlines
pend $500 and Redeem 45,000 points for a round trip companion ticket from New York to London on Eos Airlines.

thats worthless...

Round Trip Companion Ticket on Eos Airlines
50,000 Points
Redeem points for a round trip companion ticket from New York to London on Eos Airlines.

why would you pay $500 for 5,000 points?

looks like im going to have to call them again and ask what the heck...

if this is all accurate, and its literally a worthless award, then there is only the >

unrestricted full fare EOS tix
$6850 - 85000 - save $6850 (8.1 cents per point)

still very good, but not earth-shattering.

ok i dont get it...

title says $500 Round Trip Ticket on Eos Airlines
pend $500 and Redeem 45,000 points for a round trip companion ticket from New York to London on Eos Airlines.

thats worthless...

Round Trip Companion Ticket on Eos Airlines
50,000 Points
Redeem points for a round trip companion ticket from New York to London on Eos Airlines.

why would you pay $500 for 5,000 points?

looks like im going to have to call them again and ask what the heck...

if this is all accurate, and its literally a worthless award, then there is only the >

unrestricted full fare EOS tix
$6850 - 85000 - save $6850 (8.1 cents per point)

still very good, but not earth-shattering.

The 45k + $500 isn't a companion award. Its for the first passenger redemption, so the $500 saves you 40k rewards points, not 5k.

"spend $500 and Redeem 45,000 points for a round trip companion ticket from New York to London on Eos Airlines." this is what it says online.

NOT this >

"spend $500 and 45,000 points and get 2 unrestricted tickets"

Think its due to a typo. On the main page, it doesn't list "companion" next to the 45k reward. And in the T&C's, the companion ticket offer (50k) mentions you need to be booked same flights as a companion. Whereas the 45k award makes no mention of a companion ticket in its T&Cs.

Think its due to a typo. On the main page, it doesn't list "companion" next to the 45k reward. And in the T&C's, the companion ticket offer (50k) mentions you need to be booked same flights as a companion. Whereas the 45k award makes no mention of a companion ticket in its T&Cs.

cant login again.

i would have sworn in the $500 + 45K T&C it again referred to it as a companion ticket...

i hope im remembering wrong.

because it would certainly be nice to get 2 full fare tix for $1000+90K

I logged in and it said the info was unavailable, which is probably what happened to others. So I called MR on the phone and after some delay, they confirmed that you get a certificate, valid for 1 year, that allows you to fly EOS for $500 round trip for the 45k miles; i.e., it is NOT a companion award. (The companion award is 50k miles!!!!). You call for reservations and then EOS has to receive the certificate 72 hours in advance of flight.

If this counts as full fare -- which means it includes the limo to/from Stansted -- it is indeed a real deal. It would have been pushing things to ask the clerk I got on the phone about that detail. Appears this award is available to all MR members. I suppose it's a gamble on whether EOS survives for a full year. No clue as to transferability, which may be limited, as they said the $500 had to be charged to (your?) (an?) Amex card.

EOS isn't going anywhere, unless mgmt sells out, which I can't imagine.

Not sure what you mean by trasnferability? You should be able to redeem for whatever you want, but you can't change the name after booking.

Yes, but I couldn't easily redeem the certificate for someone I didn't know and trust if the $500 had to be charged to MY Amex as opposed to ANY Amex, that's what I meant.

And management has been wrong before. Still a gamble. But a pretty good one, especially since if they went belly up, there would probably be a good chance you could talk Amex into taking the cert back and re-crediting you.

Makes me want to go to London for no reason!

Makes me want to go to London for no reason!
I highly recommend trying them out ^

Richard, with 65%+ loads, contracts with IIRC 7 of top 10 investment banking firms, and the best on time record of ANY airline for that route in the last period, its a fairly good gamble :P

I for one will be finding an excuse to give EOS a shot this upcoming year, has anyone confirmed if the limo service is included in the Amex MR deal?

if you wanted to be sure, book with dates less than 7 days out, then change the dates.

Is this offer available ex London?

if you have an american card, yes.

otherwise, check with UK membership rewards.

Followed this thread on EOS with interest, and checked the MR site just now, and it all still seems rather unclear wrt the 45k pts + 500 offer.

There is an EOS1 award for 85k MR pts that is clearly for one RT ticket. T&C's do not say it is equivalent to an unrestricted fare.

There is also an EOS3 award for 45k pts +$500 that says on the title page that it is for a RT ticket, but the T&Cs and the award description page say that it is for a companion ticket. Again, nothing is mentioned about this award being equivalent to an unrestricted fare.

Finally, there is an EOS2 award for 50k points for a companion ticket.

The EOS1 and EOS2 awards are relatively clear, but the EOS3 award remains unclear, at least from the website description.

I just noticed that if I login to Membership Rewards using my own User ID which is linked to a Platinum card I can see the "First Collection" awards. However, if I login using my wife's User ID it does not appear.

i hope this "improved" membership rewards program will allow me to transfer the points to airlines that i previously could not transfer to such as AA and UA. We'll see. The MR seemed good when i first signed up with AMEX back in 2000 but not the greatest anymore.

SQ and KLM appear to be coming to US.

kuroneko, if you book less than a week out, it would HAVE to be an unrestricted ticket. and you can change dates to whatever you want.

<<if you book less than a week out, it would HAVE to be an unrestricted ticket>>

Not if it is subject to availability of a specific booking class. For example, Virgin Atlantic allows award redemptions up to the date of departure, but only if "G" class is available. It would only be "unrestricted" if one could redeem for any unsold seat in Upper Class, as one can on American Airlines with an AAnytime award (for twice the miles).

for eos >

1 class, 48 seats

J fare has no requirement
C fare requires 7 days in advance booking
Z fare requires 21 days in advance booking
I fare requires 42 days in advance booking

so if you book through AMEX MR less than 7 days out, the ONLY fare available is J.

Availability of I, C and Z does not automatically drop to zero when the advance purchase deadline passes. Carriers continue to assign seats to these codes to accomodate (or not) passengers who need to change tickets or redeem awards that require a specific farecode.

Here is the availability for tonight's Eos flight #2 from JFK to STN: J7 D7 C7 Z7 I7 (wide open)

Here is the availability for the same flight on 22 November: J2 D2 C0 Z0 I0 S0

If I understand correctly, you believe Membership Rewards tickets could be used to claim the two remaining seats on the 22nd? I think not because I asked Eos and they responded by email in less than a minute ^ ...'

To use the AMEX reward points your flights must be available under M Class which can only be retrieved by an EOS agent.

...and indeed "M" class is not displayed in ExpertFlyer. I consider these awards competitive with other carriers, but in no meaningful sense unrestricted.

1 888 357 3677

"MAXFULL" farecode abbreviated as M i guess

unlimited changes with no penalty

for the first 2 rewards, 85K, 45K+$500 (ticket not companion ticket)

for 45K+$500 it IS refundable, but you get credit to future EOS travel, not back to your card. and youd be out the MR.

the companion ticket is for when you buy a ticket, and pay for it. the companion ticket matches the fare of the purchased ticket.

now with this 3rd reward option, its not unlimited changes with no penalty by default. it matches the restrictions of whatever fare you pay for the first ticket.

so the first 2 are in fact able to make unlimited changes with no penalty.

and so you probably cannot get limo service with this. but i didnt double check that.

so it stands, $1000 + 90K = save $12,700 (2 tickets with unlimited changes)
when you need the flexibility, it can save you a lot.

although, one last thing, these are capacity controlled. two reps i talked to said it ranges from say 5-10 seats per flight that are open to AMEX rewards.

so it doesnt give you quite the same flexibility as if you were paying $13,700 for 2 tickets.

Great detailed post. Thanks for taking the effort to find this stuff out and clarifying. ^ :D

Still a fantastic deal (I hope it lasts!), IMHO, even without Limo service, which in the end is less than a $100 value anyway.


1 888 357 3677

"MAXFULL" farecode abbreviated as M i guess

unlimited changes with no penalty

for the first 2 rewards, 85K, 45K+$500 (ticket not companion ticket)

for 45K+$500 it IS refundable, but you get credit to future EOS travel, not back to your card. and youd be out the MR.

the companion ticket is for when you buy a ticket, and pay for it. the companion ticket matches the fare of the purchased ticket.

now with this 3rd reward option, its not unlimited changes with no penalty by default. it matches the restrictions of whatever fare you pay for the first ticket.

so the first 2 are in fact able to make unlimited changes with no penalty.

and so you probably cannot get limo service with this. but i didnt double check that.

so it stands, $1000 + 90K = save $12,700 (2 tickets with unlimited changes)
when you need the flexibility, it can save you a lot.

although, one last thing, these are capacity controlled. two reps i talked to said it ranges from say 5-10 seats per flight that are open to AMEX rewards.

so it doesnt give you quite the same flexibility as if you were paying $13,700 for 2 tickets.

absolutely fantastic if you need the flexibility, although capacity controls do decrease it somewhat.

im hoping for more promos like amex travel auction personally :P
$1500pp + 80K club48 points :D

should have bought more while it lasted.

im hoping for more promos like amex travel auction personally :P
$1500pp + 80K club48 points :D

should have bought more while it lasted.

silly question: what travel auction?

silly question: what travel auction?
i just said :D buy 1 get 1 free EOS tix. (from $1500pp) plus 80K club48 points, worth $800.

it ran earlier this year.

45K+$500 (ticket not companion ticket)
This makes sense but it's not the way American Express understands the offer. They referred me to the Restrictions for Offer EOS3 to verify that it is a companion offer requiring purchase of one ticket to obtain the second ticket for $500 plus 45,000 points...

Requires $500 payment towards the round trip ticket on Eos Airlines using your American Express Card.

Companion must be booked on the same flights and dates as paying passenger.

The Eos e-ticket is valid for one year from the date of ticket issuance.
Once the Eos e-ticket is issued it cannot be refunded to return the points to Membership Rewards.

Offer is valid for travel only on Eos Airlines.

Certificate cannot be sold, bartered or purchased.

The offer is non-refundable, non-redeemable for cash, non-transferable and not valid where published by law.

No Blackout dates apply.

Eos Club 48 points cannot be accrued when using this reward.

Getting back to the original post of that MR is dead and we are all going to have the MR First program, does anyone have any thoughts of if we should transfer our poins over to airlines or Hilton prior to the switch? We might not be able to launder them thru Hawaiian to Hilton any longer.....

Of course this month Plat has the 2x retail promo, better than the 1.25 Skymiles, but not as good as the 5x miles that some people are getting on FatWallet

JudyJFLA

it does not make sense to pay $500 for 5,000 membership reward points.

50K companion
45K + $500 companion

i didnt remember the T&C saying anything about companion.. maybe theyve changed it?

i cant login right now :|

i guess im going to be spending some time on the phone at some point speaking to some supervisor at membership rewards.

Getting back to the original post of that MR is dead and we are all going to have the MR First program

I think it is premature to take any action. At this point it sounds as if the difference between Membership Rewards and Membership Rewards First will be expanded redemption opportunities, no fundamental change in the ability to redeem for airline miles, hotel points or other existing rewards.

green MRO > MR
gold remained MR, kept its bonuses
plat MR > MRF

the first collection, and when SQ and KLM were added temporarily to transfer page, i think are like sneak peeks at what MR First is going to offer.

This is potentially a very important change. I can't believe this doesn't affect anyone else.

Unfortunately, this thread has spent most of its time off topic, so there doesn't seem to be any info about the change.

Does anyone else know anything about this?

were not going to know anything for sure until it happens in april 2007.

read my last post...

This is potentially a very important change. I can't believe this doesn't affect anyone else.

Unfortunately, this thread has spent most of its time off topic, so there doesn't seem to be any info about the change.

Does anyone else know anything about this?

Message #10 of this thread includes American Express' summary of Membership Rewards First. One of these is "exclusive" access to the First Collection rewards, and indeed these appear on the Membership Rewards website only if you are a Platinum or Centurion account holder. Many of the messages discuss the Eos Airline awards which are from the First Collection.

Another feature of Membership Rewards First is triple, rather than double, points in the American Express online shopping portal and this week I did receive a postcard about this, although it appeared to be a holiday promotion rather than a permanent offer. I'm not too excited because all the merchants also participate in other online shopping malls where I can generally earn more miles per dollar.

Message #10 of this thread includes American Express' summary of Membership Rewards First.

Thanks for the info. I received the amex summary, but I'm concerned that this change may be an 'enhancement'.

Usually, I find FT to quickly have a good analysis of which changes to FF programs are detrimental. The program sponsors usually make those difficult to find.

I'm very concerned that they not reduce the value of the MR points for transferring to airlines. I use my points mostly for top ups. If that's going away I would want to transfer before it happens.

I would have thought the EOS discussion would be better off as its own thread rather than buried in this one.

they would never reduce the value of FFP transfers...

I would have thought the EOS discussion would be better off as its own thread rather than buried in this one.

Agreed in retrospect, but in context this discussion developed to illustrate that there is something of value buried in the First Collection. I think the only way to determine whether the 1:1 airline transfer ratio will change is to explicitly ask American Express.

I'll do it and report back.

they would never reduce the value of FFP transfers...
Ha. Ha.

That's a good one.

Did I tell you about this bridge I've got for sale?

I think the only way to determine whether the 1:1 airline transfer ratio will change is to explicitly ask American Express.

I'll do it and report back.

I guess I've become cynical in my old age.

It never occured to me that customer service might be a more reliable source than FT to determine if amex were 'enhancing' away our FFP transfers.

Customer service response...

...you will still earn a points towards (sic) every dollar spend on your account. Also the redemptions ratios of points towards airline and hotel transactions will remain the same.

Some of the enhancements will be:

1-Triple points towards purchases on Bonus Points Mall purchases.

2-dedicated Toll-free Number for Platinum card members.

3-First collection partners (Premium Retail Partners, Ultra High-End, Lodging Partners, and Specialty Airline Partners.

4- More travel partners

5-More fine dining and upscale retail partners

4- More travel partners = looking forward to that :)

Bear in mind "partners" doesn't necessarily mean more Membership Rewards mileage transfer opportunities. It could simply mean redeem XX,000 points for a ticket on a new carrier, similar to the existing Air France offers. Still, it look as if they are trying to offer more choices to Platinum and Centurion cardholders. Nonetheless I would have preferred an improvement in the Hilton HHonors and Starwood Preferred Guest transfer ratios.

right. i still think that temporary addition of SQ was a good sign though :)

My guess is this will largely be a name change only; little substantive improvement in the core program, *as defined by flyertalk members* who know how to convert award(s) to tangible value. Except for the EOS tie-in, which seems to have excited some MR members, I saw little that caught my attention.

Did have a fun (but awkward) moment when I called my AMEX rep a couple of days ago...and she made it a point to mention "MR First" as some sort of new program for CENT cardholders, as if this would rock my world...but could not, in a 10+ min call, ever locate the link to the program so I could research it. Of course, she promised a follow-up email w/ the information...which ahs never happened. Once again, flyertalk fourms trump even AMEX's best efforts and I learned about it here - certainly not via AMEX's efforts. No surprise there.

More than anything, I feel this is marketing buzz where AMEX can now declare and advertise that AMEX offers *MR FIRST for CENT and PLAT programs* as if this is a higher-level feature-set than *mere MR*. If AMEX has learned nothing else, they seem to catch that these so-called elite tiers make us grovel and frothe all over ourselves trying to get "in".

Would like to know the number of people who upgrade from a GREEN and GOLD to PLAT or CENT when this program implements. Those are the suckers AMEX must be targeting.

I got a snail-mail card yesterday about the forthcoming exciting changes. There was absolutely no information at all about what changes there would be.

This is for the Amex Platinum Card, not the Delta co-branded card.

Anyhow, it starts out saying they are "enhancing" the Membership Rewards program. Everytime somebody tells me they are going to "enhance" something, it usually means they get enhanced and I get the shaft. I will try to type word for word the enhancements:


Fly with no blackout dates or restrictions when you redeem points for travel with any airline on americanexpress.com/platinum. With this new feature, called Membership Rewards Pay with Points, you can pay with points for all or part of the cost of your trip when you book flights, hotels, cruises and travel packages online. You can also access Platinum Travel Service at 1-800-xxx-xxxx to redeem Membership Rewards points for cruise, Vacation packages, and flights on virtually any airline anytime.

Transfer points to airline and hotel frequent customer programs to redeem for travel rewards.


Now, I can see a tiny number after the first sentance but I can't find my glasses to read the fine print.

So my question is, while the second paragraph describes how the MR program works now, does the first part mean that you can now bypass capacity controls as relates to award travel? It would be fabulous if you could actually get an F ticket for part money, part points without worrying about the 330 day thing. Too good to be true?

Sounds like they may be trying to mimic UA's "Choices" program.

I had a letter about this program change in the last 2 weeks. Funny thing is I canceled my Amex Plat this summer, but I still get Departures, get platinum branded and logoed snail mail and email, but no statement naturally....would be great to have platinum benefits without having to hold or pay for the card...it just annoys me to know that amex messes up like this, cardmember cancels card, but still gets promo material after the fact....just lowers thier reputation with me

I received a similar letter last week for my Membership Rewards account associated with my Platinum Corporate American Express. Mine said that as of April 2007, my account will be converted into a Membership Rewards First account, which is used to be the Membership Rewards Plus program.

I tried to do some research on the Membership Rewards Plus program to no avail, and I haven't had a chance to contact AmEx about what the benefits and drawbacks of the conversion are. My biggest concern is that I won't be able to convert my MR First points back to MR points when/if I decide to downgrade from the Plat AmEx to Gold or regular.

Anyone have any knowledge?

This is for the Amex Platinum Card, not the Delta co-branded card....which is why the new home for this thread is now in the American Express Membership Rewards forum.

Regards,

Canarsie
Co-Moderator, Delta forum

Isn't the converion rate for awards like this based on an expensive compared to airline miles redeemed for premium class international flights? Sounds like the catalog/product options to try to induce conversion at high conversion rates.

Isn't the converion rate for awards like this based on an expensive compared to airline miles redeemed for premium class international flights? Sounds like the catalog/product options to try to induce conversion at high conversion rates.

Huh?

You can use the points to pay for any travel related event at, I believe, 1 MR point = $.01. This is a pretty bad ratio, but not nearly as bad as the $.01/point that you get in the retail merchandise when you realize that they're "selling" you the stuff at full MSRP instead of the normal discount price you'd get at a regular store.

I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop on the MR First program, but as of now it just looks like they've opened up some neat rewards like eos and the Lamborghini lease.

S.

As pointed out above, the issue is the conversion ratio they are using in the "enhanced" program. I'll illustrate by way of example:

With the current program, one can use, say, 140,000 miles to obtain a First/Business First award to Southeast Asia (i.e. Singapore). One of the most likely providers of such service would be Korean Airlines, a member of SkyTeam. Capacity constraints, yes, but I've been able to access these awards in the past.

Now, under the new program, one has the option of using any airline... now, checking F class fares from ATL-SIN, they all seem to be running between $10,500 to $12,100 round-trip.

Using the exchange ratio provided by Amex of $0.01 per mile, the "enhanced" award will only require the usage of 1,050,000 to 1,210,000 miles.

So, is a 140,000 mile capacity control reward better than a 1,050,000 - 1,210,000 mile flexible, unrestricted award for the same itinerary... I guess everyone has to judge for themselves.

I got a letter today regarding my AMEX Blue Card that as of March 2nd I will no longer be able to transfer MR points to ANY hotel or airline account. The new name will be Membership Options and I'll use points to purchase directly from their vendor, much like Citibank offers.

I just got a letter this past week referencing my Blue for Students, saying that my MR account will be converted to MR First, not options. Me thinks this is because there is a centurion linked to the account.

I just got a letter this past week referencing my Blue for Students, saying that my MR account will be converted to MR First, not options. Me thinks this is because there is a centurion linked to the account.

So you have a Centurion and Blue for Students? May I ask you age? :)

he's an additional cardholder on his father's cent

I see that Raffles Hotels & Resorts now appear in the First Collection. I don't recall seeing these previously.

I also see that Ritz Carlton is "coming soon" to First Collection. This will be an interesting test because Membership Rewards already offers 53 Ritz Carlton awards, ranging from 35,000 to 55,000 points per night, plus an award at the Ritz (London) for 60,000 points. Will they remove RC awards from the standard Membership Rewards program, or will they continue to offer those awards and add better awards (e.g. suites) to the First Collection at higher rates?

I see that Raffles Hotels & Resorts now appear in the First Collection. I don't recall seeing these previously.

I also see that Ritz Carlton is "coming soon" to First Collection. This will be an interesting test because Membership Rewards already offers 53 Ritz Carlton awards, ranging from 35,000 to 55,000 points per night, plus an award at the Ritz (London) for 60,000 points. Will they remove RC awards from the standard Membership Rewards program, or will they continue to offer those awards and add better awards (e.g. suites) to the First Collection at higher rates?

probably the former. trying to get people to upgrade the card product...

Two Ritz-Carlton awards have appeared in the First Collection. I found these using the search function, not with the menus.


The Ritz-Carlton: Royal Prestige Suite
85,000 Points
The Royal Prestige Suite Travel Award features:
Deluxe accommodations for one night in an elegantly appointed suite
American breakfast for two (tax and gratuity included)
All room-related taxes
Last room availability
Accommodations at any of The Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide with no seasonal exceptions (New York, Central Park, Boston and Georgetown do not participate)
Reward Code MAR13

The Ritz-Carlton: The Royal Prestige Club Travel Awards
90,000 Points
The Royal Prestige Club Travel Award features:
Deluxe accommodations for one night on The Ritz-Carlton Club® level
American breakfast for two (tax and gratuity included)
All room-related taxes
Last room availability
Accommodations at any of The Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide with no seasonal exceptions (Georgetown does not participate)
The Ritz-Carlton Club level comprises exclusive floors with exceptional amenities including a separate lounge, the personal service of a club concierge and five complimentary food and beverage presentations throughout the day.
Reward Code MAR12

Compare to this award offered by Diners Club for fewer than half as many points...

Item Name Ritz-Carlton Ritz-Carlton Prestige Suite
Item Number 9796d
Points 38,500
Description Accommodations for one night in an elegantly appointed suite at any Ritz-Carlton hotel worldwide with no seasonal exceptions. Enjoy American breakfast for two the following morning (tax and gratuity included). Also includes all applicable room taxes.

Compare also to these awards offered by Merrill+ VISA...

THE RITZ-CARLTON 1 - NIGHT ROYAL PRESTIGE SUITE TRAVEL AWARD ITEM# 90019
48,000 Points
Description:
Whether you're on a family vacation or a romantic getaway, you'll appreciate elegantly appointed suites, goose-down pillows, cotton sheets, and plush terry bathrobes. Choose from any participating Ritz-Carlton Hotel or Resort at any time, anywhere, all room-related taxes included. Enjoy Ritz-Carlton suite level accommodations with deluxe amenities, and American breakfast for 2 each day, in your room or the restaurant, with tax and gratuity included. For a complete list of Ritz-Carlton locations, visit www.ritzcarlton.com.



THE RITZ-CARLTON 1 - NIGHT ROYAL PRESTIGE CLUB TRAVEL AWARD ITEM# 90018
47,000 Points
Description:
Whether you're on a family vacation or a romantic getaway, you'll appreciate elegantly appointed suites, goose-down pillows, cotton sheets, and plush terry bathrobes. Choose from any participating Ritz-Carlton Hotel or Resort at any time, anywhere, all room-related taxes included. Enjoy Ritz-Carlton Club level accommodations with deluxe amenities, such as: separate club lounge, specialized club concierge, complimentary food and beverage presentations throughout the day and evening. For a complete list of Ritz-Carlton locations, visit www.ritzcarlton.com.

Thanks for the comparisons mia! I think AMEX is living in LaLa land if they think people are going to use close to double the points for rewards at Ritz-Carlton's via their program. (at least us FT members won't!!)

Slightly OT but are the RC awards via Amtrak still suite awards? The wording listed on the Amtrak site is very confusing. They call it a one night "Royal Prestige" Award but then in the description they state "you'll appreciate elegantly appointed suites." I remember some discussion that transfering AMEX points to CO and then to Amtrak was the best use of AMEX points for Ritz awards.

In view of the similarity of the names of the Ritz Carlton awards I think it is evident that they are created by the hotel chain, not by the credit card companies. It could be that RC has increased the cost of awards and it is not yet reflected in Diners or Merrill's redemption structure, but I think this should be evident by January.

The Amtrak Ritz-Carlton award is for a room, not a suite. The description is simply wrong. There is a similar error in the Diners catalog. In addition to the 38,500 point award described above there is a 31,000 point award, see below. This makes me think the bad copy is supplied by Ritz Carlton.

Item Name Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Royal Prestige
Item Number 9795d
Points 31,000
Description Accommodations for one night in an elegantly appointed suites. American breakfast for two (tax and gratuity included), all room related taxes. Choose from any Ritz-Carlton hotel worldwide with no seasonal exceptions.

Two Ritz-Carlton awards have appeared in the First Collection. I found these using the search function, not with the menus.
Since mia mentioned finding the two RC awards via the search function, I decided to play around on the AMEX site for a while and found the following hotel chain awards which I had not seen before:

Swissotel Hotels & Resorts:
20k Edelweiss Award - Valid for a one-night stay any night of the week at Swissotel Hotel and Resorts Properties included in the Edelweiss Reward Category
30k Matterhorn Award - Same as above but for properties in the Matterhorn Reward Category

Not sure what hotels are in each category

Radisson:
35k Radisson Worldwide award - Not a great award for US properties but some of the worldwide properties are very nice and expensive. Please note that Diners has the worldwide for only 18,500 pts. but it still is a new addition to AMEX MR redemption.

I also found property specific awards for Swissotel and also Sol Melia awards. On the other hand, Wyndham awards seem to be gone from the website. Interesting!!

just noticed AF/KLM partners include MH,JL,Jet, and that their new premium classes don't look bad at all.

bumped >

Raffles(high cost nights) and Zegna(1% back gift certs) finalized

Pebble Beach golf resorts (packages) added

Sentient Jet! 360K - $5K

vs 384K - $5K for Bombardier Flexjet (hmm no more Skyjet?) and Atlantic Aviation

My statement today said July 3 is the new changeover date for MR First, and also said beginning that day they are starting (or bringing back?) the ability to use up to 60K MR in ADVANCE of earning them. ^

Sentient Jet! 360K - $5K

vs 384K - $5K for Bombardier Flexjet (hmm no more Skyjet?) and Atlantic Aviation
Great - only 360k points plus another $130,000 gets you a couple hours of flying time!

Sentient Silver = $100K, 38.5 hours max

the cpp value went up compared to Bombardier, albeit only .1 from 1.3 to 1.4.

Bombardier is also more expensive $ wise.

i just like seeing improvements, like the HUGE drops in redemption rates for by invitation only events, making them actually reasonable.