I have over 229,000 MR points in the bank. I really don't use that Gold Am Ex card anymore and hate to keep paying the annual fee just to keep the points alive. I can't get any award seats on the airlines I can transfer to from MR, mainly Delta or Continental and their partners. The other airlines won't work as they do not fly into Kansas City. I have a SPG Am Ex that transfers points to AA and I have very good luck with award seats on AA and it's partners.. So I'd like to fins a way to transfer the MR points elsewhere, maybe a way to get them to SPG points.
sbm12
Jun 15, 08, 1:54 pm
There isn't really any good way to launder them over to SPG. You can drop down to MR Express for no fee on a Blue card and then up it back to normal MR with a green card when you want to transfer them out and then cancel a month later and only pay the pro-rated annual fee, but there is a risk there in assuming that AmEx will continue to offer that route in the future.
Not too many other options that have particularly high redemption values. But I would definitely recommend cashing out unless you're earning at a decent clip. Otherwise it doesn't justify the cost at all.
gleff
Jun 15, 08, 2:11 pm
Mexicana is an American partner. You can transfer Amex points there.
Air Canada and ANA are United and US AIrways partners. You can transfer Amex points to either of those programs.
mia
Jun 15, 08, 2:16 pm
Further to Gleff's reply, Mexicana is in process of becoming a OneWorld member and already offers AA redemptions...
With that many points on the line, I'd probably bite the bullet and continue with an annual fee card until you redeem. Perhaps consider downgrading to a Green card, which should have an annual fee of about $100.
rockdocs
Jun 16, 08, 10:34 am
How about SPG, then tranfer to the airlines for the redemption bonus?
mia
Jun 16, 08, 10:46 am
How about SPG?
Membership Rewards transfers 3:1 to Starwood, meaning 229,000 would become about 76,000 Starpoints :td: .
With that many points on the line, I'd probably bite the bullet and continue with an annual fee card until you redeem. Perhaps consider downgrading to a Green card, which should have an annual fee of about $100.
This is what I'll probably do if I can't get award seats on one of the airlines I can transfer into that fly where I need to go. Maybe later this year I can fly DL or CO to Europe next year using up the MR points, and I'll cancel and redeposit my AA points I used for the current tickets to Europe. Oh how I wish AmEx MR let you transfer to AA.
forextrader
Jun 16, 08, 5:05 pm
Why not just get another AMEX card which is part of the Membership Rewards scheme? Here are 2 choices:
Either will give you 5000 more MR points and the first year is free - you can then cancel the gold card. The new credit card (which will have the same membership rewards account number) will keep your existing 229K points "alive" for 1 more year.
And in 1 years' time, if necessary, repeat using another new card.
jeelele
Jun 16, 08, 5:09 pm
I would transfer these points to DL SM to get a cool 20% bonus. That would make it ~275K DL miles which could be used on any skyteam partner + a few other including SQ. ^
mia
Jun 17, 08, 6:07 am
I would transfer these points to DL SM to get a cool 20% bonus.
How about transfer the points to Iberia? They are oneworld - so you should be able to use it with AA
mia
Jun 17, 08, 8:32 am
How about transfer the points to Iberia?
Iberia does not participate in the USA version of Membership Rewards. In any event the OP has already rejected the idea of transferring to Mexicana which would provide the ability to redeem on AA.
William Fikes
Jun 17, 08, 10:04 pm
Or you can post them on coupon connection and trade them for a variety of points/miles/upgrades.
stevenshev
Jun 18, 08, 9:44 am
I'll take them off of you for a reasonable rate.
susiesan
Jun 18, 08, 1:34 pm
I would transfer these points to DL SM to get a cool 20% bonus. That would make it ~275K DL miles which could be used on any skyteam partner + a few other including SQ. ^
I thought about that option. I wouldn't even be trying to use these points until Nov-Dec this year when planning a vacation for the fall of 2009. In these times, who knows if DL will still be in business then? I think AmEx is more likely to be around and be solvent. I'm more comfortable banking my points at AmEx or even another airline than I am with DL. Last time I used DL points to fly a partner airline (Korean to Vietnam) was 2004. It was fairly easy to get the seats then, but we had to buy a ticket to Chicago to pick up the KA flight. I don't know how it is with DL's partner airlines now. The last 3 award trips I've booked/taken have used AA miles with their partners, and the seats were very available for the exact dates and flights I wanted on the first phone call I made 11 months in advance. Since I live here in the heartland, the partner airlines don't fly here so I have to connect to them with DL, CO, or AA, or buy tickets to the eat or west coast.
susiesan
Jun 21, 08, 4:22 pm
I took the advice of some here and applied online for a Gold Am Ex in the name of my business, fee free for the first year and 25K MR awards after a $1000 purchase. Got instant approval. As soon as I get and use the card and points, I'll cancel the existing gold Am Ex that has the fee. My MR points will still be banked, with 25K more that I will think about what to do with in the future. Now that CO and UA are partnering, maybe I can transfer the MR points to CO and fly on UA as an award. I don't know how available award seats are with UA though. I never fly them so I don't follow the UA board as to ease of award availability.
mia
Jun 21, 08, 6:15 pm
Now that CO and UA are partnering, maybe I can transfer the MR points to CO and fly on UA as an award.
How would this be different from transferring to Aeroplan (Air Canada), ANA or Singapore and redeeming for an award on UA?
Febs2
Jun 22, 08, 7:18 am
In Australia we currently have a promo where AMEX MR points transfer to SPG @ 1000 MR points => 600 SPG points.
Not sure if Amex have that same offer in the US? If so, you could then transfer them to AA and get the bonus.
Cheers,
- Febs.
PS: Ahh, MCI. The one US destination this Aussie has visited more than anywhere else in the past 3 years! :D
susiesan
Jun 22, 08, 10:36 am
How would this be different from transferring to Aeroplan (Air Canada), ANA or Singapore and redeeming for an award on UA?
Because none of those airlines fly to Kansas City. UA does, which could get me to cities where partner airlines fly from. I'm trying to avoid buying tickets to get me to award tickets whenever I can with the cost of tickets going so high now.
mia
Jun 22, 08, 12:09 pm
...none of those airlines fly to Kansas City. ...
How is this relevant if you claim an award through Aeroplan, ANA or Singapore for flights operated by UA? You would be flying on UA (or a combination of Star Alliance members), you do not need to fly on the carrier whose program you use for the redemption.
Likewise you could transfer Membership Rewards points to Mexicana and redeem for travel on AA. There is no need to fly on Mexicana.
susiesan
Jun 26, 08, 4:50 pm
How is this relevant if you claim an award through Aeroplan, ANA or Singapore for flights operated by UA? You would be flying on UA (or a combination of Star Alliance members), you do not need to fly on the carrier whose program you use for the redemption.
Likewise you could transfer Membership Rewards points to Mexicana and redeem for travel on AA. There is no need to fly on Mexicana.
I have never flown on or looked at the programs from any of those airlines so I didn't know you could fly UA only with their miles. That's good to know that I can. But how easy is it to get reward tickets from ANS, Singapore, Air Canada, or Mexicana programs?
mia
Jun 26, 08, 5:30 pm
The ability to earn and redeem miles on other members is one of the primary consumer benefits of the three airline alliances. Award availability is largely determined by the carrier operating the flight, not the carrier operating the program.
If you are interested in travelling on AA, I would:
2. Join Mexicana's program, which you can do online at no cost.
3. Check award availability on aa.com. If there is none for direct AAdvantage redemptions it is unlikely (but not impossible) that seats will be available through Mexicana.
4. Call Mexicana to inquire about availability for travel on American Airlines, explaining that you would transfer Membership Rewards points if the award you need is available. I would not transfer until an award is on hold. If Mexicana will not research availability or hold a reservation pending a transfer you would have to decide whether to gamble, or you might ask American Express for assistance, but I doubt they can influence Mexicana's policies.
The same process would apply if you want to use Aeroplan, ANA or Singapore to travel on UA or another Star Alliance carrier, or if you wanted to use Delta or Continental to travel on another Skyteam carrier. The important point is that you are by no means limited to travelling on the direct Membership Rewards participating airlines.
francophile
Jul 16, 08, 9:18 pm
Iberia does not participate in the USA version of Membership Rewards. In any event the OP has already rejected the idea of transferring to Mexicana which would provide the ability to redeem on AA.
I logged onto the USA site for American Express and proceeded to Membership Rewards. When I went to Frequent Flyer Programs, I see Iberia is now one of the transfer choices. Last week when I went to this same page, I'm certain Iberia wasn't there.
Like most of the other OW airline programs, OW awards using IB miles are based on distance flown. Here's how many AMEX points are needed by mileage (in miles, not km) flown range in Y/C/F:
I logged onto the USA site for American Express and proceeded to Membership Rewards. When I went to Frequent Flyer Programs, I see Iberia is now one of the transfer choices. Last week when I went to this same page, I'm certain Iberia wasn't there.
Indeed, this looks like a new addition. Good news, even if the rates are a bit higher for redemptions than the other carriers out there.
http://www.membershiprewards.com/catalog/travel/TravelPartner.aspx?brandId=5476&N=
100 Iberia Plus Points = 1,400 Membership Rewards Points
1. To call Iberia from the U.S. please dial 011 34 91 374 24 42 or visit www.iberia.com to check seat availabilty and the number of Iberia Plus Points needed for your desired flight. Please note that this is an international call.
2. If seats are available, click Transfer This Amount to transfer Membership Rewards® points to your Iberia Plus account. Allow four to seven days to complete a transfer.
3. Once transfer is complete, call Iberia at 011 34 91 374 24 42 to complete your reservation.
4. Please note that no bookings can be made until the points are received in the Iberia Plus account.
ETA:
I looked some more and not all the rates are terrible (http://www.wanderingaramean.com/2008/07/membership-rewards-adds-airline-partner.html). There are some good options on IB metal (hahaha, I know) for regional travel within Spain, the nearby islands and N. Africa. Even some of the TATL options are OK if you're on the East coast and want to fly in Y (again, I know). The RTW rates are definitely high however. They even beat MX redemption in some cases.
penguin1
Jul 21, 08, 12:19 pm
I know of one guy who was looking to convert his AMEX membership rewards points and found that he could do a once-in-a-lifetime transfer of all his points to anyone he chose, concurrent with closing his AMEX account. What you can convert them to depends on who you can find that wants them.
xolinlevh
Jul 30, 08, 10:59 pm
I'll take them off of you for a reasonable rate.
il take em for free :D
marilyn35406
Aug 1, 08, 8:11 pm
I, too, have 150000 points that I'd rather not lose. All the hotel conversions are at different rates but I've no idea if any of them are better bargains than any other. Does anyone have an opinion? I.e. is the bottom line benefit better for any the hoteliers?
AmEx told me that I must pay $75 if I transfer my points to Delta or any other US air carrier, but not foreign carriers. Does that mean I should be looking at foreign airlines?
HELP!:confused:
cfischer
Aug 1, 08, 8:33 pm
I, too, have 150000 points that I'd rather not lose. All the hotel conversions are at different rates but I've no idea if any of them are better bargains than any other. Does anyone have an opinion? I.e. is the bottom line benefit better for any the hoteliers?
AmEx told me that I must pay $75 if I transfer my points to Delta or any other US air carrier, but not foreign carriers. Does that mean I should be looking at foreign airlines?
HELP!:confused:
but foreign carrier will likely charge you outrageous YQ surcharges on your award ticket ...
RichardInSF
Aug 3, 08, 9:22 pm
I would transfer these points to DL SM to get a cool 20% bonus. That would make it ~275K DL miles which could be used on any skyteam partner + a few other including SQ. ^
If you intend to do this, you better redeem those miles before Sept 1 when DL miles to redeem go way up; i.e., 20% isn't much help if you have to pay 3 times the miles that you do on other carriers (possibly I exaggerate a bit overall but things look pretty bad if you read the relevant thread in the Delta forum).
It would be even better to redeem those miles before August 15, when Delta puts a $25/50 "fuel surcharge" in place on all Delta awards. Fuel prices been headed down the past few weeks? Sure, but that doesn't matter to Delta, the surcharge stays.