American Express Membership Rewards - Short about 20,000 MR points. Can I purchase or borrow from future purchasing?

I'm short about 20,000 MR points for a two business class tickets I'm trying to redeem. Will AMEX let me purchase or borrow from future purchasing? I spend about 2K on the card per month.

Thank you for your help.

Yes, this feature is called Points Advance. The amount you can borrow depends on the card color, if your card will not allow you to borrow the full 20,000 you can purchase the remainder at $25 per thousand.

http://www.membershiprewards.com/catalog/splashtemplates/TermsSplash.aspx

If you are going to borrow points make darn sure that you have the "means" (spend) to pay them back. If you don't pay the points back at the end of a year, your card will be automatically charged for what's left. As mia points out, it costs $25 per thousand ($0.025 per point) to buy them back. That rate is pretty expensive, right up there with payday loans. :)

As mia points out, it costs $25 per thousand ($0.025 per point) to buy them back. That rate is pretty expensive, right up there with payday loans. :)Everyone values miles/points differently, but I think calling $.025 per MR point comparable to payday loans is a bit hyperbolic. If the OP is only 20,000 points away from two business class tickets I would certainly say buying the points is well worth it, though borrowing them is certainly better, worst case it gives you another year to pay for them.

Yea, a bit OT, but frankly I think that $25 per 1,000 MR points is a good deal.

If I were looking to purchase an F ticket to Europe or Asia, being able to do so at $2,500 or $3,000 respectively is a great deal, if availability exists.

Everyone values miles/points differently, but I think calling $.025 per MR point comparable to payday loans is a bit hyperbolic. If the OP is only 20,000 points away from two business class tickets I would certainly say buying the points is well worth it, though borrowing them is certainly better, worst case it gives you another year to pay for them.

Hence the smiley on my comparison.

Amex is charging about the same price for MR points as buying airlines miles directly from an airline.

All I'm saying is is that $500 is expensive for 20K in MR points and that that figure needs to be factored in when borrowing. Do you disagree?

Yea, a bit OT, but frankly I think that $25 per 1,000 MR points is a good deal.

If I were looking to purchase an F ticket to Europe or Asia, being able to do so at $2,500 or $3,000 respectively is a great deal, if availability exists.

Lots of ifs. Given that you can only buy 60K from MR once a year and buy 60K from the airlines once a year ($30/thousand at Delta, BTW). The planets would have to align pretty neatly (from availability and who you're flying). Its at best a once a year one time shot.

Keep in mind that there are lots of discounted business/first fares that need to be factored into the equation.

Cheap award availability is going to be the biggest barrier

Given that you can only buy 60K from MR once a year ...

US cardholders can purchase 500,000 Membership Rewards points per year. (Points can only be purchased in connection with a redemption which means American Express could eliminate or restrict purchases for transfers to airlines without changing the cap. I no longer have a USA Membership Rewards card, but to my knowledge they have not implemented such a restriction. No doubt someone will tell me if I have made an error ;) )

US cardholders can purchase 500,000 Membership Rewards points per year.

That I did not know. Thanks.

But either way, I'm not buying points at $.025 ;)

All I'm saying is is that $500 is expensive for 20K in MR points and that that figure needs to be factored in when borrowing. Do you disagree?Yup, I do. ;)

If you have two reservations for Biz Class tickets (so we're probably talking about a minimum of 80k mile tickets) and need 20k more MR points for the redemption, then I don't think $500 is terribly expensive.

I've said before here on FT that miles have a marginal value that is often overlooked. 20k MR points may only typically be worth $300 (to use a pretty conservative value I think), but if you need 20k more to reach a certain threshold for a specific award you desire, those last 20k points become more valuable in essence. To take the analogy to an extreme, say you're 1,000 MR points short of a 100,000 point Biz Class award, Do you think $25.00 is expensive for those last 1,000 points? Of course at some point it does become "expensive" if you're buying a large percentage of the points needed for an award, but in this situation that does not appear to be the case since it is a Biz Class award.

...miles have a marginal value...

There is also a paradox created by airline pricing models. Let's say you need to travel transatlantic this week or next. It will be too late to qualify for discounted business class fares, but award availability may be excellent because many carriers allocate more inventory immediately prior to departure. In this circumstance it may even be rational to purchase the full amount of miles required for a redemption ($2,000 +) rather than pay the lowest available business class fare. Membership Rewards' 500,000 point limit and instant transfers make this feasible.

dennis

Again, i think that rather than arguing theoreticals, I'll stick by my advice that if you choose to borrow points from Amex, go into it knowing that you'll be on the hook to pay if you don't charge enough to cover your debt within a year.

I'll cede the point that that there are some circumstances where borrowing/buying MR points to transfer over to an airline for an award ticket might be economically feasible compared to buying a ticket.

I also hope that the OP is not using Amex's "Pay with points" feature to get his/her two business class tickets.

I also hope that the OP is not using Amex's "Pay with points" feature to get his/her two business class tickets.

Indeed. Here in the UK, it is quite clear that a point used this way is worth exactly 0.45 of a penny.:td:

OT, I must say that buying 1000 Hilton points for $12.50 a few years ago was well worth my while, as it meant I could get 2 rooms for 8 nights for no extra cost. Needed: 470,000 points. Had: Just over 469,000. Mind you, a fair few of those points had started life as MR points, so maybe it's not OT after all. Plus of course I got a handful of further points for charging $12.50 to my Amex card...

While I'll agree PWP is terrible usually, bear in mind you can also pay with points & cash, online at americanexpress.com/travel or via 800-no.

Lately I found myself in nearly the exact situation mia describes...on an airline I fly infrequently and have no status or stockpiled points, and which isn't a MR partner. (USAir...traveling to GCM)

I used points for half the ticket, cash for the other. At least that way I wasn't emptying out my MR and also wasn't paying my left kidney to go on vacation.

It was a great trip AND I got to be there while my best friend got scuba certified. Was actually glad to have had the option.

There is also a paradox created by airline pricing models. Let's say you need to travel transatlantic this week or next. It will be too late to qualify for discounted business class fares, but award availability may be excellent because many carriers allocate more inventory immediately prior to departure. In this circumstance it may even be rational to purchase the full amount of miles required for a redemption ($2,000 +) rather than pay the lowest available business class fare. Membership Rewards' 500,000 point limit and instant transfers make this feasible.

dennis

Been there, done that, it is a FANTASTIC option to have.

Did that, and it does show how many advances you can get on the top right corner. I ended up just applied a new Plat Card (25k promo) instead of trying to buy the points.

Also, US Mint can come to the OP's rescue....