Jun 14, 2014, 11:24 am
Last edit by: MDtR-Chicago
This thread is for discussion of the PenFed Premium Travel Rewards Amex Card, described here: https://www.penfed.org/PenFed-Premium-Travel-Rewards-American-Express-Card/
No annual fee
Earn 5 points on airfare purchases
Earn 1 point on all other purchases
20,000 bonus points when you spend $2,500 within the first 3 months of opening the Card account
There are several similarly named PenFed cards. Please see the chart at the top of the
Master Thread: PenFed Family of Cards + Chip & PIN Questions to make sure you post in the correct thread!
No annual fee
Earn 5 points on airfare purchases
Earn 1 point on all other purchases
20,000 bonus points when you spend $2,500 within the first 3 months of opening the Card account
There are several similarly named PenFed cards. Please see the chart at the top of the
Master Thread: PenFed Family of Cards + Chip & PIN Questions to make sure you post in the correct thread!
PenFed Premium Travel Rewards AmEx [5x/3x/1x, $0 fee, 20K bonus]
Nov 17, 2010, 7:31 am
#62
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,418
If you currently hold the PenFed Travel Amex, watch your email for an opportunity to get 30K bonus points with $650 spend between 11/1/10 and 12/31/10. The email points out that I haven't been using the card much (since my initial spend for the bonus back in April when I first got the card).
I haven't yet redeemed my points, and I think my annual fee is about to come due. Wasn't it something like $60? I really don't want to pay that. Anyone try to get it waived? If they were to keep the airline bonus and eliminate the fee, I might make it a habit to use this card more often.
Nov 18, 2010, 6:10 am
#63
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: EWR Ionosphere Club, LAX Clipper Club, Still Traveling Global, yearly BIS miles
Programs: EAL Silver Wings, I-Club, Flying Colonels DL, WorldPass PLat from the olde Meatball and PE SMARTbank
Posts: 1,987
So has anyone called who did not get the email on the $650 spending offer asking for it?
Nov 28, 2010, 12:30 pm
#64
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 245
I'm pretty impressed with the airline ticket awards. I just
checked two flights I'm likely to make soon:
RDU round-trip to Boston, at XMas-time, was about 10K.
RDU round-trip to FLG next year was high 20K's. Neither
insisted you fly at bizarre times-of-day.
So I figure these points are worth WAY more than Delta or USAir
frequent-flyer miles.
My offer also included a $100 AMEX "certificate" if I spend the
$650 in 3 months. Not quite sure what it's good for ...
P.S. I'm not sure why people are agonizing over how to qualify for
Penfed membership. You can simply join NMFA, one-time only
if you choose not to renew, and it's a good charity (4-star at
charitynavigator.org).
checked two flights I'm likely to make soon:
RDU round-trip to Boston, at XMas-time, was about 10K.
RDU round-trip to FLG next year was high 20K's. Neither
insisted you fly at bizarre times-of-day.
So I figure these points are worth WAY more than Delta or USAir
frequent-flyer miles.
My offer also included a $100 AMEX "certificate" if I spend the
$650 in 3 months. Not quite sure what it's good for ...
P.S. I'm not sure why people are agonizing over how to qualify for
Penfed membership. You can simply join NMFA, one-time only
if you choose not to renew, and it's a good charity (4-star at
charitynavigator.org).
Nov 28, 2010, 2:20 pm
#65
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: EWR Ionosphere Club, LAX Clipper Club, Still Traveling Global, yearly BIS miles
Programs: EAL Silver Wings, I-Club, Flying Colonels DL, WorldPass PLat from the olde Meatball and PE SMARTbank
Posts: 1,987
I'm pretty impressed with the airline ticket awards. I just
checked two flights I'm likely to make soon:
RDU round-trip to Boston, at XMas-time, was about 10K.
RDU round-trip to FLG next year was high 20K's. Neither
insisted you fly at bizarre times-of-day.
So I figure these points are worth WAY more than Delta or USAir
frequent-flyer miles.
My offer also included a $100 AMEX "certificate" if I spend the
$650 in 3 months. Not quite sure what it's good for ...
P.S. I'm not sure why people are agonizing over how to qualify for
Penfed membership. You can simply join NMFA, one-time only
if you choose not to renew, and it's a good charity (4-star at
charitynavigator.org).
checked two flights I'm likely to make soon:
RDU round-trip to Boston, at XMas-time, was about 10K.
RDU round-trip to FLG next year was high 20K's. Neither
insisted you fly at bizarre times-of-day.
So I figure these points are worth WAY more than Delta or USAir
frequent-flyer miles.
My offer also included a $100 AMEX "certificate" if I spend the
$650 in 3 months. Not quite sure what it's good for ...
P.S. I'm not sure why people are agonizing over how to qualify for
Penfed membership. You can simply join NMFA, one-time only
if you choose not to renew, and it's a good charity (4-star at
charitynavigator.org).
I only got 20K pts for opening this card
Last edited by frank_10b; Nov 28, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Nov 28, 2010, 3:59 pm
#66
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 245
themselves providing the customer service, not AMEX), that I'll bet
if you called and whined, there's a good chance they'd give you the
other 10K.
Nov 28, 2010, 4:38 pm
#67
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: EWR Ionosphere Club, LAX Clipper Club, Still Traveling Global, yearly BIS miles
Programs: EAL Silver Wings, I-Club, Flying Colonels DL, WorldPass PLat from the olde Meatball and PE SMARTbank
Posts: 1,987
Nov 28, 2010, 5:48 pm
#68
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,953
Correct. American Express does not issue or administer Amex-network cards marketed by Bank Of America, Barclay's, Citi, GE, PenFed, etc These banks merely use the American Express network to process transactions (in precisely the same way that they use Mastercard or VISA's network), and they purchase some prepackaged insurance and other benefits from American Express.
Dec 1, 2010, 4:33 pm
#69
In Memoriam
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Southern California
Programs: Hertz 5 star, Priceline Hotel bidder. AA PLT, 1MM.
Posts: 2,910
This is my primary card for buying airline tickets. (5 pts/$) I also use it for dining (3pt/$) & the 2% (till Dec 31) for everything else is nice. Each point used for airline tickets is worth 1.5 cents. (1 pt for 1$). Also, no FOREX charges. ^
I bought 2 tickets with my points. LAX-ZRH RT in late August & PIT-LAX (one way) for last month travel. I was short some points for the Zurich ticket so I paid a little over $200 extra. (it was a $900 ticket--decent for Europe summer).
I plan to keep this card even when the annual fee kicks in next year. I am quite pleased with this card. The one drawback is one can't do multi city on their booking engine but otherwise it is a great card.
I bought 2 tickets with my points. LAX-ZRH RT in late August & PIT-LAX (one way) for last month travel. I was short some points for the Zurich ticket so I paid a little over $200 extra. (it was a $900 ticket--decent for Europe summer).
I plan to keep this card even when the annual fee kicks in next year. I am quite pleased with this card. The one drawback is one can't do multi city on their booking engine but otherwise it is a great card.
Dec 2, 2010, 10:48 pm
#70
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,418
This is my primary card for buying airline tickets. (5 pts/$) I also use it for dining (3pt/$) & the 2% (till Dec 31) for everything else is nice. Each point used for airline tickets is worth 1.5 cents. (1 pt for 1$). Also, no FOREX charges. ^
I bought 2 tickets with my points. LAX-ZRH RT in late August & PIT-LAX (one way) for last month travel. I was short some points for the Zurich ticket so I paid a little over $200 extra. (it was a $900 ticket--decent for Europe summer).
I plan to keep this card even when the annual fee kicks in next year. I am quite pleased with this card. The one drawback is one can't do multi city on their booking engine but otherwise it is a great card.
I bought 2 tickets with my points. LAX-ZRH RT in late August & PIT-LAX (one way) for last month travel. I was short some points for the Zurich ticket so I paid a little over $200 extra. (it was a $900 ticket--decent for Europe summer).
I plan to keep this card even when the annual fee kicks in next year. I am quite pleased with this card. The one drawback is one can't do multi city on their booking engine but otherwise it is a great card.
Does anyone know if you get to keep your points if you cancel your card? I got the 20,000 bonus for joining, and I think I now have about 36,000 miles just for using the card to buy a little more than $3000 in airline tickets. I'm not so keen on paying the annual fee for the card, but I obviously don't want to lose more than $400 in free airfare. I could, of course, just buy a ticket from the rewards program.
Dec 3, 2010, 6:44 am
#71
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: EWR Ionosphere Club, LAX Clipper Club, Still Traveling Global, yearly BIS miles
Programs: EAL Silver Wings, I-Club, Flying Colonels DL, WorldPass PLat from the olde Meatball and PE SMARTbank
Posts: 1,987
Do the trips have to be rt?
What is the min price of a airfare?
What is the min price of a airfare?
Dec 3, 2010, 9:30 am
#72
In Memoriam
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Southern California
Programs: Hertz 5 star, Priceline Hotel bidder. AA PLT, 1MM.
Posts: 2,910
I booked an one way PIT-LAX on AA for Nov 15 travel. Miles posted already. Ticket took about 9990 pts. (revenue cost was about $150ai). When the record locator number is known, call airline & add FF# into the reservation.
Dec 3, 2010, 9:37 am
#73
In Memoriam
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Southern California
Programs: Hertz 5 star, Priceline Hotel bidder. AA PLT, 1MM.
Posts: 2,910
Does anyone know if you get to keep your points if you cancel your card? I got the 20,000 bonus for joining, and I think I now have about 36,000 miles just for using the card to buy a little more than $3000 in airline tickets. I'm not so keen on paying the annual fee for the card, but I obviously don't want to lose more than $400 in free airfare. I could, of course, just buy a ticket from the rewards program.
Dec 3, 2010, 11:42 am
#74
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: YYZ
Programs: AA LT Plat, AC 25K, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,137
Dec 3, 2010, 12:31 pm
#75
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,418
If you are going to cancel the card, I would deplete the miles in the account before you cancelling. 36K would get you around $500 (or more) in tickets. Any excess mileage is charged at 1.5 cents/mile. If a ticket is 37K, you would pay approx $15 for the extra 1K miles.