Originally Posted by
Mike_K
...putting the majority of my purchases on an American Express platinum but from what I gather, the points don't transfer 1:1 to airlines.
Welcome to Flyertalk.
American Express Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to the 15 airlines listed here:
http://www.membershiprewards.com/cat...readcrumb=true
The transfer rate is 1:1, except for airlines such as Jet Blue and El Al which do not use "miles" as a unit. Note that it is not necessary to transfer to the program of the airline on which you wish to travel. Most airlines belong to one of three international alliances. Transfer to any airline in an alliance and redeem for travel on any other member of the same alliance. This does NOT mean that the miles can be transferred between programs in the same alliance, you must redeem according to the charts and rules of the program which hold the miles.
Examples: to redeem for flights operated by US Airways or United Airlines transfer to Air Canada, ANA or Singapore Airlines. To redeem for flights operated by American Airlines transfer to British Airways. To redeem for flights operated by Alaska Airlines transfer to British Airways or Delta Airlines.
DO NOT TRANSFER ON SPECULATION, Wait until you have an award flight reservation on hold, and make sure you understand the cash fees that the program requires for your specific redemption.