Originally Posted by
UA Fan
I have lately come to appreciate this a lot. If you are someone for whom DL might be a good fit Amex can be really good. You can set up a reservation over the phone keep it on on a 1 day hold and then transfer the points in and ticket it online without paying the customer service fee. You save $25 and you do not invest in dreadful DL.
This ssomething I like with Chase Sapphire as well. Wish they would get more partners. I am still so bitter over the loss of CO as a transfer partner for Amex. Seriously devalued that program.
It's a major issue with SPG. I've never understood why they can't do faster transfers. On the SPG board, the lurkers say it has to do with the "contracts," which I've never really understood, but they say it's an issue with the partners not SPG. I still don't understand why Chase and Amex seems to have little problem with automatic transfers but for SPG it's an issue.
That said, you do need to pay pretty careful attention to which partners are instant and which aren't with Amex. I've had a couple of redemptions recently with SQ and IB -- although if your IB account is set up and linked to BA you can do it quicker. That period where your seat is showing available but you're waiting for the transfer kind of stinks.