Does AmEx Travel surcharge negate rewards points?
New Platinum cardmember here (I also have a Blue Cash Preferred for day to day expenses)...I'm looking at booking my first flights through the AmEx travel website and I noticed they add a $7 surcharge...through USAir, the flight would be $268, but through AmEx, its $275. Now, I know we get 2x rewards points when booking through AmEx, but it seems like this surcharge negates that: I'll get 550 points (=$5.50) if I book through AmEx, but I also lose $7 upfront (net -$1.50), whereas if I book through USAir I'll just get the standard 268 points (=$2.68).
Am I missing something here? It seems to only make sense to book through AmEx if the ticket cost is over $700...