Originally Posted by
ghurty
I am currently based out of NJ so EWR is my closest airport. I am looking to potentially fly transcon to Los Angeles often. I have a few million Amex, Chase, and Marriott points. While I can transfer the points into united, I know sometimes not transferring points is the best way to get the best value from your points.
Whats the best way to get the most value to be able to fly business class?
If it makes a difference, I have silver status.
Thank you
Converting hotel points to airline miles often yields poor value.
United is
not an Amex transfer partner; but you can transfer Amex MR points to some other Star Alliance carriers and redeem for travel on UA when UA has low-tier redemptions available for partners. (I'm not sure how often that is on the EWR-LAX route in Business.)
Besides UA, AS and B6 fly EWR-LAX nonstop. Since AS is now a oneworld carrier, you could transfer Amex or Chase points to BA, and redeem for travel on AS -- at
BA's redemption rates -- but only when AS makes award space available to partners. Chase points transfer directly to B6, where they can be redeemed for award travel. B6 TrueBlue points have a redemption value of ~ 1.5 cents each, so the number of points you would need for a B6 "Mint" (Business Class) seat will depend on the cash cost of the particular flight.
As you can see, to determine the best value for your points will probably require a separate analysis for each trip you make.