Actually, looks like Amex is now letting people "pay" for any air/hotel bookings through their site with Membership reward points. It appears this is valid for any airline, any flight, any time. Exchange rate looks to be 1 MR pt = $0.01, so a $300 ticket would "cost" 30,000 points. While not a great exchange rate, it creates significant flexibility, which of course would cost more. But certainly when those $150 or less NY-FL specials come up (thanks B6!), that's a great use of 15,000 MR points.