mia

It's not clear which card you have, but if it's the Premier Rewards Gold card (or any other Membership Rewards card) this will not work. The transfer rate from Membership Rewards to Starwood is 3:1. This means that if you send 20,000 Membership Rewards points to SPG you will receive 6,660 Starpoints.

flyer4512

I guess I missed that !!

I'll just transfer the 10K to American and cancel in a few months

The link to transfer points just keeps refreshing itself,

lifeandmylens

Not sure if you meant going to MR>SPG>AA (less than 10k miles)

But if you mean direct from MR>AA, it's not an option.

mia

Bad news, AA does not participate in Membership Rewards.

Try this link to see the airline transfer partners...

http://www.membershiprewards.com/cat...lFreqFlyerProg

jeelele

I applied for this card three months ago and have been using it regularly. I had signed up under the 15K sign-up bonus offer.

My question to fellow FTers is when do the points post to the MR account. I have had only the points from the first billing cycle post so far.

Also, when can I expect to see the 15K sign-up bonus?

I thought I should check with you all before I start making those phone calls to AMEX.

mia

Membership Rewards points typically post a day or so after the closing date following the cycle in which they were earned. For example, if your closing date was December 15th the points would post around January 16th (assuming you had paid the full amount of the 12.15 statement). You can see the pending points on membershiprewards.com . This lag is one reason that American Express offers the Points Advance feature which allows you to borrow points, although you can also ask to have points posted manually as soon as you pay.

I would expect the initial bonus to post by now. Do you have a copy of the online offer and application? Look to see if it specifies a bonus posting timeframe in the terms, then contact American Express. I prefer to use the secure messaging facility on americanexpress.com, rather than calling, because it creates a record of the discussion.

flysfromPIT

A quick update from my prior post. So, after trying the phone route with "Stonewall" without success, I followed someone else's actions and emailed AmEx via my account page.

My email asked for verification of 3 things:
1. My 10k MR bonus at first purchase
2. My enrollment for 15k bonus for $1k spend within 3 mo
3. My enrollment for 15k bonus for $30k annual spend

I received a message back from Amex that said essentially the following...

"Yes, you were provided your 10k bonus on 1/12/2010 that will show on your next statement, and yes you are enrolled for the 15k bonus for $30k annual spend because that is a standard feature of the card."

Okay - so I am 2 for 2 with only one question ignored...

I dropped a follow-up email via my account page asking for confirmation that I am also enrolled for the 15k MR bonus for $1k spend within 3 months (that too is a std feature, right?) I anxiously await their answer...

So - after getting absolutely NO HELP via the phone from "StoneWall" and being told that I am not eligible for the bonus, a quick and concise email to AmEx got me the answer I was hoping for...and go figure, they applied the 10k MR bonus pts the same day they read my message.

Looks like any questions that I have will go to AmEx via email (which also puts things in writing for future reference.)

I'll let you know what the final answer is.

mia

In my understanding (1) and (2) are mutualy exclusive. There are two application pages, one offers a 10k activation bonus, the other offers a 15k activation bonus. If you have a 10k bonus pending that tells you that you received (1) and not (2). There is no offer which includes both.

MilesTalk

It's not a standard feature unless you signed up using a link that had the 15K bonus. And in that case, it would, I believe, replace the 10K 1st use bonus - not add to it.

JFKLAX321

To update everyone, I applied for and received this card roughly 5 weeks ago. For me, the link stated 10,000 points, but the fine print indicated 15,000 points. The day after my statement closed I had 15,000 bonus MR points in my account. ^

No request was made on my part for the 15,000 versus the 10,000. Hopefully everyone else has the same experience.

flysfromPIT

Well, here's the final chapter.

I dropped the email requesting the 15k MR for $1,000 spend in first 3 months and they granted it.

So, all told...

1. Got the 10k MR Bonus
2. Got the 15k MR Bonus for $1k in first 3 months
3. Verified enrollment for 15k Bonus for $30k annual spend.

My account now looks like this in only 2 statements:
Jan 1, 2010 - Earned : New Gold Card = 15,000 pts
10k MR with first purchase = 10,000 pts
Card Bonus = 9,850 pts
Jan 1, 2010 - Pending (from card spend): 10,675
Dec 1, 2009 - Earned: 1,400

For a grand total of: 46,925 MR

I would advise ANYBODY with a question or bonus point inquiry to WRITE to AmEX via the message center in your account. Apparently, it is actively monitored (I got today's response in less than 6 hours) and they are empowered to make decisions.

As for the questions posted on what is part of the bonus and what is not...They applied BOTH the 10k first purchase, AND the 15k for $1k spend...and I'm pretty happy about that!

pgary

I just called about this. Points you earn from spending post as "pending" a day or two after you pay you bill, and finally post at the next statement. But the rep can turn those pending points into actual points if you request it.

The rep said the 15K points will show as pending after I pay off a total of $1,000, but may take 6-8 weeks to actually post.

To verify your points

1. Call (800) 528-4800
2. Enter your credit card number
3. Say "Membership Rewards"

The system will tell you how many points are actual and how many are pending. You can then talk to a rep for further info.

You can see the actual points posted, but not the pending points, at www. membershiprewards.com.

mia

You should be able to view pending points online.

• Go to membershiprewards.com
• LOGIN
• Click Points Summary
• Click Statement Details
• Use the For Period pulldown to choose date range
• Use the Show pulldown to choose Pending

You can see additional details by "hovering" on an entry.

beltway

I suspect it's better to select "All Points Transactions," given that AmexMR seems to have a very idiosyncratic notion of what constitutes "pending." Case in point: I hit the spend threshold for a bonus in late December after my billing cycle closed. The points are showing as "earned," not "pending."

I offer this not so much to comment on their choice of terminology -- hey, it's their program and they can do what they like -- as to suggest that newbies view all their activity (under whatever label) to get a clearer picture of their current and imminent points. YMMV.

rajuabju

I signed up under the 10k offer, over the phone (not knowing about the 15k offer).

I just paid my first month's balance last week.... points were credited to my account this morning.