blokay

Has anyone used MR points in the Maldives? If you did some research on the best deals - can you pass on the details? Have plenty of air miles - need to use MR points for hotel.

krpjr

I'll be nice because that is what we do here on Flyertalk.

With AMEX, you can transfer to delta and redeem tickets to the Maldives on MU (Malaysian Carrier). I would call to confirm availability with Delta. It cost 80k in Economy and 120k in Business. They'll be leaving to join OneWorld soon so think fast.

Another Possibility is through SU (AeroFlot) they fly from SVO a few times a week, check the schedules. JFK-SVO-MLE. May cost additional mileage as you exceed the MPM and change regions.

For *A options. SQ (Singapore Airlines) is your only choice. Or transfer to Aeroplan to redeem the flights on SQ.

For OneWorld. You can redeem from LGW (London-Gatwick) on BA (British Airways). Again, check the schedule. USA-LGW-MLE.

Other options are on non alliance carriers --- You can redeem AA miles on Etihad Airlines. USA-AUH-MLE.

Best redemption for transfer to hotels would be Hilton. They have 3 properties there. Check for availability and point cost. Other than that your value will be $0.01 if you redeem through Amex travel for a hotel. So $500 a night will be 50,000 points - 20% if you have the AMEX Platinum. Or see how much BA Avios points it'll cost to redeem a hotel in the Maldives.

This is all the info I know off the top of my head, so please take it easy on me.

Cheers,
krpjr

skimple

Besides listing the hotel transfer partners, all of which have a poor exchange ratio, what specifically are you looking for? You could look at redeeming for hotel gift cards, some of which are just under 1 cpp right now. Or book it online through Amex and get 1 cpp.

yoonny

I transferred some MR points to HHonors (1 to 1.5) and used it to stay at Conrad Maldives. In peak season the rate (including tax) is about $1,500 @ Conrad. A 4 night redemption = 170K (for VIP) or 145K (for AXON7) or 200K at full redemption rate. The best deal will be at 145K (about 97K MR points) HHonors points giving you about $6,000 value for 4 nights.

There is a Holiday Inn (a Priority Club property) in Maldives that is not in the same league as the Conrad but it is another option as MR points transfer 1 to 1.

kdoughboy

Unless you need the points instantly, I believe the consensus is that transferring to VS is the best course of action, since your new MR-->VS miles can then be transferred to HH at 1:2. This gives you a 1 MR:2 HH ratio, much better than Amex's standard 1:1.5.

yoonny

Learning something new everyday. Going MR to VS to HH would make the redemption value even better.

blokay

Thanks everyone for the info. Just landed from a quick SIN/PER/SIN trip so still a bit groogy - I will absorb tonight. One question - has anyone heard anything new on a Marriott in the Maldives? That would be my choice - but the info on the property seems illusive....

mia

Discussion here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...-maldives.html

skimple

Well, you could do a straight forward redemption of 76.5K MR for $750 in Marriott gift cards if you want to find a way to use Amex MR. Most people on here would not consider that the best redemption option, but if you want to find a way to use Amex for Marriott, that would work.