matteospots

I have approx 45K pts expiring in a amex card consolidation. Which program offers the best bang for my buck to transfer?

It seems that delta is always sold out of seats and I already have ( and am keeping ) a bundle of pts in Starwood.

any suggestions?

pdjcrawford

You could always transfer the points to CO... they have a 25% bonus going on right now (til mid-March) for such transfers. Search in this forum (or maybe CO) and you'll find the details.

Edited to add: details here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum20/HTML/007018.html
Do note that you need to pre-register for this bonus.

So, you can end up with a little over 56K OnePass miles (couple of flights) which you can use there, or turn around and transfer them again to Hilton HHonors (2:1 giving you 112K).


[This message has been edited by pdjcrawford (edited 01-29-2003).]

JohnAx

It's my understanding that you can also transfer your MR points to a Blue MRO account for a $35 (?) fee, where they will remain parked till you want them, at no further cost. Then for another $35 you move them back to MR and thence to whatever plan you have for them. It's not obvious the $70 cost of that nonsense is worth it for 45k points, though.

ChaseTheMiles

You need to watch out for a possible fee called the "migration fee". In my case, with a Fidelity Gold card, I was told that for me to move from the MR Options program to MR, it will cost me $25 for the migration in addition to the $40 MR annual fee. It also appears that this fee is different depending on what your primary Amex card is. It took me several calls to understand how it worked.

Zombie

Thought I'd dredge up this old thread as I'm in the same boat. Would appreciate any suggestions - and patience as I know this is asked frequently. Be assured that I DID do a search. :-)

I have ~65K MR points that will be expiring in about a month, thanks to a stingy employer that is cancelling my corporate card while I'm on a leave of absence (what nerve, eh?).

Preferences: I have all the HH points I need, and the ratios for the others look bad. FF miles would be preferred, though from the look of things my choices (being from Canada) are limited to CO and DL. If the 'Turn Points into Miles' promo is open to us Canucks, that seems like my best bet, though. Ideally someone would know a way to get them into my Air Canada Aeroplan account at nearly 1:1, but that's probably asking for too much...

Thanks
-Zombie-

Pacha

DL also currently has a bonus of 5K miles for every 20K transfered.

you can do this up to 2 times (i.e 40K MR points = 50K DL miles)

ero2

If you don't mind me asking, how do you like the fidelity gold card, I was thinking about openeing an account with them to get the gold card but would only be able to muster up about 5,000 to open it, is that enough, or should I wait until I am older (I am only 21) and wait until my employer sets up a 401k or some kind of retirement program for me and then get it? Can you use it like a regular checking account and do you know anything about yearly fees, etc? Sorry to hijack just very interested in this card:-)

pdjcrawford

Maybe not too much to ask...

Zombie, not sure if you have seen this yet, but AMEX Canada and Aeroplan are going to be teaming up. I talked to AMEX the other day about the timing of the launch, and they are hoping for the holidays. Evidently they are still working on details such as MR exchange rate, Platinum Card benefits and other stuff.

I know you said you have only a month left, so maybe an idea would be to get a low-fee card with MR and have your existing MR account linked to the new card. Basically anything to keep the MR account alive.

Personally, I can't see the exchange rate to Aeroplan being anything less than 1:1, as they would then be at a competitive disadvantage to both CIBC Aerogold and Diner's Club. Your other choices you point out are both 4:3, so the difference (assuming 1:1 to Aeroplan) would be over 15K miles, or 1 short haul ticket on AC, for whatever the annual fee of the base card would be. And, of course, you'd get your wish of a non-devalued way to get all of your points to Aeroplan!

Something to keep in mind...

-P


[This message has been edited by pdjcrawford (edited 09-18-2003).]

Zombie

pdj - thanks very much. I remember hearing about an upcoming partnership between Amex and AC, but didn't know it was likely to happen soon. I'll call Amex and ask for more info.

Unless it's something I can do very very soon, though, I may have to pass. The idea of getting a personal low-fee Amex is great, but unfortunately I don't have time - I'm leaving on an extended holiday (3 months) next Tuesday, and doubt I'd be able to get a card before then (and won't have the ability to do so after I leave).

So, still open to suggestions - what would you do with 65K MR points if you HAD to use them in the very near future?

-Zombie-

pdjcrawford

In that case, Zombie, I'd try the DL promo. I see nothing that would preclude us Canadians from participating. Remember to register for it first before doing a transfer!

With the Canadian MR exchange rate of 1000 MR -> 750 DL, though, you'll have to transfer about 26.7K MR to meet the requirement to get the bonus 5K SkyMiles. To maximize your conversion, make 2 transfers of half your balance each. At the end of the day, you'll have over 58K SkyMiles (including 2 x 5K in bonuses from the promo).

Making use of the miles post-conversion may well be another issue though!

Enjoy your trip!