Just want to share my experience using the $200 Travel Credit. Just last week I needed to book a WJ ticket and I called AMEX Travel. To my surprise AMEX Travel has a small discount on WJ Base Fares and they told me it could be anywhere from 5-10% depending on the route, the flight I wanted luckily was eligible for a 8% discount so I booked it and used my $200 Travel Credit. My buddy who booked the flight paid slightly more for the same fare class due to this discount. So this is one good way to use that credit. Good luck!

That's very good to know.

Also, FHR: I have found FHR rates to be equivalent - or, at times, slightly lower (!) than the lowest rate published on hotels' websites. So this could be a good use of it too.

FHR, in my opinion, is one of the absolute best benefits of the Platinum Card. I stayed at a FHR hotel in Geneva last weekend which cost me no more than any other hotel in the area would have, plus I got the benefit of a category upgrade, food & beverage voucher, and free breakfast. Even if the room rates are identical (and you're right, FHR rates are often cheaper), you're still saving a boatload. Heck, I remember staying in Munich last year with the Mrs... breakfast was 40 euros/person.... 40 EUROS!!! That's $110 in my pocket per day.

Fairmont Olympic is a great example of this - $100 food/beverage voucher (and it's hard to use up $100 at Shuckers if you are travelling alone), PLUS breakfast. Literally, if you are staying a single night, you can have breakfast, lunch AND dinner covered. Most impressive.

Not to mention the whole Fairmont Platinum status... but that is a whole other story. I hope that benefit NEVER ends. Hehe.

Combine with AMEX Plat5, do a few matress runs at YVR airport.. certainly not bad. :)

I used my travel credit for amtrak trains, ha.

man, don't even need mattress runs - 5 nights is nothing in a year!

certainly depends on what fairmonts you're staying at :p

or, more importantly, who's paying for them :)

Looking to spend my credit on Hawaiian airlines anyone have any experiences booking though the PTS?

Have to book your flights through AMEX Platinum Travel Service.

Considering this card for a churn later in 2013.

Are the flights booked through Amex travel services such that one must cancel through Amex, or can this be done with the airline directly?

Want to assess whether booking a porter freedom fare or AC latitude fare late in 2013 to use 200 credit and cancelling with airline directly (allowing for an airline credit for future use) is possible. Effectively, create an airline gift card with the $200 credit.

Al flights I have booked through PTS have been paid directly to the airline, in one case where I had a specific fare class request for AC, PTS simply booked from the AC website for me and I used that for my 2013 travel credit, however even when they have found using sabre, payment has been to AC so AC should credit you, and if it is a latitude fare, should actually be refundable to the CC used for payment.

Depends. I booked some flights via Amex PTS when using $200 credit, and it was charged to the card as "AMEX CANADA INC. TORONTO". Not a direct airline charge.

Interesting, which airline, was it interlined?

When I used my $200 credit in May for 3 one-way tickets on AC LGA-YYZ

It showed 3 separate transactions like below, directly to AC (and earned 1.25X on my AMEX Plat card)
AIR CANADA - BSP AMERIC WINNIPEG $76.15
PASSENGER NAME: HUNG/XXXXXXX MR