Apr 22, 2015, 10:57 am
Last edit by: mia
Effective June 2017 the USA Business Platinum airfare Pay-with-Points refund was reduced to 35%. This brings the net value to $0.0153 per point, essentially the same as Chase Sapphire Reserve's Pay-with-Points redemption rate.
USA Business Centurion cardholders will continue to receive a 50% refund. The Centurion version is also broader than the Platinum benefit:
Centurion: beginning October 6, 2016 you will get 50% Membership Rewards® points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight on any airline. The maximum rebate per calendar year for Centurion members is (_______?)
Platinum: Business Platinum Card Members will receive 5 extra points for every 10 points they redeem for either a First or Business class flight on any airline, or for flights with their selected qualifying airline using Membership Rewards Pay with Points with American Express Travel (35% Airline Bonus). The maximum rebate per calendar year for Business Platinum Card Members is 1,000,000 points.
FAQ
Q1. How does the process work?
A1. Here is an example, buying a $1,000.00 ticket:
Q2. Must the Business Centurion or Platinum card be used to purchase the ticket?
A2. When the benefit was refreshed in October 2016 you could pay with any card linked to the same Membership Rewards account, but it appears this changed in April 2017.
Q3. Will I earn Membership Rewards points on the purchase price?
A3. You will not earn base points, but you may earn bonus points if you pay with a card that awards a bonus for airline ticket purchases, such as Business Platinum, Personal Platinum, Business Rewards Gold, Premier Rewards Gold.
Q4. What happens if I cancel the ticket?
A4. There are mixed reports, but in most examples the cost of the ticket is refunded (a second time) to the card account. In one example American Express refunded the remainder of the points instead. If you prefer the points refunded rather than a cash credit, phone into AMEX and they will restore the points and remove the credit.
Q5. Can this benefit be combined with the International Airline Program companion ticket?
A5. One poster was told no, but another was able to do so.
USA Business Centurion cardholders will continue to receive a 50% refund. The Centurion version is also broader than the Platinum benefit:
Centurion: beginning October 6, 2016 you will get 50% Membership Rewards® points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight on any airline. The maximum rebate per calendar year for Centurion members is (_______?)
Platinum: Business Platinum Card Members will receive 5 extra points for every 10 points they redeem for either a First or Business class flight on any airline, or for flights with their selected qualifying airline using Membership Rewards Pay with Points with American Express Travel (35% Airline Bonus). The maximum rebate per calendar year for Business Platinum Card Members is 1,000,000 points.
FAQ
Q1. How does the process work?
A1. Here is an example, buying a $1,000.00 ticket:
- $1,000 charged to American Express card [Day 1]
- 100,000 Membership Rewards points redeemed [Day 1]
- $1,000 credited to American Express card [Day 2]
- _35,000 Membership Rewards points returned [~a month later]
- Net: $1,000 ticket for 65,000 points = $0.0154/point
Q2. Must the Business Centurion or Platinum card be used to purchase the ticket?
A2. When the benefit was refreshed in October 2016 you could pay with any card linked to the same Membership Rewards account, but it appears this changed in April 2017.
Q3. Will I earn Membership Rewards points on the purchase price?
A3. You will not earn base points, but you may earn bonus points if you pay with a card that awards a bonus for airline ticket purchases, such as Business Platinum, Personal Platinum, Business Rewards Gold, Premier Rewards Gold.
Q4. What happens if I cancel the ticket?
A4. There are mixed reports, but in most examples the cost of the ticket is refunded (a second time) to the card account. In one example American Express refunded the remainder of the points instead. If you prefer the points refunded rather than a cash credit, phone into AMEX and they will restore the points and remove the credit.
Q5. Can this benefit be combined with the International Airline Program companion ticket?
A5. One poster was told no, but another was able to do so.
Pay-with-Points flights. BUSINESS Centurion 50% refund, Plat 35%, Gold 25% (2015-23)
Apr 10, 2017, 9:41 am
#376
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Yup. I just wanted to verify. It was a great use of points and really is a game changer if it's something you can make use of. I never used to pay attention to J cash deals but now I do. Probably more so than Y deals since I'm tall and Y is awful for me.
Apr 10, 2017, 1:54 pm
#377
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Mem
Programs: Delta GM, Amex Reserve, Amex Plat, JP Morgan Palladium
Posts: 984
It seems like combining the Amex Business Plat with automatic 2 cents a point redemptions and 5x on airline purchases with the Everyday Preferred at 4.5x on groceries and 3x on gas along with 1.5x on non bonused spend is the best new weapon in credit cards.
It is probably worth keeping the Chase Sapphire Reserve for the 3x dining and on all other travel. Those three cards would carry $995 in annual fees but $500 in travel credits. For people with significant credit card spending, this seems very much worth it.
It is probably worth keeping the Chase Sapphire Reserve for the 3x dining and on all other travel. Those three cards would carry $995 in annual fees but $500 in travel credits. For people with significant credit card spending, this seems very much worth it.
Apr 10, 2017, 4:50 pm
#378
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: PHX
Posts: 4,787
I'm concerned, though, that basic economy fares may upset the apple cart. I fly mostly American and it's my airline of choice. If Amextravel is not able to sell non-basic economy fares, which I'm concerned will become an issue once basic fares become more prevalent, then it changes the game for me.
Apr 12, 2017, 12:31 pm
#379
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 97
Any one know would I get the 50% if I my biz plat has DL selected. And my personal plat has UA selected. And I bought a UA coach ticket using redeem the points?
I bought the ticket on 4/4 but the rebate never showup, CSR told me it may take 6-8 weeks.
I bought the ticket on 4/4 but the rebate never showup, CSR told me it may take 6-8 weeks.
Apr 12, 2017, 12:54 pm
#380
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 225
You would only get the 50% for coach on DL, as well as Biz/1st on DL, UA, etc. Cheers.
Apr 13, 2017, 2:22 pm
#381
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Dreamland
Posts: 927
Nothing really "new" to add, but just booked used this last week - needed to book a trip to Chicago - and schedule was important (read - preferred fastest/most direct route). Delta wouldn't work for me (preferred airline with Amex).
As others have lamented, AA sAAver not available, wasn't going to entertain Spirit, UA times didn't really work for me, and cash rate for economy was about $300 RT for AA flights and a Southwest option.
Then I remembered this deal - checked out those AA flights -- actually priced out cheaper on Amextravel.com vs. AA.com (seems like @mia experienced this above too.. but then i decided to search for first ... found the price at $542.36, again, about $50 cheaper than on AA.com - PLUS 50% back... wow... I'm sold! MR points credited back within a day too.
So first use was a good one... and is it true I'll get the 5x multiplied on that initial $542.36 as the charge hits my card? or bc/ its credited back, its basically "gone" by the time the statement closes?
EDIT: read back a bit - bolded the latter hald of my close... that seems to be consensus - still - I feel a little giddy about it.. to me.. "free" first class.. I know that's not the best way to think about it.. but still feel good about it!
As others have lamented, AA sAAver not available, wasn't going to entertain Spirit, UA times didn't really work for me, and cash rate for economy was about $300 RT for AA flights and a Southwest option.
Then I remembered this deal - checked out those AA flights -- actually priced out cheaper on Amextravel.com vs. AA.com (seems like @mia experienced this above too.. but then i decided to search for first ... found the price at $542.36, again, about $50 cheaper than on AA.com - PLUS 50% back... wow... I'm sold! MR points credited back within a day too.
So first use was a good one... and is it true I'll get the 5x multiplied on that initial $542.36 as the charge hits my card? or bc/ its credited back, its basically "gone" by the time the statement closes?
EDIT: read back a bit - bolded the latter hald of my close... that seems to be consensus - still - I feel a little giddy about it.. to me.. "free" first class.. I know that's not the best way to think about it.. but still feel good about it!
Last edited by levilevi; Apr 13, 2017 at 2:31 pm
Apr 13, 2017, 8:29 pm
#382
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 692
My selected airline for my Business plat is DL and I booked a ticket on Tuesday around 4pm PST and my 50% still hasn't posted. How long should I wait until i start to worry?
Apr 13, 2017, 8:48 pm
#383
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 623
Was it international or a codeshare? I had a mixed KL/DL itinerary that took a few weeks to credit. It's inconvenient for the points to take a while to be refunded but I wouldn't worry unless there's something specific to your itinerary to be concerned about. I messaged AmEx and all they said was "Allow 6-8 weeks." I think it took 4.
Apr 13, 2017, 8:52 pm
#384
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 692
International with all DL except one part was operated by Virgin, but it had a DL flight number.
Apr 14, 2017, 8:06 am
#386
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Dreamland
Posts: 927
depending on your history with Amex, if its not there early next week, try calling their MR department - they might be able to expedite manually - i've had this happen with pending points before, so if you're worried, or need them for something else, you could try that - but like others said the terms do say 4-6 weeks.
Apr 14, 2017, 3:20 pm
#387
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 42
I called pts and was told I must charge the tickets to my biz card despite what the FAQ says. I instead bought my tickets with amex travel online, charged to my personal plat, and still received the 50% refund.
Confirming the faq #2 is correct.
Confirming the faq #2 is correct.
Apr 14, 2017, 3:26 pm
#388
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 6,545
I did the same thing, but my reservation couldn't be confirmed when I made it. I had to call in to confirm, then call in several days later to request the statement credit. My 50% refund never posted, and Amex will not budge (despite the fact the Benefit Terms do not specify Biz plat needs to be used).
start fresh a week later with any ole refundable F fare, pay with points. after the 50% refund posts, refund the ticket for a credit from the airline.
Apr 15, 2017, 11:50 am
#389
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 692
What number/dept do I call to have the statement credit reversed and points refunded?
Apr 19, 2017, 4:19 am
#390
Suspended
Join Date: May 2009
Location: DFW
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, Hilton HHonors Gold
Posts: 2,863
Hi,
my wife has a business platinum AMEX, and on Sunday she booked for me a LHR-VIE-KBP ticket on OS Business Class through the American Express travel portal. She paid with points.
The total was 27,500 points, promptly deducted from her account. However, if I read everything correctly she should receive 50% of those points back - am I correct? If so, when will they show up?
thanks!
my wife has a business platinum AMEX, and on Sunday she booked for me a LHR-VIE-KBP ticket on OS Business Class through the American Express travel portal. She paid with points.
The total was 27,500 points, promptly deducted from her account. However, if I read everything correctly she should receive 50% of those points back - am I correct? If so, when will they show up?
thanks!