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)
Sep 9, 2018, 8:11 am
#916
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
Morning All - so just to state the obvious, as long as your profile has a Business Platinum (or Business Centurion) associated with it, the 35% MR rebate will apply for applicable tickets purchased through AX's travel portal even if the charge & credit are not put on the Business Platinum (or Business Centurion) card?
Sep 9, 2018, 8:13 am
#917
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Clinging to the edifices of a decadent past from the biggest city in America nobody really cares about.
Programs: (ಠ_ಠ)
Posts: 9,077
Will the 35% MR rebate will apply for applicable tickets purchased through AX's travel portal even if the charge & credit are not put on the Business Platinum (or Business Centurion) card?
Sep 9, 2018, 10:53 am
#918
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 81
My personal experience has been that using the Biz Plat earned zero net MR points whereas using the regular Plat netted 4 points per dollar spent on said airfare.
Sep 10, 2018, 1:35 pm
#919
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 262
Yes, if you hold the Biz Plat you will get the 35% rebate even if you use another card. Note, that you must book economy tickets with your selected airline in order to qualify for the 35% rebate. This is easy to forget.
My personal experience has been that using the Biz Plat earned zero net MR points whereas using the regular Plat netted 4 points per dollar spent on said airfare.
My personal experience has been that using the Biz Plat earned zero net MR points whereas using the regular Plat netted 4 points per dollar spent on said airfare.
Sep 10, 2018, 1:42 pm
#920
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,959
Sep 10, 2018, 3:02 pm
#921
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 81
Incidentally, a Premier Rewards Gold (3x MR on airfare) requires redeeming ≈ 195,000 MR per year in such manner to offset its net $95 annual fee. You can also use the Blue Business Plus ($0 annual fee!!!) to earn 1 net MR point if you select it during the check-out process.
Last edited by holyPockets; Sep 10, 2018 at 3:11 pm Reason: replaced ¢ with $
Sep 10, 2018, 3:23 pm
#922
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 6,546
with the Schwab $200, Uber $200, and Saks $100 making the personal a no brainer, i approach the matter from the other end if the $250 net biz plat fee is worth it for the ability to redeem points at $1/61 rate for paid biz tickets vs. $1/100. so, the breakeven is then about 40K redeemed points annually in paid biz to keep the biz plat. it’s actually quite a bit lower as i get $100 in value for the gogo passes and a retention bonus every other year worth ~$200.
Sep 10, 2018, 3:28 pm
#923
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 81
with the Schwab $200, Uber $200, and Saks $100 making the personal a no brainer, i approach the matter from the other end if the $250 net biz plat fee is worth it for the ability to redeem points at $1/61 rate for paid biz tickets vs. $1/100. so, the breakeven is then about 40K redeemed points annually in paid biz to keep the biz plat. it’s actually quite a bit lower as i get $100 in value for the gogo passes and a retention bonus every other year worth ~$200.
Sep 10, 2018, 3:41 pm
#924
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 6,546
why yes, i did just check and can convert amex points into cash in Schwab account at the rate of $1/80.
wonder if AMEX would send me a 1099-MISC though?
wonder if AMEX would send me a 1099-MISC though?
Sep 10, 2018, 3:55 pm
#925
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Clinging to the edifices of a decadent past from the biggest city in America nobody really cares about.
Programs: (ಠ_ಠ)
Posts: 9,077
Why?
Personal Plat AX - 5x on any airline purchase. Lucky enough to handle the ticketing for the majority of my family and friends. Best month this year for me was north of $50k in airfares (although that was particularly high - generally it's a bit more down to earth).
Business Plat AX - 35% rebate on front cabin fares on any carrier, if booked through AX. FWIW I'll max out the 500k MR rebate this year. If AX allowed aggregation across all their products I'd qualify for the 1M threshold, but as I understand it only spend on the biz plat counts towards that and that's going to be a high bar for me to reach.
FWIW it was a discount front-cabin domestic fare operated by an airline other than my selected -for purposes of the fee rebate- airline.
...although Schwab will shut you down if you pump-n-dump enough MR > brokerage > cash outs. Heads up.
Last edited by J.Edward; Sep 10, 2018 at 4:28 pm
Sep 13, 2018, 2:46 pm
#926
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 262
With the Biz Plat, each MR point is worth $1/65 when redeemed for airfare which triggers the 35% rebate. With the Biz Plat AND the regular Plat, each MR point is worth $1/61 if used similarly while selecting the regular Plat during the check-out process. You would have to redeem ≈ 347,000 MR per year in this manner to offset the net $350 regular Plat annual fee. Less, obviously, if you calculate the net annual fee to be less than $350.
Incidentally, a Premier Rewards Gold (3x MR on airfare) requires redeeming ≈ 195,000 MR per year in such manner to offset its net $95 annual fee. You can also use the Blue Business Plus ($0 annual fee!!!) to earn 1 net MR point if you select it during the check-out process.
Incidentally, a Premier Rewards Gold (3x MR on airfare) requires redeeming ≈ 195,000 MR per year in such manner to offset its net $95 annual fee. You can also use the Blue Business Plus ($0 annual fee!!!) to earn 1 net MR point if you select it during the check-out process.
Downside to holding both cards: $1,000 (or $1,000 - $200 - $200 = $600, if you want to back out airline fee rebates at a $1:$1 ratio) annual fees.
Why?
Personal Plat AX - 5x on any airline purchase. Lucky enough to handle the ticketing for the majority of my family and friends. Best month this year for me was north of $50k in airfares (although that was particularly high - generally it's a bit more down to earth).
Business Plat AX - 35% rebate on front cabin fares on any carrier, if booked through AX. FWIW I'll max out the 500k MR rebate this year. If AX allowed aggregation across all their products I'd qualify for the 1M threshold, but as I understand it only spend on the biz plat counts towards that and that's going to be a high bar for me to reach.
Why?
Personal Plat AX - 5x on any airline purchase. Lucky enough to handle the ticketing for the majority of my family and friends. Best month this year for me was north of $50k in airfares (although that was particularly high - generally it's a bit more down to earth).
Business Plat AX - 35% rebate on front cabin fares on any carrier, if booked through AX. FWIW I'll max out the 500k MR rebate this year. If AX allowed aggregation across all their products I'd qualify for the 1M threshold, but as I understand it only spend on the biz plat counts towards that and that's going to be a high bar for me to reach.
with the Schwab $200, Uber $200, and Saks $100 making the personal a no brainer, i approach the matter from the other end if the $250 net biz plat fee is worth it for the ability to redeem points at $1/61 rate for paid biz tickets vs. $1/100. so, the breakeven is then about 40K redeemed points annually in paid biz to keep the biz plat. it’s actually quite a bit lower as i get $100 in value for the gogo passes and a retention bonus every other year worth ~$200.
Wow, Schwab will do that?
Sep 13, 2018, 10:37 pm
#927
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Between AUS, EWR, and YTO In a little twisty maze of airline seats, all alike.. but I wanna go home with the armadillo
Programs: CO, NW, & UA forum moderator emeritus
Posts: 35,432
me were awarded improperly. I've had that happen.
Sep 21, 2018, 9:57 pm
#928
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 225
Newbie question here, Mod please move as appropriate. Have Biz Plat and just got Schwab Plat (haven’t selected airline for 2018 yet). I want to book LAX-PPT for next summer, and Air Tahiti Nui looks best for our schedule, probably Premium Economy (maybe Biz) on new 787. Have plenty of points (also plenty of Chase UR points which could be used on any airline, any class @$.015). Is there a good option with AmEx? Perhaps Pay with Points, IAP, use the Schwab for 5x? I haven’t called AmEx yet and don’t even know if it’s better to call Personal or Biz Travel line. Tia.
Oct 30, 2018, 4:57 pm
#929
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 6
I booked a first class ticket with pay with points, Business AMEX platinum. The MR points were deducted from my account, paying for my ticket. If I understand correctly, if I cancel the ticket, the price of the ticket will be refunded to my account. Question: will the 35% bonus/rebate show up in my account a month after purchase? Or do they not award the 35% because I have canceled the ticket? Anyone with experience in this?
Oct 30, 2018, 6:45 pm
#930
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,477
... If I understand correctly, if I cancel the ticket, the price of the ticket will be refunded to my account. Question: will the 35% bonus/rebate show up in my account a month after purchase? Or do they not award the 35% because I have canceled the ticket? Anyone with experience in this?