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 20, 2015, 12:16 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Proud resident of flyover country.....
Programs: MS AMEX PLAT- Marriott Titanium-HH G- UA Silver-JPM RC . DL-AA-BA
Posts: 3,892
Pay-with-Points flights. BUSINESS Centurion 50% refund, Plat 35%, Gold 25% (2015-23)
Got this email today.
We are pleased to announce that, beginning July 1, 2015, you can get 30% Membership Rewards®1 points back when you use the Pay with Points2 feature for all or part of a flight with the airline you select†. There are no blackout dates or seat restrictions, and you can still earn frequent flyer miles when using Membership Rewards points. To take advantage of this benefit, simply choose the airline that's best for you from the eligible options and book your flight using the American Express Travel site or by calling Business Platinum Travel Service.
Look for more information on how to select an airline and full terms and conditions from American Express on July 1, 2015 when this benefit becomes available.
†The selected airline will be applied to both this new benefit and the $200 Airline Fee Credit3 benefit.
We are pleased to announce that, beginning July 1, 2015, you can get 30% Membership Rewards®1 points back when you use the Pay with Points2 feature for all or part of a flight with the airline you select†. There are no blackout dates or seat restrictions, and you can still earn frequent flyer miles when using Membership Rewards points. To take advantage of this benefit, simply choose the airline that's best for you from the eligible options and book your flight using the American Express Travel site or by calling Business Platinum Travel Service.
Look for more information on how to select an airline and full terms and conditions from American Express on July 1, 2015 when this benefit becomes available.
†The selected airline will be applied to both this new benefit and the $200 Airline Fee Credit3 benefit.
Apr 20, 2015, 12:29 pm
#2
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
If this is not targeted, it means they are replacing 20% back on all Pay with Points redemptions with 30% off on Pay with Points redemptions for a single airline.
Apr 20, 2015, 1:25 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Proud resident of flyover country.....
Programs: MS AMEX PLAT- Marriott Titanium-HH G- UA Silver-JPM RC . DL-AA-BA
Posts: 3,892
Business Platinum 30% back on flights
Is this the sort of offer that is often targeted? At 30% I might use this feature when points don't work out. Did anyone else get this offer ?
Apr 20, 2015, 1:59 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2009
Programs: AMEX Business Centurion
Posts: 418
I got this notification. It looks like they're changing the entire program (i.e., it's not a targeted offering). This is great news, and I wonder if one of the savant point folks around here can recalculate the per point value of MR points after the switch. It just may make me switch a giant chunk of spending back to my Business Centurion card from my Fido Visa (2% cash back).
On the flipside, maybe they're doing this because they've failed and exhausted every other avenue for bringing onboard airline partners to replace the ones we've lost (CO, US Air, etc. etc.)
Anyway, any improvement in benefits is welcome, in this age of eroding value in the Cent/Plat cards.
thanks AMEX!
On the flipside, maybe they're doing this because they've failed and exhausted every other avenue for bringing onboard airline partners to replace the ones we've lost (CO, US Air, etc. etc.)
Anyway, any improvement in benefits is welcome, in this age of eroding value in the Cent/Plat cards.
thanks AMEX!
Apr 20, 2015, 4:17 pm
#5
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Assuming 1 point is redeemed for $.01 airfare, 30% rebate would net $0.014+ per point.
Apr 20, 2015, 6:34 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Tulsa, OK
Programs: HHonors Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 306
I always found pay with points to be most useful for hotel redemptions when the hotel loyalty points were out of whack with the cash price.
Apr 21, 2015, 1:30 pm
#7
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 171
Got this offer also today, i will still use my Barclays card which nets me 2.2% and my BOA travel card with the preferred rewards that nets me 2.625% back toward travel expenses.
Apr 21, 2015, 2:24 pm
#8
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AMEX Platinum, Hyatt GP Diamond, HHonors Diamond,
Posts: 115
For example, if I want to book a $500 flight on American, I would need to have 50,000 points in my MR account and then have 15,000 credited back. As opposed to TY points, I would only need to have 31,250 points. Or even on Chase's end, I can get away with having less points since it's a bump up instead of a rebate.
Apr 21, 2015, 2:30 pm
#9
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Apr 21, 2015, 2:35 pm
#10
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AMEX Platinum, Hyatt GP Diamond, HHonors Diamond,
Posts: 115
Apr 22, 2015, 7:53 am
#11
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 148
do people really dump their points for that cheap, willingly?
even when i'm in the pinch i'd rather spend $ than redeem for anything below 2 cents/mile.
even when i'm in the pinch i'd rather spend $ than redeem for anything below 2 cents/mile.
Apr 22, 2015, 10:28 am
#12
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Programs: DL Diamond, AS MVP Gold 75k, AA Platinum, SPG/Marriott Platinum
Posts: 93
I got this today, and it's for the business Centurion:
No images? Please view in your browser for the full experience.
Hello
Account ending in -XXXXX
We are pleased to announce that, beginning July 1, 2015, you will get 30% Membership Rewards® points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight on any airline. No enrollment is required. There are no blackout dates or seat restrictions, and you can still earn frequent flyer miles when using Membership Rewards points. To take advantage of this benefit, simply book your flight using the American Express Travel site or by calling Centurion Travel Service.
Look for full terms and conditions from American Express on July 1, 2015 when this benefit becomes available.
Contact Us | Privacy Statement | Add Us to Your Address Book
Your Card Member information is included above to help you recognize this as a customer service e-mail from American Express. To learn more about e-mail security or report a suspicious e-mail, please visit us at americanexpress.com/phishing. We kindly ask you not to reply to this e-mail but instead contact us via Customer Service.
Terms and Conditions
1. Terms and Conditions for the Membership Rewards® program apply. Visit membershiprewards.com/terms or call 1-800-AXP-EARN (297-3276) for more information. Participating partners and available rewards are subject to change without notice.
The value of Membership Rewards points varies according to how you choose to use them. To learn more about point value, go to www.membershiprewards.com/pointsinfo.
2. To use Pay with Points, you must charge your eligible purchase through American Express Travel to a Membership Rewards® program-enrolled American Express® Card. Eligible purchases exclude car reservations, non-prepaid hotels, and Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection bookings. Points will be debited from your Membership Rewards account, and credit for corresponding dollar amount will be issued to the American Express Card account used. If points redeemed do not cover entire amount, the balance of purchase price will remain on the American Express Card account. Minimum redemption 5,000 points. See membershiprewards.com/terms for Membership Rewards program terms and conditions.
If a charge for a purchase is included in a Pay Over Time feature balance on your Linked Account (for example, the Extended Payment Option), the statement credit associated with that charge may not be applied to that Pay Over Time feature balance. Instead the statement credit may be applied to your Pay in Full balance. If you believe this has occurred, please contact us by calling the number on the back of your Card.
American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. acts solely as sales agent for travel suppliers and is not responsible for the actions or inactions of such suppliers. We want you to be aware that certain suppliers pay us commissions and other incentives for reaching sales targets or other goals, and may also provide incentives to our travel counselors. For more information please visit www.americanexpress.com/travelterms.
California CST#1022318, Washington UBI#600-469-694, Iowa TA#002, Nevada NV#2001-0126.
© 2015 American Express Bank, FSB. All rights reserved.
No images? Please view in your browser for the full experience.
Hello
Account ending in -XXXXX
We are pleased to announce that, beginning July 1, 2015, you will get 30% Membership Rewards® points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight on any airline. No enrollment is required. There are no blackout dates or seat restrictions, and you can still earn frequent flyer miles when using Membership Rewards points. To take advantage of this benefit, simply book your flight using the American Express Travel site or by calling Centurion Travel Service.
Look for full terms and conditions from American Express on July 1, 2015 when this benefit becomes available.
Contact Us | Privacy Statement | Add Us to Your Address Book
Your Card Member information is included above to help you recognize this as a customer service e-mail from American Express. To learn more about e-mail security or report a suspicious e-mail, please visit us at americanexpress.com/phishing. We kindly ask you not to reply to this e-mail but instead contact us via Customer Service.
Terms and Conditions
1. Terms and Conditions for the Membership Rewards® program apply. Visit membershiprewards.com/terms or call 1-800-AXP-EARN (297-3276) for more information. Participating partners and available rewards are subject to change without notice.
The value of Membership Rewards points varies according to how you choose to use them. To learn more about point value, go to www.membershiprewards.com/pointsinfo.
2. To use Pay with Points, you must charge your eligible purchase through American Express Travel to a Membership Rewards® program-enrolled American Express® Card. Eligible purchases exclude car reservations, non-prepaid hotels, and Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection bookings. Points will be debited from your Membership Rewards account, and credit for corresponding dollar amount will be issued to the American Express Card account used. If points redeemed do not cover entire amount, the balance of purchase price will remain on the American Express Card account. Minimum redemption 5,000 points. See membershiprewards.com/terms for Membership Rewards program terms and conditions.
If a charge for a purchase is included in a Pay Over Time feature balance on your Linked Account (for example, the Extended Payment Option), the statement credit associated with that charge may not be applied to that Pay Over Time feature balance. Instead the statement credit may be applied to your Pay in Full balance. If you believe this has occurred, please contact us by calling the number on the back of your Card.
American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. acts solely as sales agent for travel suppliers and is not responsible for the actions or inactions of such suppliers. We want you to be aware that certain suppliers pay us commissions and other incentives for reaching sales targets or other goals, and may also provide incentives to our travel counselors. For more information please visit www.americanexpress.com/travelterms.
California CST#1022318, Washington UBI#600-469-694, Iowa TA#002, Nevada NV#2001-0126.
© 2015 American Express Bank, FSB. All rights reserved.
Apr 22, 2015, 10:32 am
#13
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: TPA/DFW/K15
Programs: AA EXP, Mar AMB, HH LT DIA
Posts: 1,653
I got this today, and it's for the business Centurion:
No images? Please view in your browser for the full experience.
Hello
Account ending in -XXXXX
We are pleased to announce that, beginning July 1, 2015, you will get 30% Membership Rewards® points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight on any airline. No enrollment is required. There are no blackout dates or seat restrictions, and you can still earn frequent flyer miles when using Membership Rewards points. To take advantage of this benefit, simply book your flight using the American Express Travel site or by calling Centurion Travel Service.
Look for full terms and conditions from American Express on July 1, 2015 when this benefit becomes available.
No images? Please view in your browser for the full experience.
Hello
Account ending in -XXXXX
We are pleased to announce that, beginning July 1, 2015, you will get 30% Membership Rewards® points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight on any airline. No enrollment is required. There are no blackout dates or seat restrictions, and you can still earn frequent flyer miles when using Membership Rewards points. To take advantage of this benefit, simply book your flight using the American Express Travel site or by calling Centurion Travel Service.
Look for full terms and conditions from American Express on July 1, 2015 when this benefit becomes available.
Apr 22, 2015, 10:44 am
#14
Join Date: May 2013
Programs: N/A
Posts: 685
Anyone get the centurion banner that's only a plat member? I requested to be put on the invite list so that may matter?
Apr 22, 2015, 10:49 am
#15
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Marietta, GA
Programs: AA EXP;SPG Gold; Priority Club Spire Ambassador; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 796