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)
Jun 5, 2017, 10:44 am
#616
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LIT
Programs: Blinged Out
Posts: 716
31 days for me as well- I have several hitting at various points this month.
Jun 5, 2017, 4:14 pm
#617
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 599
Has anyone else made a redemption after June 1st (i.e. bought your flight ticket after Jun 1st) and if you have can you confirm:
- Did you see the little icon on amextravel.com showing the flight was eligible, as it used to show before Jun 1st?
- Did you get an automated email saying "Congrats you used the plat benefit", as it used to do before Jun 1st?
Amex reps are completely unhelpful because they don't want to do anything till 10 weeks have passed.
I'm concerned that the benefit isn't attaching correctly any more after Jun 1st (but we likely won't know till 10 weeks, so mid-August).
- Did you see the little icon on amextravel.com showing the flight was eligible, as it used to show before Jun 1st?
- Did you get an automated email saying "Congrats you used the plat benefit", as it used to do before Jun 1st?
Amex reps are completely unhelpful because they don't want to do anything till 10 weeks have passed.
I'm concerned that the benefit isn't attaching correctly any more after Jun 1st (but we likely won't know till 10 weeks, so mid-August).
Jun 5, 2017, 5:53 pm
#618
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
Has anyone else made a redemption after June 1st (i.e. bought your flight ticket after Jun 1st) and if you have can you confirm:
- Did you see the little icon on amextravel.com showing the flight was eligible, as it used to show before Jun 1st?
- Did you get an automated email saying "Congrats you used the plat benefit", as it used to do before Jun 1st?
Amex reps are completely unhelpful because they don't want to do anything till 10 weeks have passed.
I'm concerned that the benefit isn't attaching correctly any more after Jun 1st (but we likely won't know till 10 weeks, so mid-August).
- Did you see the little icon on amextravel.com showing the flight was eligible, as it used to show before Jun 1st?
- Did you get an automated email saying "Congrats you used the plat benefit", as it used to do before Jun 1st?
Amex reps are completely unhelpful because they don't want to do anything till 10 weeks have passed.
I'm concerned that the benefit isn't attaching correctly any more after Jun 1st (but we likely won't know till 10 weeks, so mid-August).
Searching today, I don't see the "Eligible for 35% rebate" or whatever it used to say anywhere in the results or when selecting one.
Jun 5, 2017, 6:17 pm
#619
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 1
Which card to use?
So, who knows?
Jun 6, 2017, 10:00 am
#620
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New York City
Posts: 801
I spoke with 2 different reps in the last 2 days. 1 told me that any card that I used, attached to my MR profile, would cause the rebate to kick in as long as I made an eligible choice (i.e., Biz or 1st Class, or my selected airline for Economy). 2nd Rep today told me that I MUST use the Biz Plat info while booking to receive the rebate.
So, who knows?
So, who knows?
Jun 6, 2017, 1:10 pm
#621
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
Today I saw a credit in my MR account of "5x TLS" and the # of points seems to match quadruple balance of a travel purchase I made last month and offset with MR points. In other words, I made a travel purchase, paid partially with points and partially with cash. The 50% rebate posted 31 days after the transaction. This MR earnings approximates the cash portion that remained after the points offset x 4, which with the 1x earning on the statement would give the advertised 5x on airfare purchases through Amex Travel.
This answers my quandary of whether the entire purchase amount earns 5x, or just the cash balance.
This answers my quandary of whether the entire purchase amount earns 5x, or just the cash balance.
Jun 6, 2017, 1:40 pm
#622
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
What would be the benefit of using a different card? A risk when using another card is that if the points refund doesn't post automatically, customer service can use that as an explanation and decline to investigate further.
Jun 6, 2017, 2:13 pm
#623
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: TPA/DFW/K15
Programs: AA EXP, Mar AMB, HH LT DIA
Posts: 1,652
Today I saw a credit in my MR account of "5x TLS" and the # of points seems to match quadruple balance of a travel purchase I made last month and offset with MR points. In other words, I made a travel purchase, paid partially with points and partially with cash. The 50% rebate posted 31 days after the transaction. This MR earnings approximates the cash portion that remained after the points offset x 4, which with the 1x earning on the statement would give the advertised 5x on airfare purchases through Amex Travel.
This answers my quandary of whether the entire purchase amount earns 5x, or just the cash balance.
This answers my quandary of whether the entire purchase amount earns 5x, or just the cash balance.
Jun 7, 2017, 8:07 am
#625
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
Jun 7, 2017, 11:20 am
#627
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
Jun 7, 2017, 12:04 pm
#628
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: TPA/DFW/K15
Programs: AA EXP, Mar AMB, HH LT DIA
Posts: 1,652
Is this the 50% redemption you spoke that also resulted earning 5X points on the ticket price? if so, what was the posting date of the "5x TLS" line item?
Jun 7, 2017, 1:08 pm
#629
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Dreamland
Posts: 927
I also received the 5x points, a day before 50% (this was back when 50% posted 3 days after initial purchase)
Jun 7, 2017, 2:00 pm
#630
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
5/3 - Purchased airfare that qualifies for 50% rebate. Total airfare was ~ $410. I used 30,000 MR for net cash outlay of ~110. Transactions on the card showed $410 airfare charge, and then $300 Amex travel credit. At the same time, MR account showed 30,000 MR debit for Amex Travel.
6/3 - 15,000 MR points credited as "Airline bonus: pay with points".
6/5 - "5 X TLS" MR earning posted with the number of points corresponding to 4x the net cash cost from the transaction on 5/3.