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 7, 2017, 2:04 pm
#631
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,952
Jun 7, 2017, 5:38 pm
#632
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New York City
Posts: 801
Correct, the example above does not illustrate that using Biz Plat earns 5x on rebated portion of ticket; in fact it undercuts that claim.
(BTW, using personal Plat and earning 4+1 is not a "claim." ^)
(BTW, using personal Plat and earning 4+1 is not a "claim." ^)
Jun 8, 2017, 11:35 am
#633
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
I never claimed the whole purchase earned 5x, only the net cash portion. Using my Biz Platinum that's what I see.
Jun 8, 2017, 1:33 pm
#634
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New York City
Posts: 801
The Biz Plat earning 5x on the non-rebated portion of a purchase with AmEx Travel breaks no new ground, and is presumably exactly how it's supposed to work.
Jun 8, 2017, 2:24 pm
#635
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
This answers my quandary of whether the entire purchase amount earns 5x, or just the cash balance.
Jun 8, 2017, 3:49 pm
#636
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New York City
Posts: 801
Instead, you--without appreciating the context--jumped into the middle of a conversation regarding the possible advantage of using a card other than the Biz Plat as the card charged for a rebated booking by saying that the Biz Plat did earn 5x on rebated bookings:
Moral(s) of the story here is (i) follow the conversation, (ii) context matters, and (iii) pointing out that you earned 5x on the non-rebated portion is like pointing out the sun sets in the west; that's how it's supposed to work.
Jun 9, 2017, 4:05 pm
#637
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
The post you cited to does not in fact support the proposition for which you cited it--namely that Biz Plat earns 5x on the rebated portion of booking. As I stated above, your DP actually undercuts the point it purported to make. (And until I see otherwise, and AFAIK, Biz Plat does not earn 5x on the rebated portions of bookings.)
Moral(s) of the story here is (i) follow the conversation, (ii) context matters, and (iii) pointing out that you earned 5x on the non-rebated portion is like pointing out the sun sets in the west; that's how it's supposed to work.
Moral(s) of the story here is (i) follow the conversation, (ii) context matters, and (iii) pointing out that you earned 5x on the non-rebated portion is like pointing out the sun sets in the west; that's how it's supposed to work.
Jun 10, 2017, 4:13 am
#638
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 371
We known that the point portion using Personal Platinum earns 4x.
So if you can confirm Biz Platinum doesn't earn 4x with pay with points, that could be very helpful for others to decide to use Personal version for pay with points.
Jun 10, 2017, 2:33 pm
#639
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 205
I can confirm that the point portion does not earn 4x on the Biz Platinum card. I purchased a couple of tickets right after the 5x started with points and cash. About a month later 4x points posted on the cash amount only.
Jun 11, 2017, 4:55 pm
#640
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LIT
Programs: Blinged Out
Posts: 716
Just as I expected, AMEX customer service seems to be on a major downward trajectory. I don't even have the desire to HUCA.
I called this afternoon regarding 50% rebate points not posting after 31 days (36 days and counting- up from three days), and I get the same canned answer from a CR rep and a supervisor. The travel had to be booked through Delta since the AMEX Travel website was glitchy and the fares were over double any other websites.
If anyone is reading this who works at AMEX, what spend level is necessary NOT to receive canned answers that I can find myself in five minutes? Obviously it's higher than low-seven figures...
I called this afternoon regarding 50% rebate points not posting after 31 days (36 days and counting- up from three days), and I get the same canned answer from a CR rep and a supervisor. The travel had to be booked through Delta since the AMEX Travel website was glitchy and the fares were over double any other websites.
If anyone is reading this who works at AMEX, what spend level is necessary NOT to receive canned answers that I can find myself in five minutes? Obviously it's higher than low-seven figures...
Jun 11, 2017, 5:01 pm
#641
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,952
Jun 11, 2017, 8:56 pm
#642
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 43
Well here we are over 4 weeks later and I still haven't received the points back. I called in today only for them to tell me that the rebate was "processed" on 6/6 and my points are "pending," despite my MR account showing no pending points... It's always something with Amex these days. Sigh.
Jun 12, 2017, 7:28 am
#643
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
Jun 14, 2017, 8:32 am
#645
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 371
Though he suggested to downgrade from biz plat to biz gold, wait a few days, then upgrade to biz plat before June 1st, to get full one year 50%.
