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)
Aug 14, 2022, 10:35 am
#1261
Join Date: Nov 2007
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton Honors Diamond, Delta Gold
Posts: 4,332
I guess I need to decide if it's worth the additional 4x points to deal with customer service then. /sigh
The charge coded as PwP AMERICAN EXPRSEATTLE WA and under Rewards for This Charge, it says 1X On Other purchases. I did also check the Membership Rewards Your Points Activity and it also shows 1X there with no other line item corresponding to 4X.
The charge coded as PwP AMERICAN EXPRSEATTLE WA and under Rewards for This Charge, it says 1X On Other purchases. I did also check the Membership Rewards Your Points Activity and it also shows 1X there with no other line item corresponding to 4X.
My charges with Amex travel state the exact same as yours but I covered them fully with points so I have no points multiplier showing by the transactions.
I've read through the terms and it didn't say anywhere that I can see that a partial charge wouldn't be eligible for the 5x. You shouldn't have to call in or chat for your charge to get those additional 4x points and if you do Amex has some fixing they need to do to make this automated.
I'm planning to do a prepaid hotel booking partially covered with points and I'm hoping to get the 5x points on the remaining charge. Perhaps I'll do a fully refundable test booking first to see what will happen.
Aug 14, 2022, 4:15 pm
#1262
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: HNL,HI,USA
Posts: 256
Charge was in June and showed up on the July statement. As I mentioned above, nothing in terms of 4X points. I just received the August statement so I checked Your Points Activity under Rewards and Benefits. The additional 4X points are listed under the August Date Range with a Description of 5 X TLS and a Category of Bonus Earn. All good here, thanks for keeping me on the right track!
Aug 14, 2022, 4:48 pm
#1263
Join Date: Nov 2007
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton Honors Diamond, Delta Gold
Posts: 4,332
Okay, good news...
Charge was in June and showed up on the July statement. As I mentioned above, nothing in terms of 4X points. I just received the August statement so I checked Your Points Activity under Rewards and Benefits. The additional 4X points are listed under the August Date Range with a Description of 5 X TLS and a Category of Bonus Earn. All good here, thanks for keeping me on the right track!
Charge was in June and showed up on the July statement. As I mentioned above, nothing in terms of 4X points. I just received the August statement so I checked Your Points Activity under Rewards and Benefits. The additional 4X points are listed under the August Date Range with a Description of 5 X TLS and a Category of Bonus Earn. All good here, thanks for keeping me on the right track!
Reminds me of the 15x bonus points for small business spend on personal Plat as part of a SUB. The 1x points posted right away. But the additional 14x bonus points were given separately as a separate line item later on. Looks like this works the same/similar way. Glad to hear.
Aug 20, 2022, 4:37 pm
#1264
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 25
Any DPs on whether Amex will clawback the 35% point rebate if you cancel the flight? Wondering if this works to cash out MR at 1.54cpp with the Biz Plat.
Aug 20, 2022, 5:07 pm
#1265
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 76
I suspect if you did it often, and never did actually fly the tix you booked, it might look funny
Just be sure to get a ticket that ACTUALLY is refundable. I find Amex's portal has very tricky language around American cancel/refund policies. United is clearer.
Aug 23, 2022, 10:37 pm
#1266
Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 235
All the flights I'm seeing have 24hr cancellation policy..I assume the 35% MR points needs to post before the flight can be cancelled?
Aug 24, 2022, 4:52 pm
#1267
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 114
Done it twice to cash out some MR points and no clawback yet 🤞. Assuming AmEx rat team is aware but tolerates it so far.
Aug 25, 2022, 12:47 am
#1268
Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 235
No, they don’t. The extra points post 30 days after the original charge and - in my experience - come through even if the ticket is cancelled within 24 hours.
Done it twice to cash out some MR points and no clawback yet 🤞. Assuming AmEx rat team is aware but tolerates it so far.
Done it twice to cash out some MR points and no clawback yet 🤞. Assuming AmEx rat team is aware but tolerates it so far.
Aug 25, 2022, 8:57 am
#1269
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Sunny AZ
Programs: HH Diamond, Sixt Platinum, IHG Spire Ambassador, Marriott/SPG Gold .....
Posts: 3,207
Hi,
I want to book a British Airways flight. They are not an Amex Airline partner. Can I just book an AA codeshare? If I limit it to American Airlines in the filter my choice looks like this
American Airlines
American Airlines 6999 Operated by British Airways
American Airlines 6778 Operated by British Airways
My assumption is that if I selected AA as my Airline that I will get 35% of the MR back
I want to book a British Airways flight. They are not an Amex Airline partner. Can I just book an AA codeshare? If I limit it to American Airlines in the filter my choice looks like this
American AirlinesAmerican Airlines 6999 Operated by British Airways
American Airlines 6778 Operated by British Airways
My assumption is that if I selected AA as my Airline that I will get 35% of the MR back
Aug 27, 2022, 9:39 pm
#1270
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 73
I know this was discussed above in posts #1175-1186 but are there any DPs about different airlines and how they treat changes and cancellations for tickets booked through Amex Travel and PWP? It sounds like UA won't let you cancel or rebook a flight using ETC/FFC if you booked through Amex, but does AA or DL treat it the same way vis-a-vis trip credits or ecredits?
Aug 28, 2022, 7:34 am
#1271
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 779
I know this was discussed above in posts #1175-1186 but are there any DPs about different airlines and how they treat changes and cancellations for tickets booked through Amex Travel and PWP? It sounds like UA won't let you cancel or rebook a flight using ETC/FFC if you booked through Amex, but does AA or DL treat it the same way vis-a-vis trip credits or ecredits?
For nonrefundable Delta tickets booked thru AmexTravel, you can change/cancel/rebook thru Delta.com. You will get the same type of certificates.
Aug 28, 2022, 5:43 pm
#1273
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 779
I've never done that so I don't know. How do you upgrade a ticket with AmexTravel? The rep told me that the new tickets also have to be nonrefundable (same as the certificates).
Aug 30, 2022, 9:45 pm
#1275
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Southern Cali
Programs: AA ExPlat, Marriott Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 2,022
Took a little over a month but glad it worked out.
