mia

Conceptually, American Express sees a fee for choosing a specific seat in the same cabin as a charge for a service which was once free, and that's the type of nuisance expense they had in mind when they introduced the reimbursement benefit. Upgrading to another cabin is a discretionary expense that they don't intend to reimburse.

Over time the customers' perception of this distinction has blurred, and American Express' ability to distinguish them through an automated process is imperfect.

aimango

$15.99 Jan 15 - United in flight wifi
$4.59 Jan 16 - in flight snack
$15.99 Jan 17 - credit posted
$4.59 Jan 18 - credit posted

$50.00 Feb 1 - gift registry
$50.00 Feb 3 - credit posted
$130.00 Feb 5 - gift registry
$129.42 Feb 7 (didn't appear until Feb 8 am) - credit posted

dulcamara

My United Club membership dues wound up due in January this year. So I did a gift registry for $200 in December (AMEX paid) and the renewed to collect the 2107 $200. Worked great. With the Centurion lounges showing up in more places I need them and the $200/year toward my UA club, I'm pretty happy.

eajusa

In other words, you charged your 2017 renewal of UA Club on your Amex Plat and received $200 back? Please let us know, so that I may add it to the Wiki. Thanks.

mia

This use is an example of what American Express had in mind when they created this benefit, and it is explicitly permitted in the terms.

eajusa

You are by far the expert, MIA. I understand what you mean "this is an example of what American Express had in mind". However, in the T&C I see lounge pass/membership only implied, not explicitly stated. I am missing something? BTW, I have used Amex to receive AC passes in the past, but never UC passes, as I have the Club Card.

Benefit Terms


Select a qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 per calendar year in statement credits when incidental fees, such as Checked bags, in-flight refreshments, flight-change fees, overweight / oversize baggage fees, and phone reservation fees, are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card® Account.

$200 Airline Fee Credit
Benefit is available to Consumer and Business Platinum Card® and Centurion® Members only. To receive statement credits of up to $200 per calendar year toward incidental air travel fees, Card Member must select a qualifying airline at www.americanexpress.com/airlinechoice. Only the Basic Card Member or Authorized Account Manager(s) on the Card Account can select the qualifying airline. Card Members who have not chosen a qualifying airline will be able to do so at any time. Card Members who have already selected a qualifying airline will be able to change their choice one time each year in January at www.americanexpress.com/airlinechoice or by calling the number on the back of the Card. Card Members who do not change their airline selection will remain with their current airline. Statement Credits: Incidental air travel fees must be charged to the Card Member on the eligible Card Account for the benefit to apply. Purchases made by both the Basic and Additional Card Members on the eligible Card Account are eligible for statement credits. However, each Card Account is eligible for up to a total of $200 per calendar year in statement credits across all Cards on the Account. Incidental air travel fees must be separate charges from airline ticket charges. Fees not charged by the Card Member's airline of choice (e.g. wireless internet and fees incurred with airline alliance partners) do not qualify for statement credits. Incidental air travel fees charged prior to selection of a qualifying airline are not eligible for statement credits. Airline tickets, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty free purchases, and award tickets are not deemed to be incidental fees. The airline must submit the charge under the appropriate merchant code, industry code, or required service or product identifier for the charge to be recognized as an incidental air travel fee. Please allow 2-4 weeks after the qualifying incidental air travel fee is charged to your Card Account for statement credit(s) to be posted to the Account. We rely on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions, so please call the number on the back of the Card if statement credits have not posted after 4 weeks from the date of purchase. Card Members remain responsible for timely payment of all charges. To be eligible for this benefit, Card Account(s) must be active and not in default at the time of statement credit fulfillment. If a charge for any incidental air travel fee is included in a Pay Over Time feature balance on your Card Account (for example, Sign & Travel), 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. For additional information about this benefit, call the number on the back of your Card.

mia

Sometimes I know things, but I don't remember how . The terms have evolved since the benefit was announced in 2010. You are correct that the terms no longer mention fees that are covered, only the exclusions. See this article from 2012 (easier to read than our threads from that time):

http://www.frequentbusinesstraveler....redit-program/

radiolarian

Transaction complete

- $150 UAL gift registry contribution

- Reimbursed 2 business days later

The remaining $50 credit will be used to test whether a separately purchased upgrade to Econ+ loosely qualifies as an "incidental."

NewYorker007

Does anyone know whether I can use TravelBank funds to book a United Vacation? Thanks.

eajusa

Easiest way to find out is to click on Use Travel Bank funds and see if it takes you only to flight searches or if you are given a choice.

apolloms

made a contribution to my gift registry tonight....it shows a $200 balance but $0 available. How long until it's available for me to spend?

kthpence

Thinking of transferring some miles to a relative's account ... would the mile transfer fee fall under the reimbursement ? Anyone have prior experience with this?

SuperKirby

Data point: one lump sum of $200 gifted on 1/19, reimbursed 1/21.

I really miss the MPX Amazon Gift cards though. lol

kthpence

Gifted $100 on my AMEX Gold, debited back in a day. Going to try to use my platinum fee for changing an award and I'll report back if that works.

pugsley21

Any updates on the Econ+?