Amex Platinum/Gold (USA) 5X/3X on OTA's, foreign carriers, fees, award taxes, etc?
May 24, 2017, 6:38 am
#16
formerly BackSlash3
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: YYZ Realistically, YKZ Aspirationally
Programs: AC P25, Marriott Gold, IHG Diamond AMB
Posts: 452
I can't speak to UA but upgrade and baggage fees on WS posted as 5x for me. It makes sense that it would since it's a charge directly with an airline.
May 24, 2017, 8:36 am
#17
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: SFO
Posts: 3,879
Yes, I've upgraded on UA miles+copay ($550) and received 5x. Detailed transaction appears as "Document Type: UPGRADE CHARGE" along with flight info.
Jun 14, 2017, 12:49 am
#18
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 22
Does Platinum get 5x pts on foreign airlines as well?
I'm wondering does the 5x pts per dollar thing work when booking directly with a foreign airline or just the US based airlines? The 'fine prints' didn't mention yes or no but AMEX was known to distinguish things like 'US supermarket' or the like before so wondering who would air ticket work in this case.
Thanks!
(Tried to search but to no avail, would appreciate pointers to relevant discussion/DPs if I missed any. )
Thanks!
(Tried to search but to no avail, would appreciate pointers to relevant discussion/DPs if I missed any. )
Jun 14, 2017, 7:12 am
#20
formerly BackSlash3
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: YYZ Realistically, YKZ Aspirationally
Programs: AC P25, Marriott Gold, IHG Diamond AMB
Posts: 452
I've been successful with taxes and fees billed by Westjet (Canada) and tickets on TAP (Portugal) but the TAP tickets were booked through AMEX travel.
Jul 20, 2017, 5:18 am
#22
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 796
Premier Rewards Gold: 3x MR on airline purchases
Hi there,
read through many posts but couldn't find the answer to my specific question:
on the Premier Rewards Gold card, it says 3x MR points on tickets purchased directly from the airline. Does this apply also to taxes and fuel surcharges on award tickets? Or do they distinguish between base airfare and the rest of the components of a ticket?
I have the choice of getting 3x between this card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, so wanted to make sure it's really 3x points even for taxes and fuel surcharges on award tickets...
many thanks!!
read through many posts but couldn't find the answer to my specific question:
on the Premier Rewards Gold card, it says 3x MR points on tickets purchased directly from the airline. Does this apply also to taxes and fuel surcharges on award tickets? Or do they distinguish between base airfare and the rest of the components of a ticket?
I have the choice of getting 3x between this card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, so wanted to make sure it's really 3x points even for taxes and fuel surcharges on award tickets...
many thanks!!
Jul 21, 2017, 6:47 am
#25
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
The $100 airline fee reimbursement benefit requires choosing a USA-based carrier, but the 3X points applies to any transaction where the merchant classification is an airline. It typically won't apply to (example) in-flight duty free purchases because that's a separate merchant account, and some airlines have outsourced sales of giftcards or miles.
Jul 31, 2017, 7:28 pm
#26
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Posts: 138
Interesting relevant nugget on Amex's rewards info FAQ:
It appears from this wording that the behavior we're seeing is intentional: even if the booking is done through an OTA, we'll see the bonus MR as long as the charge itself is processed by the airline.
Given that not all OTAs behave this way I can see why Amex wouldn't really want to advertise this. They probably don't want customers getting accustomed to this method since the OTAs can change their payment processing technique at any time, which would lead to confusion and aggravation among customers.
Are there times when I will earn an additional reward if I book through a third party, like an online travel agent?
Some purchases for scheduled flights made with third parties such as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz may be eligible for additional rewards depending on how the third party operates. For example, with some third parties airfare is charged directly to your Card account by the airline.
Some purchases for scheduled flights made with third parties such as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz may be eligible for additional rewards depending on how the third party operates. For example, with some third parties airfare is charged directly to your Card account by the airline.
Given that not all OTAs behave this way I can see why Amex wouldn't really want to advertise this. They probably don't want customers getting accustomed to this method since the OTAs can change their payment processing technique at any time, which would lead to confusion and aggravation among customers.
Jul 31, 2017, 7:51 pm
#27
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 587
Interesting relevant nugget on Amex's rewards info FAQ:
It appears from this wording that the behavior we're seeing is intentional: even if the booking is done through an OTA, we'll see the bonus MR as long as the charge itself is processed by the airline.
Given that not all OTAs behave this way I can see why Amex wouldn't really want to advertise this. They probably don't want customers getting accustomed to this method since the OTAs can change their payment processing technique at any time, which would lead to confusion and aggravation among customers.
It appears from this wording that the behavior we're seeing is intentional: even if the booking is done through an OTA, we'll see the bonus MR as long as the charge itself is processed by the airline.
Given that not all OTAs behave this way I can see why Amex wouldn't really want to advertise this. They probably don't want customers getting accustomed to this method since the OTAs can change their payment processing technique at any time, which would lead to confusion and aggravation among customers.
Jul 31, 2017, 8:00 pm
#28
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: PHX, SEA
Programs: Avis President's Club, Global Entry, Hilton/Marriott Gold. No more DL/AA status.
Posts: 4,422
This is what happened to me recently when I booked an international flight on Priceline. I used CSR instead of the AMEX Platinum thinking it may be billed as a Priceline transaction, but the charge ended up coming from the airline instead. Oh well, instead of getting 5X from AMEX, I will get 3X from CSR plus trip delay/cancellation coverage.
I wish Amex would do that.
Feb 1, 2018, 8:49 am
#30
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: PSC
Programs: Hilton Diamond/IHG Platinum/DL Plutononium
Posts: 1,728