GeorgeLopez

That's also a good point. Even putting that aside, the only program in that list I'd consider is JetBlue but with their limited routing, it's not great for me.


Virgin at a 2:1 ratio is AWFUL.


Delta pesos are worthless and unreliable. Delta constantly implements stealth devaluations.

mingw

I've found the opposite.

for my last trip to Italy, I booked all my hotels and quite some tours/bike rentals through UR. they have sales on hotels from time to time and the deals I got was great (a 2-bedroom apartment at center of Rome for $150 a day, while most hotels are more than $200 for a tiny room). the tours were also less than what I could get anywhere else (not much though, about 5%).

while I haven't found FHR to be useful. often after their promotions (such as 3 nights 1 free), the rate is still more than booking somewhere else. I just booked conrad hilton, 4 nights through hilton.com $1168, through FHR $1441... and flights, united costed me $930 for the exactly same flight that AMEX is charging me $1553... fare classes likely not same but I care cost way more.

mikesyr18

To be fair AMEX owns Plenti, so it's almost a given it will be a MR partner. Starwood Preferred Guest points are also a MR transfer partner likely because of the AMEX SPG card, so both parties wanted to be "full circle" and offer them on all of the points products AMEX offers.

It wouldn't make sense to offer Starwood at 1:1 which would then severely devalue their SPG card. Why get the SPG card at that point when you can earn two SPG points on dining, groceries, restaurants, three points on airline purchases and gas, and then 1.5 SPG points on all other purchases? (This by combining the EDP and the PRG).

HHonors value sucks, I agree. I wish I was more experienced with transferring points back when I transferred 40,000 points to them for a vacation. $370 value for 60,000 points? (AMEX gave me 50% more when transferred) utter crap. Was better off transferring to Jet Blue. I will never stay in a Hilton again anyways, was disappointed and I have the SPG now.

HomerJay

Does it matter? Oh, hell yes.

I used my miles to top off any number of accounts, often so that I could take a companion or gift someone a freebie. The last time was to gift family members a trip to Hawaii on Virgin America for their 50th wedding anniversary. There was a promotion, and I had enough points because it wasn't that awful 2 MR points for 1 Elevate point. Had it been the regular rate, I wouldn't have had the points.

Time was when nearly all the domestic airlines were partners. Now, it's just Delta's worthless skypesos, Virgin America at a lousy exchange rate, and Jetblue - which is wonderful, but has poor west coach connections out of DCA. No Southwest. Not even Frontier any more (no loss, actually. But still...)

Europe may be your preferred use for MR points, but it's not mine. And for me, my domestic options have become fewer and fewer over time.

mlin32

To add fuel to the "not sure MR points are working for me" fire......my *A mileage is all accrued on LH M&M. Logistically, *A makes no sense for me given my location and destinations in the US market.

Last year MR worked for me when I could top off my DL miles to redeem for an award US domestic ticket. But that zeroed out my Skymiles, and I don't pay to fly DL, so I don't care to rack up any more mileage with them.

I suppose it is still nice to be able to use the MR to pay for airfare booked over the Amex travel site. And the Amex offers are nice, esp. on the hotel stays.

I have a Flying Blue membership but to rack up for a Trans-Atlantic flight would take years.

Troopers

Southwest? That's inspiring.


I suggest you take another look next time. FHR is widely considered a great benefit.

GeorgeLopez

Well what is so inspiring about Jetblue, Virgin at a 2:1 ratio, and Delta Skypesos?

Additionally, not everything is about inspiration. I already have enough miles and points to buy inspirational flights/hotels for the next 3-5 years. I still need to fly domestically and to do that, normally I opt for Southwest. So yes, it would be great if Southwest was a transfer partner of AMEX. And I don't want to hear any garbage about Southwest having a co-branded card with Chase so it's impossible.

ucdtim17

Southwest has a much larger network than Jetblue for west coasters and is a reliable baseline for getting ~1.5-1.9 cpp for UR points. I'm getting a 100k MR bonus soon and happy to keep the card for the perks of the plat, but I don't know what I'll ultimately do with the points. Between redeeming for 1.5 cpp through the UR portal and transferring to WN or UA, I find UR points much easier to use and get good value out of.

GeorgeLopez

UR points blow away MR points.

Troopers

You stated you would like to see domestic airlines as a Amex travel partner and I provided you with three. And those three offer much more Southwest, such as Mint and F.

I agree that it's not always about inspiration, and that WN certainly has a place in this hobby. However, most people in this hobby aren't trying to hoard points so they don't have to pay WN's fares...you don't see many reports bragging how they were able to fly free on SWA. I suspect most wouldn't transfer to WN even if they could, thus a "awful" transfer partner...no different than other "awful" partner that you wouldn't transfer into because you have a significant stash of miles/points elsewhere.

And I envy that you have enough miles/points for 3 to 5 years worth of inspirational award travel, that's awesome. Most don't have your "problem".

GeorgeLopez

Yes you did name 3 domestic airlines but I pointed out the flaws in each. JetB is a great option for NE folks. Unfortunately I'm midwest and I can only fly them when going to NYC, Boston, or FLL. So pretty rare.

Does anyone, I mean anyone, transfer to Virgin America at a 2:1 ratio? That is seriously awful. And that option will disappear in the next 12 months so you'll be down to 2 domestic options.

Delta Skypesos? Pesos are worth about 1.2 cents and with all of their stealth devaluations, who on earth would transfer there?

Troopers

And there are flaws in Southwest as well. You may be able to tolerate those flaws, while others do not and will not fly on WN.

Sure ppl transfer to Virgin America, certainly during a transfer bonus. Simply search and you will find successful high value transfers.

Don't disagree that Delta transfer is less than ideal but there are scenarios where it make sense for some ppl (no different than who on earth would transfer to WN and fly on WN).

Bottom line, while some of Amex transfer partners may not be ideal or suitable for you, they are for others. I don't understand the notion that if something is not good for you, it must not be good for everyone else.

ucdtim17

One gets significantly more value out of transferring to WN than to DL, so that's an obvious reason people would prefer that.

krazykanuck

Delta definitely has weaknesses in its program and while I wouldn't hoard SkyMiles, they can definitely have pockets of value. I booked a flight a couple of months ago from SFO-SEA for 5k miles when revenue flights were all about $100-125. 2 cpp is more than adequate for domestic Y, IMO, especially when the trip is bookended with getting to use the 2 SkyClubs in those airports which are top notch. You can also see those 5k awards from Chicago to NYC occasionally, and other routes.

+1 to this. If somebody doesn't believe they get value out of one program or another, that's fine, then don't use it. But why bother wasting energy trying to convince others that continue to get demonstrable value out of the program? I just don't get it.

eajusa

Agreed. This thread is not about debating which transfer partners are better.