Transferring Large Amount of Amex MR to Avios?
Nov 11, 2018, 3:59 am
#16
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: GLA
Programs: BAEC: Silver. Nothing else as TopCashBack trumps all hotel programs
Posts: 801
I personally wouldn't transfer anything to Avios these days. Other rewards are always better value. I stopped using avios.com and started using topcashback instead and the value is WAY greater. In my opinion the only avios related thing that is actually decent value is the 2for1 voucher. But even then. After taxs, charges and fees. What is the point? You are still paying Ł1000's for your ticket with BA. It's a total con really.
Nov 11, 2018, 4:28 am
#17
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: SPG-Plat, Hilton-Diamond, Club Carlson-Silver, Cathay-Diamond, Virgin-Gold
Posts: 2,183
True, to be accurate I feel what you can achieve with avios via BAEC is very poor value compared to what else is available! While it has some good partners I have never yet redeemed avios as my prefered currency for flights on those partners unless its a very short flight. Overall it seems like a terrible value proposition to what could be obtained elsewhere!
Nov 11, 2018, 4:28 am
#18
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
Amazon redemptions are $.0.007 per point.
See here:
https://rewards.americanexpress.com/...svc/pricinghub
Nov 11, 2018, 3:26 pm
#20
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 7,875
May I add my welcome to newamexmiles! Hope you'll stay with us regardless of whether you transfer those avios.
I would say that if you plan to primarily redeem on AS, it would make a lot more sense to transfer your MRs (if at all) to AS. The relevant AS partnership is actually neither with avios nor with BA but with BAEC here and while I am not aware of any rumour that it will be discontinued, it may at any time. Moreover, there have been numerous suggestions that BAEC might become revenue base (if it follows the pattern of the other two leading European FFPs this would not be about status accrual but about either award miles and/or redemptions). While partners are usually excluded from revenue/cost based operations, airlines switching to that model can occasionally take the change as an excuse to worse partner redemptions too.
Surcharges not just US to UK but effectively based on airline carrier surcharges, so BA is the worst currently (to any destination) but a few other airlines impose such high surcharges too.
Finally, there are no blackout dates on BAEC (unlike some other programmes) but availability is limited. On many routes/airlines, 6 seats would effectively never be offered. Also beware that for any partner airline with award "band" systems, only the cheapest band is available for award through BAEC (and generally partners) which is one of the reasons to transfer to he programme of whatever airline you are likely to use most (another is that mileage promotions - be they for accrual or redemption - are typically only for flights on the airline itself and never for partners except within Joint Ventures).
I would say that if you plan to primarily redeem on AS, it would make a lot more sense to transfer your MRs (if at all) to AS. The relevant AS partnership is actually neither with avios nor with BA but with BAEC here and while I am not aware of any rumour that it will be discontinued, it may at any time. Moreover, there have been numerous suggestions that BAEC might become revenue base (if it follows the pattern of the other two leading European FFPs this would not be about status accrual but about either award miles and/or redemptions). While partners are usually excluded from revenue/cost based operations, airlines switching to that model can occasionally take the change as an excuse to worse partner redemptions too.
Surcharges not just US to UK but effectively based on airline carrier surcharges, so BA is the worst currently (to any destination) but a few other airlines impose such high surcharges too.
Finally, there are no blackout dates on BAEC (unlike some other programmes) but availability is limited. On many routes/airlines, 6 seats would effectively never be offered. Also beware that for any partner airline with award "band" systems, only the cheapest band is available for award through BAEC (and generally partners) which is one of the reasons to transfer to he programme of whatever airline you are likely to use most (another is that mileage promotions - be they for accrual or redemption - are typically only for flights on the airline itself and never for partners except within Joint Ventures).
Nov 11, 2018, 3:48 pm
#21
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,517
Nov 11, 2018, 4:08 pm
#22
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 7,875
Yea, AA and AS miles are usually not easily obtained by transferring (Marriott and SPG transfer to any program though, basically, but not that easy to obtain points anymore), so people usually use BA to get redemptions on them.
Nov 11, 2018, 4:18 pm
#23
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
- BA British Airways
- CX Asia Miles https://www.asiamiles.com/en/earn-mi...irlines#redeem
- EK Emirates https://www.emirates.com/us/english/...-airlines.aspx
- SQ Singapore Airlines https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/p...s_AwdChart.pdf