kauppias

Moving points out of AX is not as easy as I thought 😁😁🤷‍♂️

Phones are congested and online errors out

remymartin

With current MR valuation I used TPG (sorry) May valuations when available and 0.8 for Finnair:

programme, min transfer, value / point, value / MR
BA Executive Club, 1000, 1,5, 0,012
Finnair Plus, 1000, 1,35, 0,0108
Iberia Plus, 1000, 1,5, 0,012
Delta SkyMiles, 3000, 1,41, 0,0094
MaRiot, 10, 0,84, 0,0084
Radisson Rewards, 2, 0,4, 0,008
Flying Blue, 3000, 1,2, 0,008
SAS Eurobonus, 1000, 0,8, 0,0064
Hilton Honors, 2500, 0,6, 0,006

kauppias

Chat was fast and efficient 👍

Now 2 points left 😁😁


with this AX became a lounge pass for me and a travel insurance card. I WILL REEVALUATE this in a month or two but its not looking good for AX 😁😁

WilcoRoger

Al Maha (Dubai) - paid 70k point/night, cash price 1200€+/night

Matild Palace, Budapest - paid 40k/night + SNA, suite price started at 2200€/night

These are of course extreme values, but I've been a quite happy camper with Marriott for the last 4-5 years.

kauppias

For what its worth, my AX points I transferred yesterday are now FB miles in my FB account TODAY!! Very fast 👍👍

Mouke

BTW, Is FB a good program? Is it worth joining?

kauppias

it has its benefits, I would not join it just to join it, but if you find yourself flying ST airlines then why not.

I decided to fly them last summer when ay pissed me off. I ENDED up flying all the way to their Platinum Ultimate level which is their LUMO. Very nice service.

Earnings are bleak though 😁

Mouke

i should think about it. Ive heard they have really good sweetspots for award flights.

kanamurva

Ok so let me get my math straight with these existing rules before devaluation:

Marriott : AX is 1:1 points. So 40000 points means 40000 € spent with AX. If you find a 400€ hotel for those points, your moneyback is 1 %. Sure, it’s double to the direct payment value of 0,5 %. But there are a couple of buts:

- finding those good deals is a hit and miss

- very ofter you don’t have the optimal amount of points: you either have too few or too many. If too few, you can’t take advantage and if too many, you risk that some get outdated

- they might devaluate

- you might not make your trip

- if you’re not familiar with the program, there’s a lot of homework to do to get to know it

- those deal are always somewhat theoretical: with your own money you could often stay in a 200€ hotel and be equally happy

My point is: when the money value is actually 0,5 %, the quoted good value is at best execution 1 % but could be a lot less depending how you play the game. In this scenario and for me personally that 0,5 % direct cashback doesn’t sound that bad.

Since we’re at AY forum, a quick comparison to AY credit cards, if someone owns both and is contemplating, which one to use for everyday life:

The new Aktia card gives 120000 ay points for 40000 € spent. If you buy 120 000 points from AY with -50 % off discount (which has been around a couple of times lately and which I consider the real value of those points), those are worth 772,5 €. So 1,9 % cashback. Of course same questions arouse with ay points but at least for me they are more familiar than Marriott points.

So my opinion in a nutshell: changing existing AX points to marriott might be a good deal if you already know the program, maybe already have points there and know that 1% deals exist. Making more points by using AX is not a good deal if you also have AY card. Even the old SEB mastercard was better.

Please let me know if I understand something wrong here.

kauppias

I THINK The best value in the Marriott realm comes when you can combine the 5th night free with reservations. I MYSELF only redeems catering 1 and 2 hotels, like I tampere the courtyard was 40000 points for 5 nights vs 134€ a night and in the US I have stayed 5 nights at 40k in a hotel thats 176usd a nights plus tax so just on point of view.

As per 0.5% cash back I just do not see ANY point myself in using a card that only gives me 0,5% thats just MY OPINION, I maximize rewards and currently I use crypto cards to get 3-5% back and ay aktia and Nordea to get my ay points...

If you spend 50k on aktia thats a free ay J award to asia or NA so there is significant value there vs 250€ cash back on the AX...


So now the question is for those keeping AX are the other benefits worth 780€s in annual fees, and thats a very personal valuation...

For me I use the insurance worth ~80-100€ a year max
priority pass is about a 100-150€ value to me since I have lounge key unlimited for myself anyways so its mainly in use when I have guests... which is not often
plaza premium access is another 80-150€ value
Wine and view maybe 40 or 60€

Fast track at HEL perhaps but I get it with all alliances right now anyways

Hotel memberships only Melia and radisson gold is useful as I qualify for the rest but for many thats useful so another 40-60€ here...


But as a points collection tool for me I can say AX IS DEAD...

I will most likely use it like hell for 1 or 2 months now and then cancel when I am sick of wine and view and PP arrivals 😁😁😁

I highly recommend doing the math to everyone to see what value YOU get from AX plat, thats the best way, if you dont have alot of memberships or status it offers ALOT more value,

lkrt

When was the monthly fee raised to 65 EUR? I really don't think the increase is justified with enhanced exchange rates and benefits...

WilcoRoger

As for the 0,5% cashback - with the green card the first 18k€ (!) spend just offsets the 90€ annual fee (I think it's 90€ p.a) For other colors it's even higher.

So I'm afraid it's bah-bah AX

kauppias

as of September 1 I beleive.

So lower the benefits and raise the cost... 🤷‍♂️😁

WilcoRoger

I mostly agree on Marriott - it’s not worth it, if you are not into the program otherwise. If you are, it might offer good opportunities.

But let’s not forget the airline redemptions - though worse, than elsewhere, some of them were still acceptable value, namely BAEC.

The conversion rate is the same as AY (5:4) but as I value Avios at three times higher than AY points, it’s still an acceptable deal. Not after the latest devaluation, though. I will probably empty my MR account into BAEC.

nordic

i think taxes are a lot higher on BA LH tickets compared with AY. I only looked JFK flights from Helsinki.