Alternatives to United Mileage Plus X
Jan 31, 2018, 10:54 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: PSC
Programs: Hilton Diamond/IHG Platinum/DL Plutononium
Posts: 1,728
Alternatives to United Mileage Plus X
Been using MPX to do some MSing, but not terribly fond of UA miles... Does anyone know of any similar app? The way I understand it, UA is able to offer miles for the discounts because they are getting them below face value from the merchants.
Feb 1, 2018, 6:02 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: PSC
Programs: Hilton Diamond/IHG Platinum/DL Plutononium
Posts: 1,728
Feb 1, 2018, 10:37 am
#6
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,952
How is MPX different for your purposes from, say, the Alaska Airlines shipping portal?
https://www.alaskaair.com/MileagePla...hopearn-signin
https://www.alaskaair.com/MileagePla...hopearn-signin
Feb 1, 2018, 1:28 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: PSC
Programs: Hilton Diamond/IHG Platinum/DL Plutononium
Posts: 1,728
How is MPX different for your purposes from, say, the Alaska Airlines shipping portal?
https://www.alaskaair.com/MileagePla...hopearn-signin
https://www.alaskaair.com/MileagePla...hopearn-signin
I just wish Alaska would copy United's app and give me some more options
Feb 1, 2018, 3:59 pm
#8
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 73
Feb 1, 2018, 5:22 pm
#9
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 11
Buying MPX gift cards using Platinum Amex
I didn’t know MPX codes as travel... Does that mean I’ll earn 5x Amex points if I use my Amex platinum card to buy MPX gift cards? 😊
Feb 1, 2018, 7:40 pm
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
MPX does not code as travel with Chase (at least, not on my CSR). It codes as whatever category the store is in. So if I buy a starbucks card through MPX is codes as dining (3x pts on my CSR) but if I buy a Google Play gift card it codes as "other" and I get 1 pt.
On the other hand, with my Amazon Visa (also from Chase), Amazon GCs through MPX do NOT earn 3x pts (they come through as "other purchases"). Presumably they are looking at the payment processor to determine the bonus -- if it's not Amazon, no bonus.
Of course Amex may do things differently. But any broad statements about whether they count as travel or something else is dependent on, at least, the credit card company, and, more likely, the actual card. My suggestion is to buy a small-valued GC for somewhere where you shop anyway, and see how it codes, and don't expect it to be consistent across all your CCs (so if you don't like the result, try a different card)
On the other hand, with my Amazon Visa (also from Chase), Amazon GCs through MPX do NOT earn 3x pts (they come through as "other purchases"). Presumably they are looking at the payment processor to determine the bonus -- if it's not Amazon, no bonus.
Of course Amex may do things differently. But any broad statements about whether they count as travel or something else is dependent on, at least, the credit card company, and, more likely, the actual card. My suggestion is to buy a small-valued GC for somewhere where you shop anyway, and see how it codes, and don't expect it to be consistent across all your CCs (so if you don't like the result, try a different card)
Feb 1, 2018, 9:26 pm
#12
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 116
MPX does not code as travel with Chase (at least, not on my CSR). It codes as whatever category the store is in. So if I buy a starbucks card through MPX is codes as dining (3x pts on my CSR) but if I buy a Google Play gift card it codes as "other" and I get 1 pt.
On the other hand, with my Amazon Visa (also from Chase), Amazon GCs through MPX do NOT earn 3x pts (they come through as "other purchases"). Presumably they are looking at the payment processor to determine the bonus -- if it's not Amazon, no bonus.
Of course Amex may do things differently. But any broad statements about whether they count as travel or something else is dependent on, at least, the credit card company, and, more likely, the actual card. My suggestion is to buy a small-valued GC for somewhere where you shop anyway, and see how it codes, and don't expect it to be consistent across all your CCs (so if you don't like the result, try a different card)
On the other hand, with my Amazon Visa (also from Chase), Amazon GCs through MPX do NOT earn 3x pts (they come through as "other purchases"). Presumably they are looking at the payment processor to determine the bonus -- if it's not Amazon, no bonus.
Of course Amex may do things differently. But any broad statements about whether they count as travel or something else is dependent on, at least, the credit card company, and, more likely, the actual card. My suggestion is to buy a small-valued GC for somewhere where you shop anyway, and see how it codes, and don't expect it to be consistent across all your CCs (so if you don't like the result, try a different card)
Feb 1, 2018, 10:11 pm
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IAH
Programs: DL DM, Hyatt Ist-iest, Stariott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 12,783
MPX does not code as travel with Chase (at least, not on my CSR). It codes as whatever category the store is in. So if I buy a starbucks card through MPX is codes as dining (3x pts on my CSR) but if I buy a Google Play gift card it codes as "other" and I get 1 pt.
On the other hand, with my Amazon Visa (also from Chase), Amazon GCs through MPX do NOT earn 3x pts (they come through as "other purchases"). Presumably they are looking at the payment processor to determine the bonus -- if it's not Amazon, no bonus.
Of course Amex may do things differently. But any broad statements about whether they count as travel or something else is dependent on, at least, the credit card company, and, more likely, the actual card. My suggestion is to buy a small-valued GC for somewhere where you shop anyway, and see how it codes, and don't expect it to be consistent across all your CCs (so if you don't like the result, try a different card)
On the other hand, with my Amazon Visa (also from Chase), Amazon GCs through MPX do NOT earn 3x pts (they come through as "other purchases"). Presumably they are looking at the payment processor to determine the bonus -- if it's not Amazon, no bonus.
Of course Amex may do things differently. But any broad statements about whether they count as travel or something else is dependent on, at least, the credit card company, and, more likely, the actual card. My suggestion is to buy a small-valued GC for somewhere where you shop anyway, and see how it codes, and don't expect it to be consistent across all your CCs (so if you don't like the result, try a different card)
Feb 2, 2018, 3:51 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
For Visa and Mastercard credit cards, the underlying merchant category is passed through, but not the specific merchant. That's why Amazon GC's don't earn an Amazon bonus on your card, because it's not recognized per se as Amazon. So a gift card through MPX for a restaurant like Dominos Pizza, or whatever will earn the respective category bonus for restaurants of whatever card it's charged to. If it's a Chase freedom during restaurant quarter, it'll earn 5x, if it's a CSR it's 3x, and so on and so forth. And yes I know this from personal experience. I like mediocre cheap pizza when it comes with a side of bonus miles.
1. Dominoes is great cheap pizza
2. CPK is pretty good for something that looks healthier but probably isn't.
Feb 7, 2018, 11:51 am
#15
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: TYS/BNA/ATL
Programs: UR, TYP, MR, C1, AA, UA, WN, BA, AS, AV, AC, Choice, Hyatt, IHG, Hilton, Wyndham, Marriott
Posts: 1,972
In my experience:
Citi AT&T Access More is 3x for everything on MPX
Amex PRG is 3x on everything
Amex BGR is 3x on everything if you select airfare as your 3x category
Amex Platinum is 5x on everything
The rest of Visa/MC/Discover depends on a category of the merchant from which they buy GC.
Citi AT&T Access More is 3x for everything on MPX
Amex PRG is 3x on everything
Amex BGR is 3x on everything if you select airfare as your 3x category
Amex Platinum is 5x on everything
The rest of Visa/MC/Discover depends on a category of the merchant from which they buy GC.