jerryjerry

I just called Amex customer service for my Delta Skymiles card. They verified that buying travelers checks with this card counts as a purchase, there is no fee, and you can do it as often as you like. They also give the approved cash advance allowed while you're waiting for a rep.

Since I just about walk past an Amex travel center every day, I'll be giving this a try. Thanks to original poster for the great info.

JJ

dgordon

You are welcome. Just giving back. If it weren't for flyer talk I would not be lifetime platinum with AA and lots more. The limit is once a week which is about the time it takes for the cash advance to become available again.

erlftex

Speaking of cash, does anyone have any good cash redemption ideas for MR points? I am convinced my Costco Business card-- which gives me a weighted average $.03 per dollar back-- is a better value than my old Starwood (I don't stay in hotels much anymore) or airline miles (I travel up front for work so rarely need upgrades). At 5% cash for gas, 3% for food, 2% for airlines/hotels and 1% on all else I love this card. No status, but I don't care about that.

However, I still have to use an MR card (Platinum) for some purchases, so any good cash redemption ideas?

Helena Handbaskets

Since I haven't seen anyone else ask this yet, i assume the answer must be obvious, but do purchases of NON-AMEX travelers checks also post as a purchase, rather than a cash advance?

dgordon

I don't know of any other place that allows the purchase of travelers checks with a credit card. Do you?

DH

AAA used to for its credit card until recently.

dgordon

My Hilton credit card just closed and I went online to see my statement. I charged $2000 in travelers check purchases (two separate occasions of $1000 each). Well, 6000 points was earned. Can anyone explain why I got 6000 points. I haven't used my card in ages. I thought you get only 1 point per $1 spent which is one of the reasons I don't use it very much. Is there a bonus going on or is that the new ratio - 3 points per $1 spent.

KathyWdrf

On the HHonors Amex, 3 points/dollar is the "normal" earning rate -- EXCEPT at Hilton HHonors hotels, as well as at grocery stores, drugstores, gas stations, restaurants, U.S. Postal Service, and wireless phone bills, where you get 5 points/dollar!

In other words, the HHonors Amex has gotten better! It gives the Starwood Amex a run for its money for certain types of spending. @:-)

shukris

I only charged my SPG card so far for this. I will definitely start on the Hhonors Amex. Already racked up 65000+ hhonors points in only 6 months with minimal spending so far. ^ ^ ^

seoulmanjr

AFAIK, 3pts/$1 or 5pts/$1 have alwasy been the deal for HHonors Amex -- it's the card that I put everything through. Keep in mind that it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison since the redemtion rates for Starwood and Hilton are pretty different as well and you don't have the transferability with the HHonors Amex that you do with SPG.

That said, I far prefer the Hilton card because I far prefer the Hilton resorts and reward opportunities, etc.

But why choose? There's no reason you can't do this TC tango with both cards for $1k/mo...

peace,
~Ben~

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7130e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

I think the answer would be "yes," IF you were able to find another traveler's check vendor willing to accept payment by Amex. But I don't think you will: Why would a vendor of another brand of traveler's checks be willing to pay the credit-card issuer (Amex) the percentage that credit-card issuers charge vendors for purchases?

dgordon

You need a lot more points from Hilton to get a hotel, but if you get more points that is a factor. I think SPG still has opportuntiies at their category 2 and 3 which can't be beat, and I don't know what lowest redemption is for Hilton. When I started doing this last month, I only did my SPG, but then decided that for the same effort I could do both and it keeps my Hilton points alive. Have used my Hilton points in London, and it was quite a savings. Thanks for the explanation. It was such a nice surprise, and certainly nice confirmation that we will actually get points for this "purchase."

KathyWdrf

Here's my ROUGH average valuation:

One Starpoint = 2.5 cents

One HHonors point = .7 cents

So, 3 HHonors points (~2.1 cents) won't necessarily beat 1 Starpoint, but 5 HHonors points (~3.5 cents) definitely beats 1 Starpoint. @:-)

As for the claim by seoulmanjr that "AFAIK, 3pts/$1 or 5pts/$1 have alwasy been the deal for HHonors Amex," that is false. The 5 HHonors points per dollar for certain types of spending is a relatively recent enhancement -- within the last year or so. (The 5 points/dollar used to ONLY apply for stays at HHonors hotels.) I've had both types of Amex for about 5-6 years, and I have recently switched most of my "everyday" spending (the aforementioned grocery stores, drugstores, gas stations, restaurants, U.S. Postal Service, and wireless phone bills) from Starwood to HHonors Amex.

As a comparison of redemption values, I recently spent 40,000 HHonors points per night for two nights at the Times Square Hilton (longer stays would be cheaper per night, of course, on an AXON or GLON-type award). Starwood's comparable NYC hotels are now running some 20,000 Starpoints per night -- which, I realize, is inconsistent with the average point values I put above. All the more reason for me to switch my spending to HHonors Amex!

dgordon

I am most interested in exchanging my starpoints for the low end hotels. 3000 or 4000 depending on the day of the week, but had to go to 7000 for a hotel outside Boston. Could I get the equivalent with Hilton for 9000, 12000, or 21000 points? Are there any hotels that give you rooms for that few points? That would be MY basis of comparison on the value of the points.
Also, I no longer use my SPG for grocery stores as I use my Premier Pass card which gives 2 points per $1, but then frees up 2 flight points of the Thank You Points program.

KathyWdrf

I don't know how recently you've checked Starwood points redemption rates, but they recently increased the redemption category on quite a lot of their hotels (including the low-end ones). On the other hand, you are correct in surmising that Hilton HHonors redemption rates for the low-end hotels are not necessarily always a good value.

Regardless of all that, I think that for this type of purchase (traveler's checks/cheques), where you're getting 1 Starpoint or 3 HHonors points, the Starpoints generally have a slightly higher value (2.5 cents vs. 2.1 cents). But if one had an account they wanted to "top off" (e.g., they needed another easy 3,000 HHonors points to get an award), that might be a determining factor in choosing which card to use.