This is the type of Point.com trade that works, and it's even better if you can trade at a ratio more beneficial than 1:1.

Everyone keeps saying that point.com is a total rip off but there are ways to find value for some people.

My wife traded 12k Delta pesos for 15k AA and paid one cent each she can book a ow to Europe on AA for 15k good deal IMHO

I am glad it's working for you/some people.

To get the hit on US GS I even decided to dive in and give em one more try and it actually worked. That said, I too will tread lightly for things like that going forward. I see they have in fact revamped their site and appear to have things more organized, etc.

BUT, as stated earlier and in other arenas, this company has a horrid history of not following up with customers WHEN there are problems. Just be careful in case that's STILL the case.

These days I actually judge companies and my experience as a customer not on how well things went in my purchasing experience, but how they handle things if something goes wrong. I don't mind if something goes wrong... in fact I almost hope it does. Then I can see how they deal with it/me.

To further this point, there was a special on CNBC the other night called Customer Dis-satisfaction. It had to do with the call centers in other countries and their perception of us, our complaints, their ways of working. It also got into some of the big complaints customers have had with obtuse corporations and their call centers.

While getting into the fact that many call center employees and managers cannot or will not do certain things for the customer because of policy, the show failed to reveal one thing:

The theory that the company itself hog ties those employees so they do not have the power nor wherewithal to help customers with problems, and that is why everybody gets upset (CSr and customer alike). It is therefore the company, its often badly designed policies (that you do not know all about til it's too late) and its way of presenting these rules that are the bad thing, not the CSRs. The CSRs are just rule followers. Some customers are irate or unreasonable. But in general, many companies DO just plain STINK! In my experience, and maybe it's changed now for the better, Points.com fell into the STINK category.

I've used it to keep track of balances, but the only real reason I use it is to liquidate BBrewards points. I rarely if ever shop there, so its nice to get an extra .5miles per $ spent there.

BBRewards gives 1 point per $1. Sure I can convert these back to 2% cash back (500 points=$10), but I never shop at BB, and also this purchase was below that threshold (netted 450 points), so I'd end up with $5 to spend at BBuy, which expires in 90 days, and 200 orphaned points or I'd have an orphaned 450 points.

Points.com got me an extra 220 US Air miles for the 450 points. Not a great value, but helps to make the overall purchase that much sweeter. Was a purchase for a friend so the miles were all "free" in essence.

I never thought about this. Smart.

Wow, I'm amazed that she got such a good deal. Better than 1:1 for DL->AA is terrific! I've posted a lot of offers at just below 1:1 (e.g., 12k DL for 10k AA) and not had any takers. I always see tons of offers for terrible ratios (e.g., 10k DL for 5k AA).

We have several other trades listed and waiting good luck!

Well, you always have the option of posting your own trades, you know. My first trade was accepted (it was 1:1).

For my 2nd and 3rd, I opted for equal fees on both sides of the trade, which turns out to be a bit under 1:1 (10k CO for 9k AA and 19k CO for 16k DL), so we'll wait and see what happens on those. If they don't budge, I'll re-post as 1:1. Stupid Delta's $30 surcharge.

I think a lot of people post what they want but don't see consider what the fees are for the other party in the transaction and whether it's a good deal (relatively speaking in the points.com world) for them.

I may make a suggestion to points.com to clarify what the other side of the transaction would pay if the trade's accepted, because I think it could give some people pause about posting such bad trades. Or not.

Um, I know I can post my own; my text that you quoted said I'd posted a lot of offers.

Sounds like a good idea. I try to post an offer where chunk of miles the other party gives up isn't too large but also the fee isn't too disproportionate, but maybe I'm not looking at all the factors. I didn't know about a Delta $30 surcharge.

FWIW, all my trades went, though I did break the larger ones in two. It seems that ones where the fee is around $50-90 seem to be more successful.

Some of the trades I see clearly have no sense of value of what they are asking the other person to give up.

1 Accor credit for 10K Delta Skymiles + $130? I don't think so.

So long as there's a relative parity, I'm happy to pile all my gold into one pile.

I know I'm late to the party on this, but I'm glad others find a little bit of value here. As someone who has a foreign SO and doesn't spend a lot hence is not eligible for the big bonuses, dining travel or otherwise, I need an alternative to combine my smallish points balances into an actionable number of points.
Here's hoping my 1:1 Delta/CO goes through.

I just completed trading 4k Delta for 7k AA plus $70. Transfer cost. I am happy

I think the sweet spot for points.com is:

1) transfers where both sides pay similar amounts for similar quantities;
2) where the fees are < $100 for each side;
3) larger transactions broken up into smaller ones, as there's more likely people wanting to trade 5k miles than 25k.

When I do a "swap" in points.com, Can I actually swap the points to a reward membership program person under another person's name?

Like I registered two programs in points.com. One is Aeroplan, with registered name Bill, and Asiamiles with registered name Colin. Can I do a swap between these two accounts?

Thanks!

Please follow this thread in the MilesBuzz! forum.

Spiff, S.P.A.M. moderator