Thought I'd ask the experts. What is the best "real" return for "cashing" in ClickRewards points? Is the exchange rate of 1:1.5 for Marriott Rewards better or the 1:1 exchange rate for FF programs. We have plenty of points and miles so we do not specifically need them in one over the other. Of course, one can never have enough of either! Any opinions?

I am thrilled that this is one of the few programs I have found that allow 'straight' 1:1 for FF (esp. AA)!

But you have to review what your plans/habits and goals are.

So many programs are eliminating the direct transfer to FF -- developing their own 'travel rewards' programs-- that I find the direct FF trade the most valued, for me!

I was looking to have to trade many Amex rewards points (without a TWA account) and ended up making a spreadsheet of what the various potential hotel programs offered � it was rather wild to actually figure out their conversion rates to airline miles, etc (Bass actually ended up high on the list, something I would not have expected!). It will be up to you to focus on what your goals are, but I could find many programs that would allow me 1:1 (if not better) for hotels, but wanted me to use their travel programs for air -- therefore no direct transfer to FF.

I am far from an 'expert' (and not really a FT, earned only Marriott Plat. by stays), but the attempt to not lose these Amex points has caused me to do much research. Interesting that Hilton was easy to convince to 'merge' my account with my fathers (who has passed away) and AA will cost me $50 to do the same. I would say just decide what you want to do most (stay, fly, spend) and then go from there! Most conversion rates are the pits -- program to program (beyond ClickRewards), so look at all your options and then place the points where you want to go. Heck if you are interested in AA, you can use the click rewards to buy gift certificates and then use them to earn partners!

There are so many options that no one can say what it �best� for YOU. But I can wish you good luck of figuring it out! � I still haven�t figured it for myself!

Three other things to keep in mind regarding Clickrewards redemptions.

First, Clickrewards has occasionally done a double redemption special where you can get 2 miles for one clickmile. This would suggest that you might want to save them in an account hoping for this to occur. (Latest one was with Starwood, I think. More on that below.)

Second, on a countervailing point, as have many of the dot.coms, the parent of Clickrewards, Netcentives, has seen its financial status crumble over the last year. IPO a couple of years ago at $12, went as high as $80 per share, and now trades at about $.65. However, it does have significant ongoing contractual commitments, such as doing the system work for AOLAadvantage. So, with the financial concerns, people might want to get their clickrewards out as soon as they earn them.

Third, points can be transferred to Starwood on a 1:1 basis. If you have an active Starwood account, it makes sense to transfer them directly to Starwood and let them sit there. You avoid the financial uncertainty regarding the company, you still have the ability to transfer out to various airline accounts, and you have the possibility of increasing their value by use of the Starwood 20,000--->25,000 airline miles transfer. The only thing you lose by transferring to Starwood is the possibility of a Double Clicks redemption at some point in time. (Which is why the double Starwood redemption Click did a year or so ago was the best of all possible worlds. I took 10,000 Clicks, turned it into 20,000 Starwood, and turned that into 25,000 airline miles!)

Those are my thoughts on what to do with Clickrewards.

Djlawman

Thanks to both of you. I wish I had found FT before this spring! That was a sweet deal on the doubling. You did just give me an ides though. I'm pursuing the 20 Partner deal over at American Air and if I transfer 250 Clickrewards over to Starwood they will transfer automatically over to AA. That's how I set it up over the phone. I never stay at Starwood properies because all our cookies are pretty tied into Marriott's jar!


Woops, I don't want to give out any misinformation. I have asked the AA board their opinion on this transfer of points to miles and it may not work this way. I guess I'll make a phone call.

[This message has been edited by msrohud (edited 06-28-2001).]

Got my answer from the starwood board so I don't want anyone to think this transfer will work. So much for my bright idea!

If you are a Starwood gold member (you may be able to get a gold referral in the Starwood forum), you could transfer 1500 Clickmiles to 1500 Starwood points, and then 1500 Starwood points to 1500 AA miles. This will give you the Starwood partner for the AA 20 partner promo.