Amex Hotel Collection reservations, just like Fine Hotels & Resorts, require a prepayment if you want to use your annual US$200 Hotel Credit, so walking away from a reservation isn’t as easy and requires some effort.

Usually, I only go after such a stressful exercise if it’s absolutely worth it, but in this case, I felt that the property credit would have been completely wasted, and I really didn’t want to stay another night there, so I decided to go for it.

I have stayed at this Grand Hyatt hotel multiple times, and in fact, it was one of the best hotels in Shanghai, with an excellent Club Lounge in the past. Both have been wiped out, and the service culture and quality have been absolutely decimated ever since the pandemic. Now, sadly, the hotel is only a shadow of its former self.

Here is the booking as I originally placed it:

Minus $200 credit, this meant $110/night for the Grand Hyatt and $100 F&B credit to use at the hotel’s outlets, which was an extremely attractive deal to me. You can add your loyalty number to THC bookings with Hyatt and also earn stay credit (doesn’t go for all THC bookings with other brands so careful with that). I was upgraded to a Grand Suite as well, so pre-stay, I was very positive about what to expect.

But it quickly turned sour upon arrival. Only two employees at the front desk, a third that didn’t speak any English. The elevator to the Club Lounge on the 83rd floor for check-in requires a keycard, but no staff is around to let you go up. I went to the 85th floor, where there is a restaurant, and tried to use the floor phone to call someone up. The phone was a piece of broken plastic that didn’t work. A restaurant employee eventually called someone from the lounge up with a key card.

Talking about the lounge, this is representative of what was on offer at the Grand Club later that evening:

Absolutely inedible slob. Other items were either out entirely or looked similar. I grabbed some sparkling water and just left trying to utilize my dining credit.

Unfortunately, the hotel doesn’t have any great F&B spots anymore, and the only option given to me was the buffet restaurant, which didn’t have any seats available that evening, or the Oyster Bar on the 85th floor – the supposed “Best restaurant at the hotel”. I walked in and the first thing I heard was kids watching cartoons on a tablet, I left immediately.

At this point, I told the manager to get in touch with Amex to have them refund the reservation, and I’d just pay them for the daily member rate in cash (1080 RMB) for one night. I left the hotel and went to the adjacent IFC mall to grab something proper to eat.

After a walk, I got back three hours later only to find that the front desk manager had done absolutely nothing since I left him, at which point I called the Hyatt Concierge hotline to open a file and put the matter on record in case it went sour later.

The next morning, I talked to a senior manager at the hotel, who got the file submitted in the meantime. He agreed to have Amex refund it and told me he’d get in touch with them. 10 minutes later he called back and told me they currently have a “system error” and can’t do anything.

Of course that’s total BS – the fastest I ever got someone on the phone and dealt with reservations was 10-15 mins. I called myself, and the Amex Travel agent was really helpful; I gave her the direct line of the manager, and she called him. Another deception on his part happened when he told the Amex agent the refund would be 110 RMB, which confused her as that’s like 14 bucks.

When she told me that, I put him on speakerphone and ripped him a new one until he finally told her what was earlier agreed to – authorizing a full refund to Amex and a direct payment for the first night from me to the property.

The refund arrived within 36 hours:

I decided to book the Shangri-La Shanghai nearby for one night, which came to $195 under the FHR program, where I got a nice room, breakfast, and late checkout under the FHR benefits together with the F&B credit. This hotel has EXCELLENT food and beverage outlets, and despite being an older property, it’s still one of the best in Shanghai.

I really wish the Grand Hyatt gets it together again, finds some proper associates, and invests in the upkeep and cleanliness of public facilities. It’s a shame that this property came down to such a low level.

Conclusion

This was really a headache and probably not honestly really worth all the effort on my end, but I just didn’t want to stay at the Grand Hyatt anymore, considering the condition the hotel is in. It was really shocking and there appears to be a talent crunch for hospitality workers in China that’s even worse than pre-Covid.

Anyone with a bit of intelligence, language ability, and talent goes to other industries where a better salary is paid, which totally makes sense.

I was quite happy that American Express was understanding and agreed to process the refund without any questions or complaints. The hotel credit is finally gone now, and I don’t have to think about it anymore for the 2024 calendar year. I might book more FHR/THC rates, but as long as you don’t need to use your credit, there is no need to prepay for these reservations.

Source

Many of these credits are based on the calendar year, so if you don’t use them right now, they will disappear into thin air, and you lose whatever full or residual value is left of them.

A variety of premium credit cards in the U.S. market (and abroad as well nowadays), offer an annual travel credit that ranges between $100-$300 in value and that can be used in many different ways, some more flexible than others.

Last month, many readers inquired how to use their credits at the very last minute, and exactly for this purpose, I suggest using them as soon as there is a decent opportunity!

While many card products officially say they allow the credits to be used for incidentals such as baggage fees, upgrades, and lounge passes, it’s often possible to also use the credits for gift cards/travel credits, which then, in turn, can be turned into flexible free flights that also collect miles.

American Express offers this Airline Fee Credit in the form of a reimbursement after transactions are charged to the eligible card account, and in the past, it worked quite well, for example, with the United Airlines Travel Bank in single amounts of up to $100. There have been reports of this working on and off, but I never had a problem getting the credit.

Getting reimbursements for gift cards is officially no longer possible as the purchase now codes differently, but buying actual tickets that cost below $100 will usually see the reimbursement kick in. The same goes for paying taxes on award tickets.

As far as Amex goes, the Platinum Card has a $200 annual airline credit, and Corporate Gold comes with $100 that runs based on the calendar year, which means if you have a new card account, you can actually get the credit twice within the first membership year that overlaps Jan 1.

The Amex Platinum US$200 hotel credit for Fine Hotels and Resorts (1 Night minimum), as well as The Hotel Collection (2 Night minimum), is probably the most valuable credit that should definitely be used.

I wrote an update on this previously:

There should be something for everyone as far as the hotels are concerned, and even if you don’t want to use the hotel stay right now, you can always prepay for a future date, and the credit applies as long as you book before the end of December of each calendar year, again PLEASE don’t wait that long.

The Amex Green offers another $100 for Loungebuddy, which also counts per calendar year.

Another Amex Platinum item that should be used is the SAKS 5th Ave credit of $50 bi-annually. You can get $50 reimbursed for your purchases between JAN-JUN and JUL-DEC.

Usually, when I’m in the U.S. I just go to a store and buy a $50 gift card and pool them after a while for a bigger purchase but that wasn’t possible last time so I ordered a pair of swim shorts on sale:

I used Rakuten for a 10% additional cashback on this order during Cyber Monday.

Other cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, have a $300 travel credit, which is generally much more flexible based on their interpretation of “Travel”:

Merchants in the travel category include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages.

With the Chase CSR it doesn’t matter when you use your $300 credit because it doesn’t run based on the calendar year but the membership year.

Any purchases (not just ” airlines incidentals” in these categories will be automatically adjusted until the $300 are used up, however the credit runs per revolving card member anniversary so even the first year you can only get it once. The advantage of the Chase credit (or disadvantage, depending how you look at it) is that these funds don’t expire on DEC 31st but are based on your membership year.

Check if your credit card has an annual allowance for travel credits and then the expiry date of it!

Last year I used my Amex credit on the Platinum Card for a renewal of my CLEAR membership (they offer an additional discount for United members).

Do I use CLEAR frequently? Maybe a few times per year, as I’m not living in the U.S. or visit all too frequently, but it is better than nothing, and I like the service. As soon as my membership expires I’ll renew it again.

To avoid leaving quite a bit of money on the table, it’s important to also focus on using up the Dining or streaming credits each month. The good thing about the dining credit, for example, on my Amex Bonvoy Brilliant, is that it can be used internationally as well and not just with U.S. outlets.

However, if your card credit is valid only at U.S. outlets and you are abroad, reloading your Starbucks card with the respective amount usually triggers the credit. Starbucks only allows access via VPN if you’re located in some foreign countries (Thailand, for example), so either use that or have a buddy log in and make the purchase for you.

There are many, many cards that offer annual credits, and you should familiarize yourself in detail with what the card offers, especially if it’s expensive as far as the annual fee is concerned. I focused so much on the Amex Platinum because it has really become an epic coupon book rather than a credit (charge) card. The amount of planning and headache associated with that card has become staggering.

Conclusion

These annual credits are quite useful if you apply them properly, and with so many different credit card products around that most of us carry in our wallets, it pays off to know all the benefits associated with each card. It would be a shame if these credits would go unused.

Keep in mind it takes a few days until the charge actually hits your account and then another couple of days to get your adjustment, so it’s really best to get them out of the way early and definitely not wait until December this time around.

I’d also take the opportunity to evaluate which credit cards and memberships have been most beneficial to you and if it’s maybe time to cancel the one or other card to avoid paying the annual fee needlessly.

Source

The 30% American Express to Hilton Honors conversion bonus is valid through December 31, 2023. 

You can access Hilton Honors here.

READ MORE: Hilton Honors Rate & Bonus Points Offers

American Express offers these bonus conversions on a revolving basis throughout the year and in various countries (different transfer conditions apply to each country’s Membership Rewards program, so check your personal offers online).

This 30% Hilton Honors transfer bonus is targeted to U.S.-based Membership Rewards members and can be found in the online account under the Membership Rewards section.

If you don’t have your membership number added yet, you need to scroll to the bottom of the partner page to see the offer for hotel partner programs:

You can then select to transfer the appropriate amount of points to Hilton if desired:

We have covered when and how you should use Hilton Honors points several times, and American Express offering a 30% bonus for converting points doesn’t mean you should do that.

Hilton has points capped in place for standard rooms at all hotels, but at the same time, the standard room point costs are very high in many hotels compared to paid rates.

We are usually left with two scenarios when using Honors points is a sound choice:

1. When Paid Rates Are Very High

When paid rates are astronomical and standard rooms are still available, you can redeem them at the set rate.

2. At “Aspirational Properties”

You can save significantly using your points at Hilton’s most sought-after properties in the Maldives, Seychelles, French Polynesia, and even Mexico.

Conclusion

I would not convert points from a flexible program into a partner one unless I have a clear plan of when and where to burn them. You should not just convert when there is a conversion bonus.

Also, always compare the cash rates to the award pricing to make sense of the current ratio and see if it’s worth redeeming points, let alone transferring them over.

These are the Terms & Conditions related to this offer:

Source

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has several sweet spots in terms of partner redemptions that members can take advantage of in conjunction with this Amex transfer promotion. 

These transfer bonus campaigns are offered by Amex on a regular basis and this bonus for transfers will be available through December 31, 2023.

You can find the transfer option in your online Amex card account under Membership Rewards – Airline Transfers :

While it says that transfers can take up to 48 hours, my experience is that Amex to Virgin usually transfers instantly and is available in the account in less than a minute of refreshing by logging out and back in.

You can, therefore, check availability, put something on hold with a reservation agent, and transfer the miles in real time.

In order to book ANA and many other partners, you need to call Virgin Flying Club, as it’s not possible to book through the online search engine.

You can access the Virgin Flying Club Rewards page here to see what partner redemption options are attractive to you, and of course, redeeming for Virgin flights is always an option as well.

I previously managed to book a great ANA First Class award using Virgin miles from Los Angeles via Tokyo to Thailand, which I featured in our series Award Success:

If you’re planning to use the miles for ANA flights, I want to emphasize that they have recently increased their fuel surcharges massively, as I’ve covered in a separate article:

Tickets issued by Virgin Atlantic will incur these fees, unlike, for example, tickets issued by United or Lifemiles, so that’s something to consider.

Keep in mind that Virgin recently (two months ago, in March of this year) also devalued awards for ANA overnight without any advance notice, mainly affecting First Class redemptions:

Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to find ANA award availability at the moment, although it does exist sporadically.

As an added benefit, however, Virgin Atlantic is now a member of SkyTeam, and that has opened the door to additional redemption partners. The best is to not transfer points until you have found a flight option.

This conversion bonus is usually available 2-3x per year from Membership Rewards USA, so that’s something to think about when considering whether you should convert the points or not.

One huge benefit is that the transfer is instant, meaning you can call Virgin to check availability and set up a reservation while, during the same call, transferring the points and issuing the ticket within a couple of minutes.

Be prepared to wait quite some time on the phone, though, to get to a live agent. Sometimes I waited 20 minutes, sometimes over an hour.

Conclusion

This could be a great opportunity for those with sufficient Amex points in their account to get themselves on the way to a nice Business/First Class trip to/via Japan at some of the lowest mileage rates out there.

Remember that Virgin Flying Club will levy the full fuel surcharges, and availability should be checked beforehand over the phone to make sure it matches with those displayed on Star Alliance availability tools such as United Mileage Plus.

These are the Terms & Conditions for this offer:

You must be enrolled in Virgin Atlantic Flying Club® in order to participate in this offer, visit https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/flying-club.html to enroll. If INVEST for Amex by Vanguard, American Express® Rewards Checking, and/or American Express® Business Checking are your only Membership Rewards® Products, you are not eligible for this offer at this time. American Express is not responsible for availability of flight, accommodations or any other rewards in the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Once you have transferred Membership Rewards points, they become subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and cannot be transferred back to your Membership Rewards program account. Taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges, apply on Virgin Atlantic redemption flights and upgrades. See Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Terms and Conditions for details. Individual air carrier restrictions may apply.

Minimum transfer is 1,000 Membership Rewards points. Redeem for this exclusive offer from 12:00 a.m. MT on 12/1/2023 to 11:59 p.m. MT on 12/31/2023 to receive 30% additional Virgin Points. Additional Virgin Points will be awarded at the time of transfer. Generally, transfers are immediate but please allow up to 72 hours for the transfer to be completed. POID: GFEL: 0071

Source

Additionally, there is also an Amex MR promotional bonus of 20% to Marriott Bonvoy going on that ends on November 30th. 

American Express offers these bonus conversions on a revolving basis throughout the year and in various countries (different transfer conditions apply to each country’s Membership Rewards program, so check your personal offers online).

This time, the Membership Rewards (US) to Hilton Honors conversions are bonused by 30% if executed by December 31, 2023.

You can access Hilton Honors here.

This current 30% Hilton Honors transfer bonus is targeted to U.S.-based Membership Rewards members and can be found in the online account under the Membership Rewards section.

If you don’t have your membership number added yet, you need to scroll all the way to the bottom of the partner page to see the offer for hotel partner programs:

You can then select to transfer the appropriate amount of points to Hilton if desired:

We have covered when and how you should use Hilton Honors points several times, and American Express offering a 30% bonus for converting points doesn’t mean you should do that.

Hilton has points capped in place for standard rooms at all hotels, but at the same time, the standard room point costs are very high in many hotels compared to paid rates.

We are usually left with two scenarios when using Honors points is a sound choice:

1. When Paid Rates Are Very High

When paid rates are astronomical and standard rooms are still available, you can redeem them at the set rate.

2. At “Aspirational Properties”

You can save significantly using your points at Hilton’s most sought-after properties in the Maldives, Seychelles, French Polynesia, and even Mexico.

A 30% bonus means that you will receive 2600 Marriott Bonvoy points per 1000 Membership Rewards points transferred. Even with the bonus, that isn’t a great ratio considering the overall value of Hilton points, one of the most flexible points currencies out there.

The promotion ends on December 31, 2023.

The Green and Gold cards do, however, have many multipliers in place, such as for travel and restaurant categories (the Platinum card just has 5x for flights).

Keep in mind that with the plain Amex Hilton Honors cards, you earn attractive multipliers per US$ spent at Hilton properties and other categories, such as dining.

The only way this transfer from a plain Membership Rewards account could be worthwhile is when earning so many MR points with basic spending on multipliers that it makes sense to transfer. It is a rather unrealistic scenario because, in such a case, having a Hilton card would likely be much better.

Conclusion

I would not convert points from a flexible program into a partner one unless I have a clear plan of when and where to burn them. You should not just convert when there is a conversion bonus.

Also, always compare the cash rates to the award pricing to make sense of the current ratio and see if it’s actually worth redeeming points, let alone transferring them over.

These are the Terms & Conditions related to this offer:

Source

Additionally, there is also an additional Amex MR promotional bonus of 25% to JetBlue going on that likewise ends on November 30th. 

American Express offers these bonus conversions on a revolving basis throughout the year and in various countries (different transfer conditions apply to each country’s Membership Rewards program, so check your personal offers online).

The last time this offer came around, they actually offered 25%, and now it’s just 20%, so it’s even less attractive than the previous (bad) offer.

This current 25% Marriott Bonvoy transfer bonus is targeted to U.S.-based Membership Rewards members and can be found in the online account under the Membership Rewards section.

If you don’t have your membership number added yet, you need to scroll all the way to the bottom of the partner page to see the offer for hotel partner programs:

A 20% bonus means that you will receive 1200 Marriott Bonvoy points per 1000 Membership Rewards points transferred, so 1.20 points per US$ spent on categories that don’t earn a multiplier. Even with the bonus, that is a very bad ratio considering the overall value of MR points, one of the most flexible points currencies out there.

The promotion ends on November 30, 2023.

The Green and Gold cards do, however, have many multipliers in place, such as for travel and restaurant categories (the Platinum card just has 5x for flights).

Keep in mind that with the plain Amex Bonvoy card, you already earn 2 points per US$ spent and 6 points per US$ spent at Marriott properties. The only way this transfer from a plain Membership Rewards account could be worthwhile is when earning so many MR points with basic spending on multipliers that it makes sense to transfer. It is a rather unrealistic scenario because, in such a case, having a Bonvoy card would likely be much better.

It does, however have a small side benefit, namely that you can transfer to airlines that are currently not partnering with Membership Rewards such as Alaska Airlines, American Airlines or United Mileage Plus. (Similar to other banks such as Chase not partnering with ANA etc).

Conclusion

I usually wouldn’t transfer Membership Rewards to Marriott as the ratio is really horrible. Unless under very narrow circumstances, I don’t believe there is much purpose and value to be found.

If you’re after Marriott points, I suggest applying for the Amex or Chase Bonvoy cards outright and staying away from transferring both Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards to the program.

These are the Terms & Conditions of this transfer campaign:

You must be enrolled in Marriott Bonvoy™ in order to participate in this offer, visit https://www.marriott.com/loyalty.mi to enroll. American Express is not responsible for availability, accommodations or any other rewards in the Marriott Bonvoy program. Once you have transferred Membership Rewards points, they become subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Marriott Bonvoy program and cannot be transferred back to your Membership Rewards program account. See Marriott Bonvoy Terms and Conditions for details. This offer is non-transferable and may not be combined with other offers. American Express in its sole discretion reserves the right to alter and or terminate these offers at any time. To be eligible to receive these offers, all Card accounts linked to an enrollee’s Membership Rewards program account must not be canceled, past due or have a return payment at the time of point redemption. Minimum transfer is 1,000 Membership Rewards points. Redeem for this exclusive offer from 12:00 a.m. MT on 11/1/2023 to 11:59 p.m. MT on 11/30/2023 to receive 20% additional Marriott Bonvoy bonus points. Please allow up to eight weeks for the additional Marriott Bonvoy bonus points to be awarded. Marriott Bonvoy bonus points transferred through this offer do not count towards elite tier qualification.

Source

The Priority Pass is gone from the Aspire, replaced with Clear credit. There is a Hilton resort credit and airline credit, but you need to keep track of them as this Card turns into another Amex “coupon book.”

You can access Hilton’s page for cobranded cards here.

READ MORE: Hilton Honors Rate & Bonus Points Offers

Limited Time New Offers:

Hilton Honors American Express Card: 

Card Members can earn 100K Bonus Points after spending $2K in purchases on their new Card in their first six months of Card Membership, which can be redeemed for three nights at participating Hilton properties. As part of Hilton Honors Membership, Card Members will receive complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status and can turn their everyday into a stay with accelerated Points earning. (Terms apply).

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: 

Card Members can earn 170K Bonus Points after spending $3K in purchases on their new Card in their first six months of Card Membership, which can be redeemed for four nights at participating Hilton properties.  As part of Hilton Honors Membership, Card Members will receive complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status and can earn even more Points on everyday spend. (Terms apply).

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: 

Card Members can earn 180K Bonus Points after spending $6K in purchases on their new Card in their first six months of Card Membership, which can be redeemed for four nights at participating Hilton properties.  As part of Hilton Honors Membership, Card Members will receive complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status for an elevated stay experience and can maximize their Points earning on everyday spend. (Terms apply).

Product Changes:

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card $150 FEE

• 4X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on U.S. online retail purchases
• Up to $200 back in statement credits annually for eligible Hilton purchases made with your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card directly at participating Hilton properties (up to $50 in statement credits each quarter)
• Complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status

In addition to these new benefits, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card continues to offer

• 12X Points on eligible Hilton purchases;
• 6X Points on spending at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations;
• 3X Points on all other eligible purchases; and complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status.

The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card has an annual fee of $150 (Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card Rates and Fees).

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card $550 FEE

REMOVALS

The Priority Pass product is removed from this product, but some may continue to use it through October 31, 2024.

The annual fee is going up by 22%

Up to $400 in statement credits annually for eligible purchases made with your Hilton Honors Aspire Card directly at participating Hilton Resorts (up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually)

Up to $200 in statement credits annually on eligible flight purchases (up to $50 in statement credits each quarter) made on your Hilton Honors Aspire Card

$189 in statement credits per calendar year after you sign up and pay for a CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) with your Hilton Honors Aspire Card

One Free Night Reward after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year

Complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status.

Cell phone protection: You can be reimbursed, the lesser of, your repair or replacement costs following damage, such as a cracked screen, or theft for a maximum of $800 per claim when your cell phone line is listed on a wireless bill and the prior month’s wireless bill was paid by an Eligible Card Account. A $50 deductible will apply to each approved claim with a limit of 2 approved claims per 12-month period. Additional terms and conditions apply.

In addition to these new benefits, the Card continues to offer

14X Points on eligible Hilton purchases;

7X Points on purchases of eligible flights, eligible car rentals, and purchases at U.S. restaurants;

3X Points on all other eligible purchases; complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status;

Annual Free Night Reward each membership year, an additional Free Night Reward after spending $30,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within a calendar year, and a third Free Night Reward after spending an additional $30,000 on eligible purchases (for a total $60,000) on your Card within the same calendar year

up to $100 statement credit towards qualifying charges at participating Waldorf Astoria® Hotels & Resorts and Conrad® Hotels & Resorts during stays of two or more nights. The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has an annual fee of $550 (Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Rates and Fees).

Conclusion

The $550 yearly fee is high for the Aspire unless you stay a lot at Hilton properties and can efficiently utilize the resort and airline credits that are structured in a way that Amex hopes will turn into breakage (people forget to use them, don’t use them properly or inefficiently use them).

The Diamond status is valuable, but only if most of your stays are outside the United States. In the U.S., the elite benefits are significantly watered down, and high elite fatigue at the property level (if you can become a top tier merely by paying for a CC – how exclusive is that).

Removing the Priority Pass won’t affect those who mostly travel within the U.S., where these Priority Pass-affiliated lounges are rare. Still, it is a good product for lounge access elsewhere, and I use it 15 to 20 times every year (I have it from three separate cards – might be four already).

Source

This promotion is showing on Amex card accounts with Membership Rewards earning capability, and the official expiration date (last transfer date) is November 30, 2023.

Transferring Membership Rewards points from Amex to TrueBlue is usually 1:0.8 with a minimum of 250 points transfer, and during the promotional period, members will benefit from the 1:1 ratio (25% bonus).

You can find the transfer option in your online Amex card account under Membership Rewards – Airline Transfers :

Transferring points to JetBlue is shown to take up to 48 hours, though in my experience it’s usually instant. The time window is just a “cya” by the company in case there is a delay.

There are several opportunities to use JetBlue TrueBlue miles, including for the popular MINT Business Class and especially the fixed points redemptions with Hawaiian Airlines.

Those of us with U.S. based accounts are pretty spoiled in that regard, as there are almost always ample opportunities to offload Membership Rewards Points at a good ratio which is good because many Amex products don’t have a great earning capability for points.

This includes the Platinum Card, which I really like, but whose earning ratio on anything but airfare is horrible. The best cards are probably Green and Gold for everyday spending.

Conclusion

This could be a great opportunity for those with enough Amex points in their account to transfer them over to Jet Blue for bookings on Hawaiian or for MINT flights.

Unfortunately, the downside of the TrueBlue program is that they don’t really have many award-winning airlines in their redemption options, let alone an alliance. The status program isn’t that great either but that shouldn’t matter for points transfers. Just make sure you check availability BEFORE you transfer any points.

These are the Terms & Conditions for this promotion:

1. Enrollment in TrueBlue®, JetBlue’s customer loyalty program, is required.

2. American Express is not responsible for availability of flight, accommodations, or any other rewards in the TrueBlue program.

3. Airline tickets are subject to availability. Check Award Seat availability before transferring points by visiting http://www.jetblue.com/  or by calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583).

4. Once you have transferred Membership Rewards® points, they cannot be transferred back to your Membership Rewards account and become subject to the Terms and Conditions of the TrueBlue program, found at https://trueblue.jetblue.com/web/trueblue/terms-and-conditions .

5. Transfer enough points into your TrueBlue account to redeem for your award seat or top up your TrueBlue account.

6. Transfers are normally immediate, but please allow up to 48 hours for the transfer to be completed.

7. Please note that no booking can be made until the TrueBlue points are credited to your TrueBlue account.

8. Taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges, may apply on JetBlue redemption flights and upgrades.

9. All redemption bookings are subject to the terms and conditions of the TrueBlue program.

Source

You have been able to get 200 euro credit for wining and dining at select restaurants in the country your card was issued + another 200 euro credit for select restaurants elsewhere.

American Express sent a long-winded email about some updates to the card. At the end of the email, surprise – surprise, was a note that this Dining by Amex credit goes away at the end of 2023 in Finland, and the same also applies to Sweden.

It is unclear if American Express is also winding down this benefit in other markets where it is one of the Platinum card features.

In Sweden and Finland, American Express plans to extend dinner for two benefit that has been available for cardholders thrice a year at select restaurants.

American Express Email (Google Translate from Finnish):

My Dining by Amex Experience:

Issues With New Amex Platinum Global Dining Credits?

UPDATE: Issues With New Amex Platinum Global Dining Credits? (RESOLVED)

Conclusion

The monthly Amex Platinum fee in Finland is currently 65 euros and comes with limited benefits, of which perhaps the Priority Pass is the most significant.

The travel insurance may first sound great, but it requires you to put at least 75% of the travel expenses into the Platinum card; that is a costly option if you consider the FX fees for non-euro charges and the awful Membership Rewards conversion partners and ratios.

The Dinner for Two may sound great, but there are always very few restaurants where this is available, and weekdays and times are usually far from ideal. Also, the set menu you can avail yourself is always limited, and all beverages are extras.

The Dining by Amex credit breakage was probably not as high as Amex had hoped (people used their benefit) and cost them too much. This Dinner for Two won’t provide the same “value.”

It is probably time to cancel this card, and Amex won’t care; at least, they don’t in the Nordics. I guess they prefer having “zombies” as cardholders who merely pay the monthly fee and don’t use it.

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This promotion is showing on Amex card accounts with Membership Rewards earning capability, and the official expiration date (last transfer date) is September 23, 2023.

Transferring Membership Rewards points from Amex to Flying Blue is usually 1:1 in increments of 1000, and during the promotional period, members will benefit from the 1000:1250 ratio (25% bonus).

You can find the transfer option in your online Amex card account under Membership Rewards – Airline Transfers :

There are several opportunities to use Flying Blue miles, including for the popular Promo Awards and especially transatlantic flights on Delta Airlines.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue September Promo Awards For Travel Tough March 2024

Those of us with U.S. based accounts are quite spoiled in that regard, as there are almost always ample opportunities to offload Membership Rewards Points at a good ratio which is good because many Amex products don’t have a great earning capability for points.

This includes the Platinum Card, which I really like, but whose earning ratio on anything but airfare is horrible. The best cards are probably Green and Gold for everyday spending.

Conclusion

This could be a great opportunity for those with enough Amex points in their account to transfer them over to Flying Blue for bookings on Delta (much cheaper redemptions than via Delta SkyMiles) or KLM when they have their attractive Promo Awards available which John summarized yesterday (see article above).

Unfortunately, the downside of the SkyTeam alliance is that they don’t really have many award-winning airlines in their collection. I’d say that China Airlines, Delta, KLM, and Korean Air are probably the best ones if you manage to find flights with their newest Business Class products. Virgin has joined recently as well, which could be good, although their own program is quite competitive and often has mileage transfer promotions as well.

These are the Terms & Conditions for this promotion:

1. Enrollment in Air France KLM Flying Blue is required.

2. American Express is not responsible for availability of flight, accommodations, or any other rewards in the Air France KLM Flying Blue program.

3. Airline tickets are subject to availability. Check Award Seat availability before transferring points by visiting http://www.airfrance.us/  or by calling 1-800-375-8723.

4. Once you have transferred Membership Rewards® points, they cannot be transferred back to your Membership Rewards account and become subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Air France KLM Flying Blue program, found at https://www.flyingblue.com/terms-and-conditions.html .

5. Transfer enough points into your Air France KLM Flying Blue account to redeem for your award seat or top up your Air France KLM Flying Blue account.

6. Transfers are normally immediate, but please allow up to 48 hours for the transfer to be completed.

7. Please note that no booking can be made until the Flying Blue® Miles are credited to your Air France KLM Flying Blue account.

8. Taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges, may apply on Air France KLM redemption flights and upgrades.

9. All redemption bookings are subject to the terms and conditions of the Air France KLM Flying Blue program.

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The Canadian Amex Platinum will increase the annual fee to C$799, and the U.S. cards will change the Authorized User structure, charging EACH additional card US$195 instead of US$175 for up to three.

American Express has already tightened the screws on card members in recent years for example, the U.S. annual fee has increased from $550 to $695, and the guest policy for Centurion lounges was tightened twice already.

First, Amex prohibited using the Centurion Lounge on arrival, then they implemented a three-hour window rule for access/departure, and last, but not least, they eliminated the guest policy, requiring cardholders to spend $75k annually to be allowed companions into the lounge.

Three Months After American Express’ New Centurion Lounge Guest Policy There Is Little Sign Of Improvement

But the news this week is once again about fees and (surprise, surprise) they are going UP yet again.

Here is how the option to add additional users to your Platinum card account now displays:

Until now, this used to be $175 for UP TO THREE authorized user cards.

The following notice is available to Platinum members concerning AU’s:

For Basic Card Accounts opened on or after August 17, 2023: Each Additional Platinum Card is $195 annually.

For Basic Card Accounts opened prior to August 17, 2023:

If you were notified of a change to the Annual Fee for Additional Platinum Cards, each Additional Platinum Card is $195 annually beginning on the effective date specified in the notification.

If you were not notified of a change to the Annual Fee for Additional Platinum Cards, we charge $175 annually for up to three Additional Platinum Cards, and $175 annually for each Additional Platinum Card after the first three. We will notify you if there will be a change to the Annual Fee for Additional Platinum Cards on your account in the future.

For Morgan Stanley Platinum Card^® Accounts

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This month, Amex (U.S.) has four programs available for points transfers with notification, namely Avianca Lifemiles, British Airways Executive Club, Hilton Honors, and Iberia Plus.

We’ve always said that it’s best to keep your points together in one account, such as Membership Rewards, until you have a clear purpose for using them, prior to transferring them to other programs where they might get stuck if plans fall through.

Right now, card members can transfer their Membership Rewards to four programs with a bonus:

Here is a rundown of the programs currently on offer:

Avianca Lifemiles

We’ve frequently covered Avianca Lifemiles and the problems the program has IT wise and by blocking award availability.

Right now. Members get 15% more LifeMiles when they transfer Membership Rewards® points through 8/31/2023.

15% isn’t a great bonus amount and I wouldn’t transfer any points to Lifemiles for that unless it’s a specific top-up to reach an award you want to redeem or keep the account active. Keep in mind that you can almost always buy LifeMiles cheaply directly on their website without the need to burn your Membership Rewards.

British Airways Executive Club & Iberia Plus

Through the interchange options, the promotion for both of these programs is basically the same. 30% bonus through 8/31/2023 is ok, but Amex has done 40% and even 50% bonuses in the past, so I guess this is on the low end, but still better than nothing.

Keep in mind that surcharges on BAEC redemptions can be quite high depending on the airline you choose to redeem on. I do like, however, that you can redeem almost anything without having to call in as the online booking tool is rather reliable.

Hilton Honors

You can get 25% more Hilton Honors™ Points when you transfer Membership Rewards® points through 8/31/2023.

I don’t value Hilton Honors points very high, but there are some cases where a transfer can make sense. You should check the points vs revenue pricing first before transferring any points over, though.

For example, the Hilton Narita Airport was available for 24,000 points a few months ago but the paid rates were close to $300, some of the highest I’ve ever seen at that property. I would gladly use 10,000 MR points to book a $300 hotel (even a $170+/night hotel) as that represents a reasonably good cents per point (cpp) ratio.

Amex has been rather generous lately with sign-up bonuses and upgrade offers for various card products, so if you received a large amount of points that way, this is a good way to boost that balance even more.

Just be aware of the redemption structure and possible pitfalls each of these programs have in order to make an informed decision if you should transfer there or not.

Conclusion

American Express Membership Rewards in the U.S. is offering various bonuses for members who transfer points to the four programs I outlined above.

All of these campaigns end on August 31, 2023 and most of these transfer option make sense if you have a specific use case available and there is availability for your redemption.

I’m not a big advocate of transferring flexible points such as Amex MR or Chase UR just because there is a small bonus available. You might get stuck with these miles in the future if programs change the redemption structure, there are It issues that prevent a smooth redemption or if you simple don’t have an opportunity to use those points in time.

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This offer is around on average twice per year with varying bonus amounts, and this particular 30% offer is in line with previous campaigns we’ve seen (though sometimes 40-50% is being offered).

American Express offers these bonus conversions on a revolving basis throughout the year and in various countries (different transfer conditions apply to each country’s Membership Rewards program, so check your personal offers online).

This current 40% British Airways transfer bonus is targeted at U.S.-based Membership Rewards members and can be found in the online account under the Membership Rewards section:

The offer is available for both British Airways Avios and Iberia Avios:

You can transfer to both programs straight from your online account after linking them. Readers have recently reported that they had a lot of problems if the names of the two accounts don’t match 100%, especially the middle name.

If that is the case, it’s probably easier to open a new BA account rather than getting BA to fix the problem, which might take a very long time and requires sending documentation, etc.

Avios points transfers are usually instant even though the Amex website shows it can take up to 48 hours for processing the transaction.

A 30% boost is very attractive for a points transfer, even though British Airways isn’t the best program around for Premium Award redemptions in many cases. I like that you can book pretty much anything online with BAEC without having to involve a phone agent or wait several hours on some hotline.

For a while now, members of Qatar Airways Privilege and British Airways Executive Club can also move points between the individual account as QR changed their own currency to Avios as well:

There are now very lucrative Qatar Airways redemption options on the BAEC website that might be worthwhile taking a look at.

The maximum bonus we’ve seen over the years has been 50%, so this campaign is alright. If you can wait for the next campaign, maybe it will be better, but there is no guarantee. I’d definitely consider doing a transfer if awards on oneWorld at BAEC’s prices are a viable option.

Conclusion

This could be a fantastic opportunity for those with many Amex points in their account to offload them to British Airways Executive Club and book suitable flights, especially the recently loaded Qatar Airways options rather than BA itself.

Keep in mind though, that BAEC will levy fuel surcharges on most connections (airlines), especially those operated by British Airways themselves. Being able to book one-way online and with very little advance notice up to the last minute (except Cathay Pacific) is a huge plus for Executive Club transfers.

These are the Terms and Conditions for this campaign:

1. Enrollment in British Airways Executive Club is required.

2. American Express is not responsible for availability of flight, accommodations, or any other rewards in the British Airways Executive Club program.

3. Airline tickets are subject to availability. Check Award Seat availability before transferring points by visiting http://www.britishairways.com/executiveclub or by calling 1-800-452-1201.

4. Once you have transferred Membership Rewards® points, they cannot be transferred back to your Membership Rewards account and become subject to the Terms and Conditions of the British Airways Executive Club, found at http://www.britishairways.com/en-us/executive-club/terms-and-conditions?source=MNVEXC1executive_club_terms_and_conditions&link=main_nav&link=main_nav.

5. Transfer enough points into your British Airways Executive Club account to redeem for your award seat or top up your British Airways Executive Club account.

6. Transfers are normally immediate, but please allow up to 48 hours for the transfer to be completed.

7. Please note that no booking can be made until the Avios are credited to your British Airways Executive Club account.

8. Taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges, may apply on British Airways redemption flights and upgrades.

9. All redemption bookings are subject to the terms and conditions of the British Airways Executive Club.

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Virgin Atlantic Club House and Thai Airways lounges are long gone, and the United one is still closed. Singapore Airlines (check if it reopened – I just walked by), Emirates and Qantas lounges are also open.

You can access Hong Kong Airport here.

I decided to have a look at these three lounges of Chase Sapphire by The Club, The Centurion Lounge (Amex), and the Plaza Premium because they were all within a short distance of each other, and I had never visited any of them previously.

Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club

I handed them my Chase Sapphire card to enter, but a Priority Pass worked better. I made sure to use a Priority Pass issued by Chase.

They had a table ordering system for some food items that they hopefully expand.

The bar was well-designed.

Plenty of free seating space.

And excellent area to type away with your laptop.

This space was right behind the bar.

Some cold items.

The lounge was busiest by the hot food stations.

Hot food items.

The Centurion Lounge (American Express)

I handed my Amex Platinum to enter the lounge.

The bar was well stocked.

But the bar area was relatively small.

There were few tables by the food.

Some hot and cold food options.

There was also a high table area that is probably a good place to get some work done.

There were also a few small rooms that are probably reserved for meetings.

Plaza Premium

This was by far the busiest of the three lounges that I visited.

There were uncollected trays, plates, and cups everywhere.

The bar looks rather simple with minimal selection.

Hot food items.

There is a small section for first class passengers.

There were some tables without a view.

Conclusion

The weakest of these three lounges was the Plaza Premium, with dirty dishes everywhere and a workplace cafeteria feeling.

I would give a slight edge to Chase Sapphire Lounge due to the refreshing décor, plenty of space, and food and beverage options available.

The Centurion Lounge was a bit busier, but the “special” seating area is reserved for Centurion cardholders, and I am not sure what is served there.

I also wanted to look at the recently reopened Qantas lounge, but its opening hours didn’t work for my Cathay flight to Bangkok.

After visiting these three lounges, I walked to the Cathay Pacific Wing First Class lounge. I prefer the Pier First lounge, but it has not yet been reopened.

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