So what's everyone doing with their AMEX points?
Any better way to get more value out of them other than Bonvoy/Hilton?

 

I think Amazon gives you .70 cents on the “dollar”/point. I think most of the redemption options are similar. There are better ways, including 100% value, but they generally involve gift cards, which is far less convenient. Whether that’s worth it is up to you…

 

If you have the Schwab branded Amex plat card yiu can redeem them for 1.1 cents per point. Was as high as 1.3 originally.

 

Saving them for business class deals on flights. They just ran a deal for 50,000 points business class all over Europe. From what I’ve seen, flying is the best way all these CC points - best bang for buck compared to redeeming for cash or hotel points

The hotel collection with Platinum is a good deal too, guaranteed room upgrade if available and $200/year in statement credit and then an additional $100 for dining and spa, and services at a hotel booked through the hotel collection

 

thanks, great ideas everyone!


Where did you find the business class deals, through AMEX directly or transferring miles to a frequent flyer program?

 

transferring points from Amex to a carrier

 

This is the great conundrum for pilots when it comes to credit card points.

I keep quite a bit of SW points fluctuating because I commute. They are refundable up until the flight. SW points are a good hedge especially when trying to non-rev someplace. If we don't make our non-rev flight we are definitely going on SW on points.

I have never missed a non rev international flight except for an unforseen weight and balance restriction. I also never plan to sit up front during peak travel season (ex- europe in summer) Award space is also usually much harder to find during peak travel season. I always keep some in KLM flying blue just in case I have to make it back from Europe in a rush and cash prices are crazy

So what to do with the points that I earn from Chase- it makes almost no sense to use them on Chase's own website (that is really actually expedia.com- but chase branded) I look at transferring to airline partners or watch for bonus transfers to hotel chains. Key is the bonus transfers- and usually hyatt is the most bang for buck with points, with Hilton being the worst choice (even below IHG). Bonvoy was much better when points were not tied to cash rate. Watch for promotions too- right now Bonvoy is free elite night credit for each night stayed (so two elite nights for one in terms of earning elite status- you do not get a free night in hotel to be clear)


Main take-aways before anyone gets into the points game.

Never ever carry a credit card balance-
Use credit cards for everything, use right credit card for right category, but limit your categories to less than 5 so it doesn't get overwhelming-
It almost never makes sense to buy points-
Points lose their value like inflation-
Follow social media to watch for flight deals-
Be familiar with Chase 5/24 rule and sign-up bonuses.
Any card that has an annual fee you must try to get as many benefits as possible as early in the year as possible, or you forget.

 

Man, for those that get into this stuff go knock your socks off. But I've got to wonder, at best, what is the dollar value of jumping through all those hoops end up netting you? I just run all our purchases through a single 2% cash back on everything card, so 100k spend in a year nets me 2k. Could I scratch around and maybe double that to 4k? I mean probably, but I've got too much other stuff going on in life to chasing down every last credit card reward when I'm making 300k+ per year.

Having said that, there is a part of me that enjoys the "gamefication" of certain aspects of life, so I do understand that there are some people out there who just enjoy the game of reward maximization as almost a hobby.

 

Well I’ve used 30K Marriot points for a room in NYC that would have cost $300 - considering when I got my card for $250 year my first year and 120K sign up bonus - that’s like $50. The sign up bonuses make it complete worthwhile to sign up for the card for 1 year. Just have to take advantage of promos and introduction bonus. Get a new card every year and cancel the old card - not too much effort if you do it this way

 

Late to the party. I tried doing Hilton points for a year with the Amex Surpass. Then I tried Marriott with the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant. Both turned into a frustrating experience when going on vacation to the point where I've abandoned points and joined the cash back team. It was too hard to get the supposed value of the points (.5 and .84 respectively). We do have a gaggle of kids so rooms for six usually ended being astronomical, especially with Hilton. We now have a Venture X for 2 percent back and IMHO the best overall card is from Redstone FCU. Anyone can join. 5% restaurants and gas, 3% groceries, Target and Walmart; 3% wholesale, streaming and utilities. 1.5% on everything else.

https://www.redfcu.org/personal/cred...isa-signature/