Would be interested in the tier list of amex and other credit card transfer partners, I feel like it’s really hard to distinguish good from bad transfer partners without doing extensive extensive research so a video would be super helpful
Tier list for transfer partners is a great idea, Sebby! I got about 250k points and looking to see if there's a good option instead of going Schwab cash out
depending on where your base airport is but generally I feel like international flights would be great redemption options. Some domestic flights are great ways to use as well. Personally I live in Pittsburgh and I travel a lot to Bos and NYC. It usually costs only 7.5k or 8k for me to fly one way to and back from those cities (round trip 15k - 16k). You can transfer to Lifemiles for United flights, Virgin for Delta flights, and British Airway or Qantas for AA flights. All of them have fixed redemption rate of 7.5k or 8k plus around $5 taxes for short (around 2 hours) trips, no matter how the cash price of the tickets are. Normally they are around $179-250+ one way so the MR points are around 2.2-3 cpp, which is a lot higher than the Schwab rate of 1.1 cpp. For international flights so far, I redeemed Singapore Airline business class from JFK to FRA for only 60k points per ticket (retail price at $2000). The econ class tickets are around $500 for the same flight so you could think of using 10k points to upgrade from econ to business. For international flights like this, a business class would definitely make your trip better. Lying down for 8 hours is much better than sitting there for the night lol. But your miles may vary, all depending on your needs for travel and where you live in. Hope that helps a little!
Yes, the tier list for transfer partners sounds like an awesome idea for a detailed video! Would love to watch more videos on how to go about redeeming MR points!!!
I’d love to see a video on transfer partners! I’ve been getting ~1.25 cpp on domestic economy flights with Delta but it would be nice to see other options laid out. 🍔
I would love a video where you go through each of their partners and how you would redeem their points. The average consumer probably has no idea how to do so and probably just uses the Amex travel portal, which from what I hear generally gives you worse rates than the Chase travel portal.
I've had a Blue Cash card forever without much use but upgraded it to the Preferred which has the 6% back on supermarkets and 3% gas and it's been a total game changer. Excited to try out the Green for my upcoming trips, too
I think a deep dive on nuances you would have to deal with for each transfer partner is great! For example, how some airlines may take days to transfer. How some airlines may have way more taxes and fees than the other. If you feel like you're trying to book a Qatar flight through BA, but are having trouble, you can just move points to BA and then move them to Qatar. How ANA has some flights that get booked up real fast and it's extremely hard to get a trip to Japan if it's only a couple months away. Etc. The only concerning part is once the info is widespread and easier to navigate, I'd wonder if it would create new challenges.
An SABCD style tier list for credit card transfer partners would be very helpful. Do you prefer United mileage plus or AAdvantage for aspirational travel ? 🍔
A video on a transfer partner and flight booking would be a very useful video. I think you’ve already done one but more examples are always better. Thanks for the great content!
🍔 please do a video on how to maximize point transfers for partners. I transferred 100K points from my Platinum cad (40% bonus) to BA and when I tried to book, it was only worth like $640. How can I figure out if moving points to a specific parter is worth it or not?
We travel/credit card enthusiasts are always interested in hearing about some ways to maximize cc points by using transfer partners, so yes, please Do IT! 🍔 I'm a big fan. Greetings from Atlanta
Off topic: The Uber Amex credits from Platinum and Gold seem to load early for me for the next month. So if you didn’t order anything until 7pm on the last day of the month, you might be able to combine the amounts from the previous month on the next month all in one transaction. I had a small amount ($1.02) left over and used it with next month’s credit today (2/28)This could be an advantage for West Coast only folks because of time zones. I’m in Seattle.
Great video as always! We recently transferred some Amex points to Flying Blue when they were offering the 25% bonus, we were able to get 9 cents per point value on our round trip business class flight! Thanks for all the advice!
Can you make a video on how you decide where/when to transfer your points to airlines. Also do you use any tool/software to track these bonuses on transfers aswell as partners of these airlines.
Amex is good if you don’t travel outside America. However, in overseas (especially European) locations, most locations don’t take Amex because the fees.
Bilt is honestly a strong contender with United and Hyat and no fees. But I love my amex card. Amex's 2:1 Hilton rate is actually quite decent when you find outsized hilton value. it's definitely possible to get 2-3 CPP this way. The extended warranty also saved me $250 on an audio gear repair too. Immediately covered the annual fee.
Great video! A transfer partner video specific to Amex would be very useful. It would make life so much easier for me when looking at how to spend my MR points. 🍔
Keep it up man! Got my gold card last October because of your coverage of it. Between all the credits and Delta flight upgrades via point transfer I’m gonna be ~$350 net positive for my first year.
In your next chase video can you talk about how to get a bonus going from CSP to CSR. How the downgrade and then upgrade process works so you can still get a signup bonus?
You have to wait 48 months from your last saphire bonus and down grade/cancel your csp. Then apply for a new csr/csp that's the only way to get another bonus.
🍔.. so I really like the travel portal of Amex when booking a flight with points. I typically only fly domestic and out of MSP so 95% of the time it's Delta. If I convert my MR points to Delta Miles I have to essentially pay a fee to do it. In contrast, I can just book the flight through Amex Travel portal and since I only use Amex Gold for groceries, food, and booking flights, I'm getting my effective 3-4% back.
I would like a video on best transfer partners for American Express, including real examples: domestic (economy, first business) and international (economic, first class), etc. Will settle for tiers to consider.
I’d be super interested in a video about the best way to book airline travel with points. Super confusing how to to transfer and book to get the most from MR points. 🍔
6:22 Yes Sebby please go through partners with examples! I still have a hard time figuring out how to redeem points with real life examples. I understand in theory but have a hard time executing on how to do it. Also funny at 8:00 there is the old Uber Credit Card :( 🍔
was flying miami to newark today and the line for centurion lounge was about 50 people waiting outside the lounge. I cancelled my personal platinum during covid and just got the biz platinum cuz of the elevated offer and my GOD, a lot has changed in 3 years. Literally just bought coffee for 5$ instead of wait in a 50 person line to enter the lounge
I’d also like a video on the tier list for AMEX transfer partners. I’d also like to see your evaluation of the excise tax fee that AMEX imparts on domestic airlines and if you can bypass that fee by going to a different airline for similar value
May sound silly but can you discuss strategies for maximizing benefits for AMEX PLATINUM for NON TRAVELERS - at least getting back annual fee and then some ? - Amex has sent me an offer for 150K rewards points after 6K spend in 6 month- and I don't Travel or Stay at hotels - situation might change but not soon - Love your program as always
oh my goodness, Sebby could you please make that video about each of Amex's partners? With other credit cards, it's a few here, a few there, but Amex has a whole ecosystem. It's difficult to get a complete sense of it from reading separate articles.
🍔Although I use Uber/Eats a ton, unfortunately up in Seattle, prices are almost always elevated compared to ordering direct 😕. Totally agree MR is second only to UR, although with the Virgin/ANA route, only getting 330 days in advance of availability vs. ANA's own kinda sucks, but then again, MR transfers to ANA but not Chase! Overall I think my Amex Plat has given me the most value out of all my cards, combining the credits to at least break even every year, retention, Amazon discount offers, Amex Offers, FHR benefits, lounges, Return Protection, and more! (Also, don't think you can save a few thousand with Return Protection if it caps out at $1k/year 😉)
🍔 I just switched from Amex gold to Amex platinum because platinum costs me less based on my current spending. I’m on a low, fixed income but have needed (yes, needed) to travel more lately. I don’t eat out and save $ where I can. While I’m flying more, I’m not fond of loud airports. Offsets include: Clear, streaming services,lounge access, etc. For first year, benefits > costs = net income. Your channel has reminded me of some of the benefits I hadn’t been using. Well, I’m using them now. My cost? Less money spent on streaming = more $$ for flights. Hope this makes sense, and thanks for the excellent content.
Would love something on how to get the best use of Avios. Redeeming for BA flights seems not easy or attractive. I’ve lived in the U.K. for the past 7 years and earned on the AmEx Black British Airways card. (I am trying to decide whether to keep this card now that I’ve moved back to HK).
🍔 Amex is generous with their credit limits which I like since it helps the credit score. Another detailed video on transfer partner research would be helpful.
Please do the video for transfer partners and how to redeem for best value. Trying to book a flight with 150k points but delta partners not showing same flights as delta websites.
Video was very informative thank you! 🍔 Can you make a video about AMEX Cards for military service members? As a soldier I get the annual fee waived so the card seemed like a no brainer. Traveling is very common in the military as well.
🍔 I would de like to see a video on how to effectively use the transfer programs primarily for Amex and Chase as they have better card networks to build MR points, imho. Thanks for the great videos!
I would also love to see a video on transferring points. It’s so complicated! For example, I had the thought of getting 4 first class Aer Lingus tickets from SFO to Dublin, but then it seems impossible to get 4 award tickets. I wonder if award tickets are better for only one or two people.
Thanks for the video. Agree that Amex does have a great list of transfer partners. However, you can transfer partners in certain divisible units but it's not in size of 1 point per 1 mile. For example, typically you can transfer only in lots of 1,000 points for 1,000 miles. But I see many calculate the point per mile as one can transfer in lots of 1 point for 1 mile. I can see others may not agree but IMHO, for that reason, just bear in mind that the point when transferring to a transfer partner on average should be discounted unless you are a large spender.
🍔 It's odd to say that Amex cards are keeper cards with how high their annual fees can get, but if you use them correctly, I would 100% agree that these high annual fee cards are keepers! If you can naturally get positive value from Amex cards every year, they're arguably the best lender out there... and that's hard for me to say being a Chase fanboy for so long 🤣
Sebby, talk a bit fast, possibly slow down some? also like one of the folks commented, would love to see detailed bookings. Thanks for your time and energy to make the video.
Good Work my man. I have a Rose Gold Card and the Preferred Blue Cash Card. Was rocking the Amex Trifecta. Got rid of the Platinum because it really sucks for people the travel with family and children. And I'm not going to spend 75k just so my bunch can chill at the Centurion Lounge. No thanks. If the platinum card can make some tweaks and make it friendly for families I'd snatch it up again.
🍔 Great video, I've been going back and fourth on getting the Platinum. That annual fee has been keeping me from trying it out but I think this breakdown has convinced me that I would get my money's worth. Although, I'm not sure if I should get rid of my Blue Cash Preferred if I go Platinum or not.
🍔favorite benefits are from the Gold card and the Aspire card! I organically use the credits on the Gold and the Aspire helped me get a big discount on a hotel resort stay and the credit on my other card is gonna help me pay for expensive food in Hawaii that I can charge to my room!
🍔 I've been in the credit card game only 9 months. And I've gotten some GREAT redemtions already... business class to and from Europe on Turkish and Singapore Airlines (through Aeroplan), Park Hyatt New York, among others... but I have to admit it takes work! A tiered transfer partner video would be helpful for a lot of people... but I know for true sweet spots... you have to put in the time. Haha
TK ORD - FCO at 45k in J Class was nice. Would've been better if it was DFW - FCO, but I guess that's on me with the availability. Also doing FCO - OKC UA Polaris on FCO - EWR for the return @51k I think? That's through Avianca, but the fact I can book business or economy for each leg on a single itinerary going to my non international airport for less than 10k over a separate positioning flight is pretty amazing. If your home city is a non international then it really helps out on redemptions. TK kinda sucks because you can't redeem flights for a second person unless you're at least classic plus. Otherwise the other person has to sign up for a TK membership and your card must allow transferring to a FF account that's not in your name. Found that out the hard way with TK, but still had plenty of points to get the entire trip redeemed with points.
@@ryanshannon6963 you can book a second person on TK but it has to be over the phone. I booked for myself and my wife. With Aeroplan I was able to book online for the both of us. Looking forward to my TK flight. Going SEA-ZUR I hear the IST to Europe (in my case ZUR) is pretty impressive food for a short flight. 😋
@@druiz012 I tried over the phone and they didn't let me do it. I literally called them 4 times and they couldn't do it the first 3 times. The fourth time he said if you're classic you can't book for another person. If you're classic plus then you can. Sure enough, I read the elite tier rules and it's in there. This was as of February 22nd, 2023 (last Wednesday). I was so pissed.
@@druiz012 Aeroplan is way easier and had no issues booking multiple people online. I called Avianca and asked if there was any such restriction and he sounded like I was crazy. This was after the TK Miles and Smiles fiasco. It's literally been the only airline I've come across so far that did that. So left field...
@@ryanshannon6963 damn. That's awful. Yours is not the first horror story I've heard of when calling Turkish. I must have gotten lucky. I haven't been so lucky with Avianca...
🍔 best Am Ex feature is lounge access for me. I am disappointed about the removal of complimentary guests in Centurion lounges because I travel often with my young daughter. The lounge is a quiet place so I pay the fee for her to enter with me just to keep my head on straight.
🍔 Thanks Sebastian, very helpful for me since AMEX is my main credit card issuer. I would be interested if you would walk us through how to transfer AMEX MR points to airline or hotel. It sounds difficult if you are flying one airline but moving MR points to another airline.
🍔 I got the AMEx Plat for the ability to book flights directly with airlines and the Gold for food! Now I need a card that is accepted everywhere in Europe - Chase Visa - Reserve or Preferred?
