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Sunday Reader Question: Are US Airways Miles Useless?

Aug. 26, 2012
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3 min read
Sunday Reader Question: Are US Airways Miles Useless?
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TPG reader Pierre asked a great question regarding the usefulness of US Airways Miles:

"I have 40,000 US Airways miles, but unlike United miles I don't see a lot of options to use them. US Airways doesn't allow one-way award bookings, neither on their planes nor on Star Alliance partners. Do you have any suggestion? Is there any way to transfer those miles to somewhere more useful?"

I agree that United miles are superior, but US Airways miles are by no means useless. USairways.com is just a horrible website for booking awards. US Airways is part of Star Alliance, which means you can use your Dividend Miles to book awards on all 27 carriers, plus other partners like Qatar and Virgin Atlantic. However, you need to call 1-800-428-4322 to book those awards. You should understand their routing rules and restrictions before calling, though.

Check out this post for my rundown on maximizing Dividend Miles, and just know that many people can push the routing rules to the limits because many US Airways phone agents are poorly trained, which you can use to your advantage.

My recommendation to you would be to increase your balance so you can book one of their gem redemptions, like 60,000 mile off-peak business class awards to Europe (55,000 if you have the US Airways Mastercard) or 90,000 miles roundtrip to North Asia on Star Alliance partners like ANA, Singapore and Asiana.

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US Airways makes it pretty easy to rack up miles - they often sell miles at around 1.8 cents a piece and hopefully they will run their lucrative Grand Slam promotion again this fall.

Neither Chase nor Amex points transfer to US Airways, but Starwood Preferred Guest points transfer at a 25% bonus per 20,000 points transferred, so if you got in on the current limited time 30,000 point Starwood Amex offer, those 30,000 points would transfer into 35,000 US Airways miles, bringing your balance up to 75,000 (if you also got the business version, you'd be at 100,000 miles). The Barclay's US Airways Mastercard also has a 40,000 point sign-up bonus with first use, which is a quick way to increase your miles.

So, don't lose hope. As always with redemptions, the key is being flexible and using your hard-earned miles and points for the award that best suits your needs - or even finding one that you hadn't taken into consideration before.

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  • Annual Fee

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  • Recommended Credit

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Why We Chose It

There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)

Pros

  • 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
  • 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
  • Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
  • Solid welcome bonus

Cons

  • Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
  • $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
  • $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
  • Terms Apply.