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Can I Earn Miles on Flights Booked with Amex Points?

Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly
Founder and “The Points Guy”
Since launching TPG in 2010, founder Brian Kelly has expanded the team to include a distinguished editorial staff and an extensive network of freelancer contacts from around the globe. Today, TPG reaches 11 million unique monthly visitors and more than 3 million followers across social media platforms and has offices in New York City, Charlotte and the U.K.
March 08, 2015
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2 min read
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Can I Earn Miles on Flights Booked with Amex Points?
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TPG reader Kim sent me a message on Facebook asking:

"Can I earn miles on flights booked with Amex points?"

The answer to this question is maybe; it depends on how you use your points. If you use the Pay With Points option, where Amex basically buys your ticket and you get about one cent per point in value for airfare, then yes, you should earn airline miles when you fly. However, if you instead transfer from Amex Membership Rewards to one of the 17 airline partners and book an award ticket through the frequent flyer program, then you won't earn miles.

Plane
You can sometimes earn points and miles for award redemptions, depending on how you booked the ticket. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

This is also the case with Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards. If you book flights through the travel portals, you'll generally earn miles (as well as elite credits), but not when you transfer to partners.

If you have any other questions, please tweet me @thepointsguy, message me on Facebook, or send me an email at info@thepointsguy.com.
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Featured image by You can earn points sometimes, depending on how you booked the ticket or if you transferred points. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.