My Points Procrastination/Last Minute Award Booking Outcome
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Last week I wrote about my bad habit of waiting until the last minute to book award tickets. Things started to get down to the wire and my friends in Madrid were expecting me to be at a couple of events, so I really pounded the pavement to get something that worked - and was in business/first and at the lowest "saver" level possible. I ran into a couple roadblocks along the way:
Star Alliance
United.com, which is my favorite US airline website, kept showing phantom Star Alliance availability. On multiple occasions my hopes were dashed by not being able to book awards which united.com was showing as available - this happened on both Lufthansa and Swiss flights. Besides, I don't particularly like Lufthansa business class, so I was really only looking for first class, which I ended up getting on my return so I wanted to try a different product out on the outbound.
SkyTeam
Delta doesn't do one-way awards, but I still checked availability of JFK and Atlanta to Madrid to see if anything low-level would open up. During one search I saw 100,000 miles and got really excited, until I realized that the system actually searched for Madison, Wisconsin (I guess I sloppily selected that instead of Madrid when the destination field prepopulated.) True story - 100,000 miles to go from Miami to Wisconsin - not the kind of deal I was looking for! I had set alerts for Air France, KLM, Alitalia and Air Europa with ExpertFlyer, and would have transferred Amex to Flying Blue and sucked up the high taxes and fees if I absolutely had to - but since I've flown all of their sub-par angled business class products, that wasn't high on my list. Though beggars can't be choosers! Or can they?
Oneworld
I set ExpertFlyer alerts on Miami to Madrid nonstop, as well as upgrade space (since I am an American Executive Platinum and have many systemwide upgrades to burn), but space never opened up - plus I don't like American's angled lie-flats, like I recently flew to Beijing. I also set an Expertflyer alert for Iberia's Miami to Madrid. Nada.
Last, but not least, I checked on British Airways and 3 days before my departure they opened up a single business class award seat with a great connection to Madrid via London. While the ticket cost 65,000 Avios and $455 in taxes/fees, I get a fully flat seat and to maximize my entire day in Miami with an evening departure. Plus, I've only ever flown British Airways First Class, so I'm excited to experience Club World, which generally gets great marks. Though my first experience didn't start off well when I tried to select a seat after booking my award and was told I'd need to pay $90 to get an assigned seat. No thanks, British Airways! Does anyone actually pay for that?
Miami to Madrid via London on British Airways business class for 65,000 Avios and $455.
Overall I thought it was a great deal, because it saved me from having to a) fly in coach on an expensive ticket or spend many thousands on business class ($5,167 was the price to purchase this one-way fare, not like I would have shelled out that much). While I wish British Airways charged less in fees, at least they make more award space available than most other carriers and Avios are pretty easy to accrue (ahem 100,000 point credit card sign-up!) and since they are instant 1:1 transfer partners of Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Bold and American Express Membership Rewards Platinum/Premier Rewards Gold/ Gold and Green (often at a 50% bonus).
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Delta SkyClub access when flying Delta
- Annual companion ticket for travel on Delta (upon renewal)
- Ability to earn MQDs through spending
- Various statement credits for eligible purchases
Cons
- Steep annual fee of $650
- Other Delta cobranded cards offer superior earning categories
- Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $6,000 or more in purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership and an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months, starting from the date that your account is opened. Offer Ends 04/01/2026.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members receive 15 Visits per Medallion® Year to the Delta Sky Club® when flying Delta and can unlock an unlimited number of Visits after spending $75,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Plus, you’ll receive four One-Time Guest Passes each Medallion Year so you can share the experience with family and friends when traveling Delta together.
- Enjoy complimentary access to The Centurion® Lounge in the U.S. and select international locations (as set forth on the Centurion Lounge Website), Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge in the U.S. (see the Centurion Lounge Website for more information on Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge availability), and Escape Lounges when flying on a Delta flight booked with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. § To access Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge, Card Members must arrive within 90 minutes of their departing flight (including layovers). To access The Centurion® Lounge, Card Members must arrive within 3 hours of their departing flight. Effective July 8, 2026, during a layover, Card Members must arrive within 5 hours of the connecting flight.
- Receive $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars with MQD Headstart each Medallion Qualification Year and earn $1 MQD for each $10 in purchases on your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card with MQD Boost to get closer to Status next Medallion Year.
- Enjoy a Companion Certificate on a Delta First, Delta Comfort, or Delta Main round-trip flight to select destinations each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Certificate requires payment of government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250 (for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. Delta Basic experiences are not eligible for this benefit.
- $240 Resy Credit: When you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card for eligible purchases with U.S. Resy restaurants, you can earn up to $20 each month in statement credits. Enrollment required.
- $120 Rideshare Credit: Earn up to $10 back in statement credits each month after you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card to pay for U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers. Enrollment required.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- With your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, receive upgrade priority over others with the same Medallion tier, product and fare experience purchased, and Million Miler milestone when you fly with Delta.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- $650 Annual Fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees