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| It pays to shop around |
| by Brian Kelly |
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Now that I’m a dad and busier than I used to be, I’m not as flexible with my travel plans.
I’ve lost that spontaneity with where I’m at in my life, and transferring points to book three and four tickets at a time for the whole family makes it a bit more difficult. I’m also spending more now that I have kids, so I have a lot of points building up.
I need to have credit card points that I can redeem at a good value for flights. Especially since airfare prices have come down, I want to be able to just book the exact flight that I want for convenience.
This is when redeeming points through credit card travel portals can be a lifeline.
Take a look at this summer, for example: I was able to book one-way business-class American Airlines flights from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to Lisbon Airport (LIS) through Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan for 45,000 miles and $18 in taxes and fees each (here’s how to do the same before June 30). But, coming home, there was no award availability, and I really had a specific date that I needed to be back.
I ended up booking a $3,700 round-trip ticket from Lisbon to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) with the return flight next spring, but I didn’t pay cash. Instead, I booked the ticket for only 175,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Here’s how I did it: Chase Travel℠ now has a “points boost” feature, which is incredible. Instead of the usual 1.5-cent-per-point redemption value I get as a Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholder, I was able to get 2.25 cents per point when redeeming for Delta Air Lines flights. Meanwhile, Delta was charging 650,000 SkyMiles for this flight! (Note: I have seen this redemption value available mostly on Delta and United Airlines business-class flights.)
Another great way to do this is through Amex Travel with my American Express Centurion Business Card (Amex’s invitation-only card), which comes with a 50% rebate on points redemptions. This means my Amex Membership Rewards points are worth 2 cents each (but there’s a maximum rebate of 3 million total points per year).
The next-best option is with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. Cardholders receive a 35% rebate when they Pay with Points for first- or business-class tickets through Amex Travel (up to 1 million points per calendar year). This makes your points worth 1.54 cents each.
Pro tip: It couldn’t be a better time to consider the Amex Business Platinum due to its massive limited-time offer of 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership. Plus, you’ll earn a $500 statement credit after spending $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel in the first three months of card membership. But don’t wait too long — you must apply by June 30 to earn one or both of these offers.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve will get you 1.5 cents per point as a base value (before the boost), and most other programs or cards offer 1.25 cents or 1 cent per point. So that $3,700 business-class flight from Lisbon was only 175,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points thanks to this new feature. Delta wanted 650,000 points for the same flight, and booking through Amex would have cost 370,000 points.
I always shop around and check my options using Amex Travel’s Pay with Points and Chase Travel’s points boost, as both programs give me great value on my points redemptions.
The points transfer game is great, and I love using apps like Point.me and Seats.aero to find great redemptions. But for people who need maximum flexibility, I think it’s important to have credit cards that provide more than the standard 1 cent per point in value when redeeming for airfare.
Have a great weekend,
BK
The information for the American Express Centurion Business Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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| Photo Credit: JONNO RATTMAN. |
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