ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

[Anonymous]

how come using an American Express card booking your flights on AmexTravel costs $10 more than booking your flight using an American Express card using AmexConnect ? Which card gives you more booking your flights on Amextravel or AmexConnect ? Gold Premier or Platinum ? $10 difference is like earning 2x MR points after spending $500 or less depending how you use your MR points with American Express. And on ChaseUltimateTravel same price as AmexConnect earning 2x on Sapphire i guess and 2x on booking on Amex with amex platinum or Gold Premier too? However, if i were to use Barclay Arrival (no annual fee) and book it on Expedia my trip costs $115 less than AmexConnect and ChaseUltimateTravel .... $665 + 2.1 x miles on Barclay ....

where do i earn more for booking my travel ?

$665 Expedia + Barclay Arrival 2.1 x miles

or

$780 AmexConnect 2x MR points Amex Platinum / Gold Premier 

or

$780 ChaseUltimateTravel 2x UR

 

[Anonymous]

I think it's higher on Amex Travel because they charge 6.99 extra for domestic tickets and 10.99 extra for international tickets, so that fee is baked in. So all of the lowest prices there will be roughly 10$ extra for international.

[kdm31091]

Theres never a universal answer. Sometimes one portal is cheaper and sometimes a different one will be. You have to compare before each booking. No portal always wins.

I will say ive heard the UR portal is expensive and they advertise the "20 percent discount" to entice booking but it doesn't mean its a good deal. Chase wants you to use their portal no matter what as does Amex. Bottom line is check your prices every time, and realize these companies exist to make money, not to give you the best deal each and every time.

[Anonymous]

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@kdm31091 wrote:
Theres never a universal answer. Sometimes one portal is cheaper and sometimes a different one will be. You have to compare before each booking. No portal always wins.

I will say ive heard the UR portal is expensive and they advertise the "20 percent discount" to entice booking but it doesn't mean its a good deal. Chase wants you to use their portal no matter what as does Amex. Bottom line is check your prices every time, and realize these companies exist to make money, not to give you the best deal each and every time.

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which i did ... problem is i have neither Barclay Arrival, Chase Sapphire or Amex Platinum or Gold and trying to decide and ask which you guys would think would get you more for booking your travels online. 

$665 Expedia + Barclay Arrival 2.1 x miles

or 

$780 AmexConnect 2x MR points Amex Platinum / Gold Premier  

or 

$780 ChaseUltimateTravel 2x UR

or 

$790 AmexTravel 2x UR

[NRB525]

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@kdm31091 wrote:
Theres never a universal answer. Sometimes one portal is cheaper and sometimes a different one will be. You have to compare before each booking. No portal always wins.

I will say ive heard the UR portal is expensive and they advertise the "20 percent discount" to entice booking but it doesn't mean its a good deal. Chase wants you to use their portal no matter what as does Amex. Bottom line is check your prices every time, and realize these companies exist to make money, not to give you the best deal each and every time.

---

which i did ... problem is i have neither Barclay Arrival, Chase Sapphire or Amex Platinum or Gold and trying to decide and ask which you guys would think would get you more for booking your travels online. 

$665 Expedia + Barclay Arrival 2.1 x miles

or 

$780 AmexConnect 2x MR points Amex Platinum / Gold Premier  

or 

$780 ChaseUltimateTravel 2x UR

or 

$790 AmexTravel 2x UR

---

Well, if you are going to consider using Platinum for booking, with the $400+ AF, does $10 make a difference? I think that's part of the "buy the perks" package?

Why not just use your existing QS on the Expedia site, save the $100+ right off the bat, get 1.5% cash immediately, and no AF, no FTF?

What is that AMEX in your siggy second row?

[kdm31091]

---

@NRB525 wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@kdm31091 wrote:
Theres never a universal answer. Sometimes one portal is cheaper and sometimes a different one will be. You have to compare before each booking. No portal always wins.

I will say ive heard the UR portal is expensive and they advertise the "20 percent discount" to entice booking but it doesn't mean its a good deal. Chase wants you to use their portal no matter what as does Amex. Bottom line is check your prices every time, and realize these companies exist to make money, not to give you the best deal each and every time.

---

which i did ... problem is i have neither Barclay Arrival, Chase Sapphire or Amex Platinum or Gold and trying to decide and ask which you guys would think would get you more for booking your travels online. 

$665 Expedia + Barclay Arrival 2.1 x miles

or 

$780 AmexConnect 2x MR points Amex Platinum / Gold Premier  

or 

$780 ChaseUltimateTravel 2x UR

or 

$790 AmexTravel 2x UR

---

Well, if you are going to consider using Platinum for booking, with the $400+ AF, does $10 make a difference? I think that's part of the "buy the perks" package?

Why not just use your existing QS on the Expedia site, save the $100+ right off the bat, get 1.5% cash immediately, and no AF, no FTF?

What is that AMEX in your siggy second row?

---

Agreed. I would not get too choked up about $10.

[Anonymous]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

---

@NRB525 wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@kdm31091 wrote:
Theres never a universal answer. Sometimes one portal is cheaper and sometimes a different one will be. You have to compare before each booking. No portal always wins.

I will say ive heard the UR portal is expensive and they advertise the "20 percent discount" to entice booking but it doesn't mean its a good deal. Chase wants you to use their portal no matter what as does Amex. Bottom line is check your prices every time, and realize these companies exist to make money, not to give you the best deal each and every time.

---

which i did ... problem is i have neither Barclay Arrival, Chase Sapphire or Amex Platinum or Gold and trying to decide and ask which you guys would think would get you more for booking your travels online. 

$665 Expedia + Barclay Arrival 2.1 x miles

or 

$780 AmexConnect 2x MR points Amex Platinum / Gold Premier  

or 

$780 ChaseUltimateTravel 2x UR

or 

$790 AmexTravel 2x UR

---

Well, if you are going to consider using Platinum for booking, with the $400+ AF, does $10 make a difference? I think that's part of the "buy the perks" package?

Why not just use your existing QS on the Expedia site, save the $100+ right off the bat, get 1.5% cash immediately, and no AF, no FTF?

What is that AMEX in your siggy second row?

---

Agreed. I would not get too choked up about $10.

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i guess amex platinum, chase sapphire, barclay arrival for those who dont already have 2% cash back or 2x point card and no foreign transaction fee cards...  thought these would be travel cards so why not use them to book your travels than using quicksilver or citi double ? the amex in my siggy is 1% cash back elan financial cash rewards american express and first national bank of omaha. $10 is big deal if you're using your platinum, Chase Sapphire to earn points. How long will it take for you to earn $10 worth of MR points or UR points? $500. $10 is $500. That's $500 less than i have to spend to earn 1,000 MR or UR points. 

[Anonymous]

My experience booking two trips has been:
Flights and guided tours/packages (like Viator) through Chase are comparable to airline/viator price.
Hotels through AmEx are comparable to travel site price and more likely to be refundable.
Rental vehicles are overpriced on both.
Full vacation packages (airfare+hotel+car) are cheaper through other travel sites.

Always verify of course but spending more for bonus points is pretty much always a losing proposition, so go for the lowest price while being aware of terms (is it refundable? if it's a package, can i change parts? etc.)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
My experience booking two trips has been:
Flights and guided tours/packages (like Viator) through Chase are comparable to airline/viator price.
Hotels through AmEx are comparable to travel site price and more likely to be refundable.
Rental vehicles are overpriced on both.
Full vacation packages (airfare+hotel+car) are cheaper through other travel sites.

Always verify of course but spending more for bonus points is pretty much always a losing proposition, so go for the lowest price while being aware of terms (is it refundable? if it's a package, can i change parts? etc.)

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this x1000000000000  Great info, what is your experience with booking airlines through amex though, getting 3-4 mr points per dollar spent which equates to 6-8% return

[kdm31091]

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@Anonymous wrote:
My experience booking two trips has been:
Flights and guided tours/packages (like Viator) through Chase are comparable to airline/viator price.
Hotels through AmEx are comparable to travel site price and more likely to be refundable.
Rental vehicles are overpriced on both.
Full vacation packages (airfare+hotel+car) are cheaper through other travel sites.

Always verify of course but spending more for bonus points is pretty much always a losing proposition, so go for the lowest price while being aware of terms (is it refundable? if it's a package, can i change parts? etc.)

---

Spending more for bonus points is definitely always a losing proposition.

Generally, the Amex and Chase portals don't seem to usually provide the cheapest price, although there are exceptions. The point is that Chase is giving you the 20% extra points to entice you to use their portal; in order to be able to do that, it stands to reason they are not subsequently giving you the rock bottom cheapest price.

I understand you did your research and compared things and that's good. Most of the value of "travel cards" like CSP is from transferring your points to partners. Generally, booking through Amex, Chase, etc is not nearly as valuable or good of a deal, and you often can do better with other sites/a cash back card for just straight booking. Just an example, with my Upromise MC, I can get ~10% back on Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity right now. Even without their MC, the percentage is 5%. This may sometimes be a better value than booking through Chase and paying for an AF card in the meantime. Just weigh all of your options.