topic Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect in Credit Cards

ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 19:18:03 GMT

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

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

$780 ChaseUltimateTravel 2x UR

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 20:02:31 GMT

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.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

kdm31091 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 20:11:23 GMT

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.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 20:17:24 GMT

@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

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

$780 ChaseUltimateTravel 2x UR

$790 AmexTravel 2x UR

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

NRB525 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 20:32:26 GMT

@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?

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

kdm31091 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 20:53:41 GMT

@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.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 21:02:46 GMT

@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.

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.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 21:01:59 GMT

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.)

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 21:09:16 GMT

@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.)

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

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

kdm31091 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 21:12:44 GMT

@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.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 21:45:52 GMT

Priceline you can get extra % off with name your own price by ebates or as an aol member.

Expedia dont forget has 25 off 100 coupons for hotels. You also get 3 expedia points per dollar for any bookings you do through the mobile app. Now the expedia+ voyager card would give you another 4 points per dollar so basically 7% as 1 expedia point is worth 1 penny. the annual fee is $95 but includes a $100 annual travel credit (not sure if gift cards work on this like they do with amex)

https://www.expedia.com/rewards/credit_card

points are worth twice a much if you do a vip access hotel.

Never used this method but it sounds very lucrative if you have VIP+ hotels located near your destination.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 21:54:59 GMT

I used to book on AmexTravel bc i get 2x miles with amex Gold. However, booking flights or hotels on amextravel the tix and stay are pre-paid and non-refundable which sux. Now that i can get 2x miles for booking thru the carrier, I will just do that instead since the tix are cheaper and more flexible. Or i will book with my Hyatt instead for 2x pts and pts have good value.

However if you have the PRG, you can get 4x miles booking thru amextravel and 3x miles booking thru carrier which is a good deal either way.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

NRB525 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:06:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@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.
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.

Ok, but you do realize your existing Quicksilver is all that? 1.5% cash back, No Foreign Transaction Fee, No Annual Fee, plus which, it's in your wallet today, right now.

The difference between 1.5% Cash Back on the QS right now, vs 2% you might get from all those other cards is $3.50 on your $700 ticket. But you already said you can get Expedia for $665, the same ticket, right?

You post a lot of numbers and proof for your posts, to backup the calculations you are doing but you aren't factoring in the annual fee of all those other "Special Travel Cards!" that every one drools over. You need to take a look at your QuickSilver, it will answer for 90% of the benefits you want to get, with no annual fee No Annual Fee puts it miles ahead of all those other cards, because that 1.5% on QuickSilver doesn't get the life sucked out of it by a $95 or $200 or $450 Annual Fee.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

kdm31091 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:12:46 GMT

@NRB525 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@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.
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.
Ok, but you do realize your existing Quicksilver is all that? 1.5% cash back, No Foreign Transaction Fee, No Annual Fee, plus which, it's in your wallet today, right now.
The difference between 1.5% Cash Back on the QS right now, vs 2% you might get from all those other cards is $3.50 on your $700 ticket. But you already said you can get Expedia for $665, the same ticket, right?

You post a lot of numbers and proof for your posts, to backup the calculations you are doing but you aren't factoring in the annual fee of all those other "Special Travel Cards!" that every one drools over. You need to take a look at your QuickSilver, it will answer for 90% of the benefits you want to get, with no annual fee No Annual Fee puts it miles ahead of all those other cards, because that 1.5% on QuickSilver doesn't get the life sucked out of it by a $95 or $200 or $450 Annual Fee.

Excellent post. Agreed 100%. OP, I'd just probably go with your QS on the travel site with the best deal.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:14:57 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I used to book on AmexTravel bc i get 2x miles with amex Gold. However, booking flights or hotels on amextravel the tix and stay are pre-paid and non-refundable which sux. Now that i can get 2x miles for booking thru the carrier, I will just do that instead since the tix are cheaper and more flexible. Or i will book with my Hyatt instead for 2x pts and pts have good value.
However if you have the PRG, you can get 4x miles booking thru amextravel and 3x miles booking thru carrier which is a good deal either way.

Premier rewards gold gets you 4x MR when you use it to book your fights through amextravel or amexconnect ? $780 x4 . I was thinking citi expedia card because it seems ill still earn more just now mr points but $$$. Save booking on discounted sites. Still trying weigh in. I think amex charge cards great as it is. Membership status and benefits (pp lounges, $200 airfare credit, hotel gold status etc...) not for purchasing because so far im not saving anything when using charge cards to purchase my flights or vacation or maybe i just dont know how to use it. For $200 gold i expect to earn 2x points dinning restaurants abroad unlike $95 chase sapphire which does include dinning abroad.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

NRB525 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:45:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I used to book on AmexTravel bc i get 2x miles with amex Gold. However, booking flights or hotels on amextravel the tix and stay are pre-paid and non-refundable which sux. Now that i can get 2x miles for booking thru the carrier, I will just do that instead since the tix are cheaper and more flexible. Or i will book with my Hyatt instead for 2x pts and pts have good value.
However if you have the PRG, you can get 4x miles booking thru amextravel and 3x miles booking thru carrier which is a good deal either way.

Premier rewards gold gets you 4x MR when you use it to book your fights through amextravel or amexconnect ? $780 x4 . I was thinking citi expedia card because it seems ill still earn more just now mr points but $$$. Save booking on discounted sites. Still trying weigh in. I think amex charge cards great as it is. Membership status and benefits (pp lounges, $200 airfare credit, hotel gold status etc...) not for purchasing because so far im not saving anything when using charge cards to purchase my flights or vacation or maybe i just dont know how to use it. For $200 gold i expect to earn 2x points dinning restaurants abroad unlike $95 chase sapphire which does include dinning abroad.

PRG specifically says 2x on US Restaurants only.

I used my Chase Hyatt card at restaurants in Panama and got 2x Hyatt points, which is over 3% rewards value. (and FWIW, a colleague from Belgium at the exact same dinner was told "We don't take AMEX" so he had to find $60 cash to pay for his portion.)

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:53:37 GMT

@NRB525 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I used to book on AmexTravel bc i get 2x miles with amex Gold. However, booking flights or hotels on amextravel the tix and stay are pre-paid and non-refundable which sux. Now that i can get 2x miles for booking thru the carrier, I will just do that instead since the tix are cheaper and more flexible. Or i will book with my Hyatt instead for 2x pts and pts have good value.
However if you have the PRG, you can get 4x miles booking thru amextravel and 3x miles booking thru carrier which is a good deal either way.

Premier rewards gold gets you 4x MR when you use it to book your fights through amextravel or amexconnect ? $780 x4 . I was thinking citi expedia card because it seems ill still earn more just now mr points but $$$. Save booking on discounted sites. Still trying weigh in. I think amex charge cards great as it is. Membership status and benefits (pp lounges, $200 airfare credit, hotel gold status etc...) not for purchasing because so far im not saving anything when using charge cards to purchase my flights or vacation or maybe i just dont know how to use it. For $200 gold i expect to earn 2x points dinning restaurants abroad unlike $95 chase sapphire which does include dinning abroad.
PRG specifically says 2x on US Restaurants only.
I used my Chase Hyatt card at restaurants in Panama and got 2x Hyatt points, which is over 3% rewards value. (and FWIW, a colleague from Belgium at the exact same dinner was told "We don't take AMEX" so he had to find $60 cash to pay for his portion.)

Read me wrong... i said i would expect it to cover dinning abroad paying $200 when i can pay half and get 2x using chase sapphire abroad when i eating out. So i need find other reasons for using gold besides status and membership benefits. I use credit cards to save money not to add perks that eventually costs money (maybe thats why everyone telling me to use quicksilver to purchase my flights). Can get a amex platinum without a $3,500 bill and still enjoy the same benefits as everyone else who has an american express platinum.

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

medo — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 23:08:12 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I used to book on AmexTravel bc i get 2x miles with amex Gold. However, booking flights or hotels on amextravel the tix and stay are pre-paid and non-refundable which sux. Now that i can get 2x miles for booking thru the carrier, I will just do that instead since the tix are cheaper and more flexible. Or i will book with my Hyatt instead for 2x pts and pts have good value.
However if you have the PRG, you can get 4x miles booking thru amextravel and 3x miles booking thru carrier which is a good deal either way.

Premier rewards gold gets you 4x MR when you use it to book your fights through amextravel or amexconnect ? $780 x4 . I was thinking citi expedia card because it seems ill still earn more just now mr points but $$$. Save booking on discounted sites. Still trying weigh in. I think amex charge cards great as it is. Membership status and benefits (pp lounges, $200 airfare credit, hotel gold status etc...) not for purchasing because so far im not saving anything when using charge cards to purchase my flights or vacation or maybe i just dont know how to use it. For $200 gold i expect to earn 2x points dinning restaurants abroad unlike $95 chase sapphire which does include dinning abroad.

How are you getting 4x MR via AMEX Travel? I saw someone post this before but when I inquired with AMEX about it, they said it is a max of x3, not x4.

Would you mind sharing some insight on this?

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 23:21:02 GMT

@medo wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I used to book on AmexTravel bc i get 2x miles with amex Gold. However, booking flights or hotels on amextravel the tix and stay are pre-paid and non-refundable which sux. Now that i can get 2x miles for booking thru the carrier, I will just do that instead since the tix are cheaper and more flexible. Or i will book with my Hyatt instead for 2x pts and pts have good value.
However if you have the PRG, you can get 4x miles booking thru amextravel and 3x miles booking thru carrier which is a good deal either way.

Premier rewards gold gets you 4x MR when you use it to book your fights through amextravel or amexconnect ? $780 x4 . I was thinking citi expedia card because it seems ill still earn more just now mr points but $$$. Save booking on discounted sites. Still trying weigh in. I think amex charge cards great as it is. Membership status and benefits (pp lounges, $200 airfare credit, hotel gold status etc...) not for purchasing because so far im not saving anything when using charge cards to purchase my flights or vacation or maybe i just dont know how to use it. For $200 gold i expect to earn 2x points dinning restaurants abroad unlike $95 chase sapphire which does include dinning abroad.
How are you getting 4x MR via AMEX Travel? I saw someone post this before but when I inquired with AMEX about it, they said it is a max of x3, not x4.

Would you mind sharing some insight on this?

Thats what i thought too. I was referring what someone else said. Perhaps im not a point guy. I like cash. I did get an offer from amex for blue cash everydah $150 cash back when i spend $500. I also got the 25k MR bonus when i spend $2,000 on everday no annual fee card. But thats points. Point seems so confusing for a guy who not good with numbers or math my worst subject. Maybe thats how they make money like booking on amextravel you get more points but also costs $10 more so you really not getting the MR points you think you're getting. AMEX is getting them. Afterall, amex is great for perks and status but for purchasing fkights im going to use a different card.

2x miles. 2 x MR poinys. 2 x UR points or just plain 2% cash back

Re: ChaseTravel vs AmexTravel vs AmexConnect

kdm31091 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 23:19:45 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@medo wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I used to book on AmexTravel bc i get 2x miles with amex Gold. However, booking flights or hotels on amextravel the tix and stay are pre-paid and non-refundable which sux. Now that i can get 2x miles for booking thru the carrier, I will just do that instead since the tix are cheaper and more flexible. Or i will book with my Hyatt instead for 2x pts and pts have good value.
However if you have the PRG, you can get 4x miles booking thru amextravel and 3x miles booking thru carrier which is a good deal either way.

Premier rewards gold gets you 4x MR when you use it to book your fights through amextravel or amexconnect ? $780 x4 . I was thinking citi expedia card because it seems ill still earn more just now mr points but $$$. Save booking on discounted sites. Still trying weigh in. I think amex charge cards great as it is. Membership status and benefits (pp lounges, $200 airfare credit, hotel gold status etc...) not for purchasing because so far im not saving anything when using charge cards to purchase my flights or vacation or maybe i just dont know how to use it. For $200 gold i expect to earn 2x points dinning restaurants abroad unlike $95 chase sapphire which does include dinning abroad.
How are you getting 4x MR via AMEX Travel? I saw someone post this before but when I inquired with AMEX about it, they said it is a max of x3, not x4.

Would you mind sharing some insight on this?
Thats what i thought too. I was referring what someone else said. Perhaps im not a point guy. I like cash. I did get an offer from amex for blue cash everydah $150 cash back when i spend $500. I also got the 25k MR bonus when i spend $2,000 on everday no annual fee card. But thats points. Point seems so confusing for a guy who not good with numbers or math my worst subject. Maybe thats how they make money
2x miles. 2 x MR poinys. 2 x UR points or just plain 2% cash back

You already have a DC for 2% back, though, and no worrying about points with it...it's just a straight 2%!

I think you should probably dial back a bit and stick to cash if points are giving you a headache. Just like yesterday with the balance transfer thread I think you are putting more thought into this than you probably need to. I'm not saying that to be rude, but for every program, there's someone who benefits from it and someone who doesn't. I have no interest/use for MR points because I don't want to take the time to compare prices, transfer points, etc, but for others they are a godsend. If you prefer cash back, stick with it.