topic Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it? in Credit Cards

What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:23:15 GMT

I got the Amex gold recently and it had a 50k MR sign up bonus. I intend to use it on 4x dining but apparently the points are worth a lot less when redeemed for cash/amazon.

Whats the best way to maximize the points? I'd like to at least get 1:1 ratio on it. The only way I saw online was by travel, but I don't fly often.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Priory_Man — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:28:50 GMT

Flying for me, that's kind of the reason I chose the card. I just transfer them to my skymiles.
Others use them when paying for hotels or getting upgrades.
Cash value is not great, I've never looked at Amazon I have a different approach with another card I use for shopping there.
Plenty of guys on here use MR's I am sure they will all jump in soon with advice and suggestions.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:33:46 GMT

Transfer to airline partner and fly economy 1.2 to 1.7cpp.
Transfer to airline partner and fly business international, or wait for airline flash sale, 2+ ccp
Gift card, 0.6 to 1 cpp
Cash redemption 0.6 cpp

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

simplynoir — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:34:07 GMT

Travel is the best use of MR points when redeeming them. As you discovered using them for other means like cash redemption and Amazon only give you like 60% of its value I believe. If you're not much of a traveler, business or otherwise, you're probably better off with a card like the Savor or Uber card which can give you 4% cashback on dining. The Savor also comes with the $500 SUB for $3k spend last time I checked which sounds like it fits a lot better for your needs.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:41:35 GMT

How would I do the transfer to an airline partner?

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

DU556 — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:55:58 GMT

I got my first amex card with MR points to use at Amazon. When i realized they were only worth 0.7 at checkout,i pretty much stopped using it. I applied for the chase Amazon card which at least offered 1c value.
Only reason why i still keep the Amex is because recently they've kept bringing good deals on Amazon if you pay with points.
Yesterday they had $30 off a purchase of $60 or more if you paid with even $0.05 in MR points.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:59:54 GMT

First you need to have an account with airline, then log in to Amex, goto membership reward, click transfer.

Only transfer when you are ready to purchase ticket. Don't transfer before you have done search and ready for purchase.

Know you can transfer to one airline then book ticket through that airline but fly on its alliance airline flight. E. G., you can transfer to British airline then book ticket for AA flights (limitation applies) .

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

wasCB14 — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 22:30:10 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
First you need to have an account with airline, then log in to Amex, goto membership reward, click transfer.

Only transfer when you are ready to purchase ticket. Don't transfer before you have done search and ready for purchase.

Know you can transfer to one airline then book ticket through that airline but fly on its alliance airline flight. E. G., you can transfer to British airline then book ticket for AA flights (limitation applies) .

OP does not fly often. That much is clear.

However, if OP consistently flies one airline (whenever he or she actually does fly), then converting points to miles during a transfer promo may possibly make sense.

If OP is not loyal to any particular airline or alliance, then it's best to wait to transfer them.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

budugu — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 22:53:07 GMT

if you dont fly then the true value is 0.7. Other options are get Morgan Stanley CC or schwab plat card and transfer points to brokerage account (neither is without effort) to get 1 to 1.25c . I have pretty much used MR for JetBlue transfers (1.4-1.5) or if i find a cheap delta flight for 1.1 or 1.2.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

kdm31091 — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:02:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I got the Amex gold recently and it had a 50k MR sign up bonus. I intend to use it on 4x dining but apparently the points are worth a lot less when redeemed for cash/amazon.

Whats the best way to maximize the points? I'd like to at least get 1:1 ratio on it. The only way I saw online was by travel, but I don't fly often.

Unfortunately, if you don't travel, it probably isn't the best fit. You should just go for one of the several dining cash back cards i.e. Uber, Savor, Costco, etc. MR points really only get 1:1 for travel transfers and a limited selection of gift cards. Anything else is less than that, meaning your 4x dining would really be more like 2x or 3x when you actually redeem.

MR points are really designed and best for travel redemptions. Since you already got the card, maybe save up the points for a future trip? You do have the AF to factor in though. All in all if you just want a dining card and don't do much traveling I think a cash back card would be better and not cost you anything (or at least, a lower AF in the case of the Savor).

At least you got 50k points so at the worst, they are going to be worth ~$250 or so and you can decide what to do from there. To me sounds like it isn't a great fit for you though.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:02:55 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
First you need to have an account with airline, then log in to Amex, goto membership reward, click transfer.

Only transfer when you are ready to purchase ticket. Don't transfer before you have done search and ready for purchase.

Know you can transfer to one airline then book ticket through that airline but fly on its alliance airline flight. E. G., you can transfer to British airline then book ticket for AA flights (limitation applies) .
OP does not fly often. That much is clear.

However, if OP consistently flies one airline (whenever he or she actually does fly), then converting points to miles during a transfer promo may possibly make sense.

If OP is not loyal to any particular airline or alliance, then it's best to wait to transfer them.

true, if there is any chance to boost the value to above 1.5cpp with bonus transfer, do it.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Loquat — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:27:37 GMT

I stack my MR points and usually transfer them over to Marriott (Delta on a very, very rare occasion). Like others have mentioned MR point shine the most when traveling. In my opinion, even though travel is where MR carry most of its weight, I can't find any good reason to use them for domestic flights.

With so much competition in the domestic airspace, you can find flights really cheap to just about anywhere in the US as long as you're not doing last minute bookings.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:38:20 GMT

@Loquat wrote:
I stack my MR points and usually transfer them over to Marriott (Delta on a very, very rare occasion). Like others have mentioned MR point shine the most when traveling. In my opinion, even though travel is where MR carry most of its weight, I can't find any good reason to use them for domestic flights.

With so much competition in the domestic airspace, you can find flights really cheap to just about anywhere in the US as long as you're not doing last minute bookings.

cheap flight between hubs maybe, lol. For many non-hub airports, there is no competition.

but yes, if you book all the domestic flight, better use CSR UR portal or Wells fargo travel for a reliable excellent value.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:43:31 GMT

Unfortunately, a fairly common experience here, leading to the unwanted but necessary PSA:

Before applying for a card, understand what you are getting!

For reward cards, apart from fees and rules you need to understand:

1) earning structure. How do you earn points/miles/etc? This bit is relatively clear to most people, e.g. 4MR at dining places. Still sometimes needs a little more investigation: is it restricted to the US (usually for Amex)? Do all my category stores count (e.g. will store X count as a grocery? Sometimes an issue, particularly for Amex)

2) redeeming structure. How do I turn the things I have earned into what I want and what will I get? This is where people get tripped up, having been excited by 4x, 5x etc in part 1. While the biggest learning curve is on travel cards such as those in the MR/UR/TYP eco-system, we've seen issues even on cashback cards where an issuer give FOUR POINTS per $!!!! but then people find that the points are only worth 0.25cents each.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

kdm31091 — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:04:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Unfortunately, a fairly common experience here, leading to the unwanted but necessary PSA:

Before applying for a card, understand what you are getting!
For reward cards, apart from fees and rules you need to understand:
1) earning structure. How do you earn points/miles/etc? This bit is relatively clear to most people, e.g. 4MR at dining places. Still sometimes needs a little more investigation: is it restricted to the US (usually for Amex)? Do all my category stores count (e.g. will store X count as a grocery? Sometimes an issue, particularly for Amex)
2) redeeming structure. How do I turn the things I have earned into what I want and what will I get? This is where people get tripped up, having been excited by 4x, 5x etc in part 1. While the biggest learning curve is on travel cards such as those in the MR/UR/TYP eco-system, we've seen issues even on cashback cards where an issuer give FOUR POINTS per $!!!! but then people find that the points are only worth 0.25cents each.

This exactly. 4x does not always (or not nearly always!) mean 4%. You have to really do your research ahead of time.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Loquat — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:13:34 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Unfortunately, a fairly common experience here, leading to the unwanted but necessary PSA:

Before applying for a card, understand what you are getting!
For reward cards, apart from fees and rules you need to understand:
1) earning structure. How do you earn points/miles/etc? This bit is relatively clear to most people, e.g. 4MR at dining places. Still sometimes needs a little more investigation: is it restricted to the US (usually for Amex)? Do all my category stores count (e.g. will store X count as a grocery? Sometimes an issue, particularly for Amex)
2) redeeming structure. How do I turn the things I have earned into what I want and what will I get? This is where people get tripped up, having been excited by 4x, 5x etc in part 1. While the biggest learning curve is on travel cards such as those in the MR/UR/TYP eco-system, we've seen issues even on cashback cards where an issuer give FOUR POINTS per $!!!! but then people find that the points are only worth 0.25cents each.

This exactly. 4x does not always (or not nearly always!) mean 4%. You have to really do your research ahead of time.

I agree with both KDM and LTL...you MUST look BEFORE you leap; it'll save you a lot of heartburn in the process. And to add to it, even though MR points are at their highest worth usually when traveling international, please know that it still takes A LOT of MR points to bump to business/first class and even more if you're trying to book business/first class with points alone.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

wasCB14 — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:17:35 GMT

@Loquat wrote:
I stack my MR points and usually transfer them over to Marriott (Delta on a very, very rare occasion). Like others have mentioned MR point shine the most when traveling. In my opinion, even though travel is where MR carry most of its weight, I can't find any good reason to use them for domestic flights.

With so much competition in the domestic airspace, you can find flights really cheap to just about anywhere in the US as long as you're not doing last minute bookings.

And as someone who occasionally does have to book at the last minute...

I +40% Avios.

(No $75 close-in award fee for AA metal.)

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:23:22 GMT

@Loquat wrote:
I agree with both KDM and LTL...you MUST look BEFORE you leap; it'll save you a lot of heartburn in the process. And to add to it, even though MR points are at their highest worth usually when traveling international, please know that it still takes A LOT of MR points to bump to business/first class and even more if you're trying to book business/first class with points alone.

very good point. Even if its 10ccp, spending 200+k MR for an international business class doesn't necessary mean its cheap if the ticket can be had for 500 on economy. Different prospectives/need/consideration.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:25:36 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
@Loquat wrote:
I stack my MR points and usually transfer them over to Marriott (Delta on a very, very rare occasion). Like others have mentioned MR point shine the most when traveling. In my opinion, even though travel is where MR carry most of its weight, I can't find any good reason to use them for domestic flights.

With so much competition in the domestic airspace, you can find flights really cheap to just about anywhere in the US as long as you're not doing last minute bookings.
And as someone who occasionally does have to book at the last minute...

I +40% Avios.

(No $75 close-in award fee for AA metal.)

how often does this happen? im still waiting.

Re: What is the true value of Membership Reward Points? How do you guys maximize it?

redpat — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:44:45 GMT

For me a lot, but OP they won’t have much value for you it appears.