Amex Appeal

[notmyrealname23]

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@digitek wrote:

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You are missing the most valuable perk, the annual companion pass that comes with Delta Platinum/Reserve.

It would not change my math, though sure, it's a useful benefit for someone. I'm single so a companion pass is pretty much useless to me (which I guess is why I didn't even mention it, it's literally less useful for me than lounge access or checked luggage). Everyone should definitely do their own math and figure out what works.

[UpperNwGuy]

Why the Amex appeal?

-- good customer service

-- easy to quickly collect a handful of credit cards when building or rebuilding

-- access to airport lounges

-- good co-brand partners (Delta, Marriott, Hilton)

-- Amex offers

Why don't I have any Amex cards anymore?

-- Amex is often not accepted overseas and sometimes not accepted here in the US

-- customer service not as good as it once was

-- I rarely fly Delta, and rarely stay at Marriott or Hilton

-- I think airport lounges are overrated

-- I dislike airline incidental credits and other merchant-specific credits

-- I don't use third-party agents for hotel reservations, nor do I prepay my hotels

-- I dislike the time delay for posting rewards

-- I dislike minimum redemptions

-- Amex offers are not as good as they once were

[CreditobsessedinFL]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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@wasCB14 wrote:
we're talking Hilton/Marriott/Delta status

 You rang?

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@K-in-Boston , always here for it. 

[K-in-Boston]

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@notmyrealname23 wrote:

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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I'm not sure why you would say that longhaul international in F is basically impossible.  I frequently see Delta One widely available to Asia and Europe for 80-100k SkyMiles, and even less sometimes during the flash sales that Delta does a lot.

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DeltaOne is international business class, not international first class. Try booking Air France La Premiére with Skymiles sometime (or China Southern/Eastern/Korean F) and you'll see what I mean. A decent amount of my redemptions over the years have been in F cabins that Skymiles "only J, never F" policy would never allow. Granted they do allow business class, which is why I didn't say "never".

I can tell you that I've never paid 100,000 miles one way to Europe or Asia in a business class cabin as of yet though (and I even pay considerably less to fly F)- but that's because I don't typically accrue SkyMiles. I suppose I might dump some AMEX there at some point if there's an appealing redemption opportunity, but it's not my program of choice.

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I think most of us would would be quite content with Delta One, and especially Delta One Suites.  I see where the discrepency is, though, since you are looking for true F cabins.  SkyMiles doesn't have an "only J, never F" policy - it's up to partner airlines to release award inventory.  If we're calling DO J, then Delta doesn't have an "F cabin" on long-haul flights, but DO is far superior to First Class on Delta, even if it's technically Business Class.  You cannot book La Premiére with any mileage program other than AirFrance/KLM's FlyingBlue, and even then you must have elite status with Air France to even be able to book it.  China Southern is no longer a SkyTeam member, so that would make sense.  I am not sure what the availability is for Korean or China Eastern for any specific F cabins.

The 80-100k I mentioned was round-trip, not one-way.

[drboxing]

I like my AMEX Platinum for the travel benefits, I like my AMEX Gold which I use everyday for shopping and earning MR rewards which allows me to use the rewards for domestic travel.

[notmyrealname23]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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@notmyrealname23 wrote:

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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I'm not sure why you would say that longhaul international in F is basically impossible.  I frequently see Delta One widely available to Asia and Europe for 80-100k SkyMiles, and even less sometimes during the flash sales that Delta does a lot.

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DeltaOne is international business class, not international first class. Try booking Air France La Premiére with Skymiles sometime (or China Southern/Eastern/Korean F) and you'll see what I mean. A decent amount of my redemptions over the years have been in F cabins that Skymiles "only J, never F" policy would never allow. Granted they do allow business class, which is why I didn't say "never".

I can tell you that I've never paid 100,000 miles one way to Europe or Asia in a business class cabin as of yet though (and I even pay considerably less to fly F)- but that's because I don't typically accrue SkyMiles. I suppose I might dump some AMEX there at some point if there's an appealing redemption opportunity, but it's not my program of choice.

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I think most of us would would be quite content with Delta One, and especially Delta One Suites.  I see where the discrepency is, though, since you are looking for true F cabins.  SkyMiles doesn't have an "only J, never F" policy - it's up to partner airlines to release award inventory.

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Delta does not generally allow any redemptions in longhaul international first class.  The only reason this particular workaround works is if you have a full business class/open first class cabin on China Eastern.

https://pointmetotheplane.boardingarea.com/update-skymiles-international-first-class-award-ticketed-...

You would need to use another program (like Korean or Air France,  AMEX transfer partners) to book most Delta partner F cabins, but this isn't a universal practice of international business class being the highest cabin allowed on an award. United miles book into Thai or Lufthansa first class just fine- but United doesn't have a first class cabin.

I am not disputing Delta One as better than a US domestic first class cabin; that's why I am saying "international". I have routinely used award inventory from Oneworld and Star Alliance airlines in longhaul international first and business class. AMEX has opened up the world of SkyTeam to me (which is a point in their favor: access to many good programs, many of which with their own "sweet spots"), but some of the restrictions Delta has (and lack of award charts) make me shy away from them as a place to bank miles and primarily use for my domestic travel.