Anticipating point values

[iced]

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@redpat wrote:

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@iced wrote:

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@redpat wrote:
Well I will use my ur points to book some first class domestic flights and pay for the cost of coach giving me miles for my AA flight and additional miles for plat exec that I have for this year, it will also count for this year's status which will fall to plat.

This isn't a bad way to use ur and mr points w/ Amex biz play 35% rebate.

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If I understand you correctly, you're using points to subsidize the cost difference between economy and first, and in doing so you're getting the EQM/EQD multipliers for elite status associated with paid premium cabin fares. With DL and UA (I don't fly AA so can't speak for them at present) the fare difference between Y and F is usually only about $200 each way, which works out to less than 15,000 miles (which is what UA would want for the upgrade), so I agree that would be a better option than transferring points for those routes, especially since you're also reaping the EQM/EQD that you wouldn't get with an upgrade.

On higher-cost premium routes (JFK/EWR-SFO), the cost from Y to F can often exceed $1,000 each way, and there the miles upgrade route would become the "cheaper" option again, provided you can even get upgraded at all. Those usually sell out in F so there's rarely upgrade space in the first place.

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I just booked one last month I paid coach $326 giving me 8,569 miles ($779*11) 4,936 EQM and $779 EQD for my 30,200 UR points which I have a ton of anyway.  Since I have Exec plat this year why not get as many miles as I can at a reduced cost. 

Sure I could of used 51,933 ur points but I have no problem paying coach and that gives me 21,733 extra UR points for another redemption option.

Maybe not the best way to use points some may think but I happy with my redemptions.

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I don't disagree, you could have done much worse with the points.

I think the only thing I would have done differently is just paid the $779 and used 0 UR points. If I did that exact same thing 3 more times, I would have saved 121k UR points and only spent an extra $1,812. I could then transfer the 121k UR points to UA or BA and, combined with the ~32k miles earned from those 4 flights, pick up a r/t business ticket to Europe somewhere, which would have cost me significantly more than the $1,812 I spent. On top of that, I'd still have ~40k miles toward my next ticket.

I will admit the one flaw in my approach is that I can't do it with AA. You'd still earn enough to redeem the ticket on BA or UA, and you'd still have the 40k miles accrued on AA, but they'd remain in separate pools. It means my threshold to redemption is just higher if I'm set on flying AA.

[wasCB14]

Thanks for your input, everyone!

I've remembered that it's not just cpp values that matter, but also having enough of the points I need, and not too many of the ones I only use slowly. I can redeem Hyatt points well, but really have a glut of hotel points and certificates, as well as Prestige's 4th night. I have a greater appetite for airline miles and cash.

I think I'll plan around a 1.99 cpp figure for MRs (so 4% cash just beats BBP), but lower the Hyatt figure to 1.5.

So long as I can milk Prestige for occasional retention offers, it should be a great off-category card for merchants that don't take Amex.

[fittiger]

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@redpat wrote:

Business and personal spend is either MR or UR w/ some AA and SPG sprinkled in.  I use the point categories for the best bang for my buck all dining is on CSR, all flights are put on Amex personal plat for 5x w/ some Barclays AA for 3x and Ink+ is huge w/ 5x categories, all Marriott / SPG stays on my SPG card.

I also get a ton of points using AA dining & shopping, UR shopping and Amex offers.  We dump our amazon prime and never missed a beat w/ pricing or shipping since we are getting more value getting all our spend towards free travel and upgrade options.

Then when we are planning a vacation I take a look are all the options we have using those points and found CSR 1.50x and Amex Bus plat 35% rebate give us some great options rather than using the transfer point option.  You can travel first class (air & hotels) while having your points subsidize the extra cost vs. of going coach or staying in a reg room vs. a suite, lounge access, free breakfast and late check-outs.

I can never go back to economy/budget travel, lol!

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How does the AMEX Bus platinum rebate work?  Is there another thread or blog you can point me to that explains the benefits thoroughly?

[simplynoir]

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@fittiger wrote:

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@redpat wrote:

Business and personal spend is either MR or UR w/ some AA and SPG sprinkled in.  I use the point categories for the best bang for my buck all dining is on CSR, all flights are put on Amex personal plat for 5x w/ some Barclays AA for 3x and Ink+ is huge w/ 5x categories, all Marriott / SPG stays on my SPG card.

I also get a ton of points using AA dining & shopping, UR shopping and Amex offers.  We dump our amazon prime and never missed a beat w/ pricing or shipping since we are getting more value getting all our spend towards free travel and upgrade options.

Then when we are planning a vacation I take a look are all the options we have using those points and found CSR 1.50x and Amex Bus plat 35% rebate give us some great options rather than using the transfer point option.  You can travel first class (air & hotels) while having your points subsidize the extra cost vs. of going coach or staying in a reg room vs. a suite, lounge access, free breakfast and late check-outs.

I can never go back to economy/budget travel, lol!

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How does the AMEX Bus platinum rebate work?  Is there another thread or blog you can point me to that explains the benefits thoroughly?

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35% Airline Bonus‡ Use Membership Rewards Pay with Points for a First or Business class flight with any airline available through American Express Travel and you can get 35% of the points back. Or get 35% of the points back when you book a flight with your selected qualifying airline. With the 35% Airline Bonus benefit, you can get up to 500,000 bonus points per calendar year.‡

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/business/business-credit-cards/american-express-busi...

[redpat]

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@iced wrote:

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@redpat wrote:

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@iced wrote:

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@redpat wrote:
Well I will use my ur points to book some first class domestic flights and pay for the cost of coach giving me miles for my AA flight and additional miles for plat exec that I have for this year, it will also count for this year's status which will fall to plat.

This isn't a bad way to use ur and mr points w/ Amex biz play 35% rebate.

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If I understand you correctly, you're using points to subsidize the cost difference between economy and first, and in doing so you're getting the EQM/EQD multipliers for elite status associated with paid premium cabin fares. With DL and UA (I don't fly AA so can't speak for them at present) the fare difference between Y and F is usually only about $200 each way, which works out to less than 15,000 miles (which is what UA would want for the upgrade), so I agree that would be a better option than transferring points for those routes, especially since you're also reaping the EQM/EQD that you wouldn't get with an upgrade.

On higher-cost premium routes (JFK/EWR-SFO), the cost from Y to F can often exceed $1,000 each way, and there the miles upgrade route would become the "cheaper" option again, provided you can even get upgraded at all. Those usually sell out in F so there's rarely upgrade space in the first place.

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I just booked one last month I paid coach $326 giving me 8,569 miles ($779*11) 4,936 EQM and $779 EQD for my 30,200 UR points which I have a ton of anyway.  Since I have Exec plat this year why not get as many miles as I can at a reduced cost. 

Sure I could of used 51,933 ur points but I have no problem paying coach and that gives me 21,733 extra UR points for another redemption option.

Maybe not the best way to use points some may think but I happy with my redemptions.

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I don't disagree, you could have done much worse with the points.

I think the only thing I would have done differently is just paid the $779 and used 0 UR points. If I did that exact same thing 3 more times, I would have saved 121k UR points and only spent an extra $1,812. I could then transfer the 121k UR points to UA or BA and, combined with the ~32k miles earned from those 4 flights, pick up a r/t business ticket to Europe somewhere, which would have cost me significantly more than the $1,812 I spent. On top of that, I'd still have ~40k miles toward my next ticket.

I will admit the one flaw in my approach is that I can't do it with AA. You'd still earn enough to redeem the ticket on BA or UA, and you'd still have the 40k miles accrued on AA, but they'd remain in separate pools. It means my threshold to redemption is just higher if I'm set on flying AA.

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My business spend w/ ink+ and CSR gives me between 200k - 300k UR points annually, right now I’m I’m sitting on about 521k ur points so I’m not worried about blowing some ur points here and there. I’m in the process of accumulating as many AA miles that I can this year.  I don’t have a many business flights as last year so I’m doing more personal travel this year and stretching out as many 4 day weekends as I can.

This stuff is fun knowing you worked your a$$ and having the ability to say “Hmm, where would I like to go?”