Best way to use Amex MR Points?

[flowfaster]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@flowfaster wrote:

Honestly you should sell them on one those deal sites and get $200+ cash.  MR points suck big time.

---

MR points only "suck" if you don't know how to use them, While I will agree that they aren't worth as much on average as UR points there are many instances where people have gotten 3-4c per out of MR points.  this makes them suck signifiantly less if you know how to use them.

---

How often does that happen though?  When all the planets are alligned?  Meanwhile your paying a $95 AF.  Just does not make sense if your goal is save/make money.  Why not use another card like the Priceline or the Travel Penfed card.?  Hell if you ran the 30,000 through the Priceline card thats $600.  Run that same 30,000 through and Amex charge card and you get 30,000 points that is maybe worth $150 minus $95.  Or transfer them to an Airline at a generous 2x and your still paying an AF of $95.  And thats ONLY if they are running a promotion.  I realize many people are loyal to Amex but times are a changing. 

[GoldenloveNY]

At the end of the day, nothing beats a no annual fee 1-5% cashback card.

[Anonymous]

---

@flowfaster wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@flowfaster wrote:

Honestly you should sell them on one those deal sites and get $200+ cash.  MR points suck big time.

---

MR points only "suck" if you don't know how to use them, While I will agree that they aren't worth as much on average as UR points there are many instances where people have gotten 3-4c per out of MR points.  this makes them suck signifiantly less if you know how to use them.

---

How often does that happen though?  When all the planets are alligned?  Meanwhile your paying a $95 AF.  Just does not make sense if your goal is save/make money.  Why not use another card like the Priceline or the Travel Penfed card.?  Hell if you ran the 30,000 through the Priceline card thats $600.  Run that same 30,000 through and Amex charge card and you get 30,000 points that is maybe worth $150 minus $95.  Or transfer them to an Airline at a generous 2x and your still paying an AF of $95.  And thats ONLY if they are running a promotion.  I realize many people are loyal to Amex but times are a changing. 

---

I used 25K MR points to book a 900$ flight last month, that is well above 150$

I'm way more loyal to my CSP than my AMEX, but there is no denying that MR points can be very valuable if you use them correctly.  Although you do have to spend enough to be able to get to those thresholds, I guess a lot of people can't or don't want to wait long enough to hit those.

MR points always convert 1:1 to Delta, no waiting for promotions

[Cdnewmanpac]

OP: There are several things you can do to get better value from MR points than delta (they call them skypesos for a reason):

1. Starpoints- amex periodically runs 1:2 conversion specials. So you could get 40k starpoints for 20k mr. 40k starpoints are hugely useful and can be used for hotel redemptions or converted again to numerous airlines via the SPG program.

2. You need to look at alliances and airline partnerships. For example, MR points convert 1:1 to BA. BA points can be used for short haul flights on American for much better redemption ratios than booking American directly. Cathay points work on American, China, etc. For example, 30k BA avios can be used to book rt flight on Alaska to Hawaii.

MR points aren't as flexible/powerful as they once were. Personally, I've chosen to focus on UR points, but they are still quite powerful if used properly.

[flowfaster]

---

@GoldenloveNY wrote:

At the end of the day, nothing beats a no annual fee 1-5% cashback card.

---

Agreed.  People that like to travel check out the Penfed Travel Amex card.

.

I also have no quams if an AF is justified (like the BCP) but the Amex family of charge cards(except maybe the Plat) are not.  IMO

[Anonymous]

---

@flowfaster wrote:

---

@GoldenloveNY wrote:

At the end of the day, nothing beats a no annual fee 1-5% cashback card.

---

Agreed.  People that like to travel check out the Penfed Travel Amex card.

.

I also have no quams if an AF is justified (like the BCP) but the Amex family of charge cards(except maybe the Plat) are not.  IMO

---

Depends on how much money you spend, There are a lot of people that spend 250K a year on a AMEX charge card that don't want to go through the hassle of dealing with Credit Cards and their HARD limits (use I know amex has an internal limit)

Plus the to the person that spends 250K a year on just an AMEX card that 2500 in cash back is really just a drop in the bucket but being able to take their family on a nice vacation at the end of the year without spending a penny is priceless.

AMEX Charge cards are not really designed for the person that spend 10-15K a year, you have to push moeny through them but the rewards are more than worth it in the end.  To people that have money the experiences they provide are worth more than the cash back

[LionLaw]

Thanks for all the great feedback!

I didn't mean to start a debate on the value of MR points. I've gotten a lot of value out of both the Zync and the PRG. Between them, I earn double points on gas, groceries, restaurants and utilities, and triple points on airfare. I don't know of many travel rewards cards that let you earn bonus points in so many valuable categories. I'm very pleased with how quickly the points have added up, and I'm sad to see the zync bonus categories getting eliminated.

I will have to keep my eye out for that double starpoints promotion; that would be an incredible deal.

[Alcibiades]

At 20,000, your best bet may be to transfer to British Airways Avios and to redeem the points there for American Airlines flights domestically. 15,000 points gets you a flight up and down the east coast (these flights range from $300-$400). Also, Britsh Airways periodically offers transfer bonuses.

[Alcibiades]

---

@flowfaster wrote:

---

@GoldenloveNY wrote:

At the end of the day, nothing beats a no annual fee 1-5% cashback card.

---

Agreed.  People that like to travel check out the Penfed Travel Amex card.

.

I also have no quams if an AF is justified (like the BCP) but the Amex family of charge cards(except maybe the Plat) are not.  IMO

---

With any annual fee card (not just Amex), the more you spend, the more justfied paying the fee is. With PRG, hittng 30K in spending year makes the card very valuable. Let's say you do that for three years, you can transfer to Avios or Asia Miles and fly business class to Asia - a benetit worth several thousand dollars.

[CreditScholar]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@flowfaster wrote:

---

@GoldenloveNY wrote:

At the end of the day, nothing beats a no annual fee 1-5% cashback card.

---

Agreed.  People that like to travel check out the Penfed Travel Amex card.

.

I also have no quams if an AF is justified (like the BCP) but the Amex family of charge cards(except maybe the Plat) are not.  IMO

---

Depends on how much money you spend, There are a lot of people that spend 250K a year on a AMEX charge card that don't want to go through the hassle of dealing with Credit Cards and their HARD limits (use I know amex has an internal limit)

Plus the to the person that spends 250K a year on just an AMEX card that 2500 in cash back is really just a drop in the bucket but being able to take their family on a nice vacation at the end of the year without spending a penny is priceless.

AMEX Charge cards are not really designed for the person that spend 10-15K a year, you have to push moeny through them but the rewards are more than worth it in the end.  To people that have money the experiences they provide are worth more than the cash back

---

+1, and those who have the money often don't want to deal with those kinds of hassles. To them their time is more important than saving a few dollars, so anything that makes their life easier is very much appreciated.

MR isn't for low spenders. It isn't now, nor has it ever been really. There are some good values in the tens of thousands of points, particularly MR-BA (during a transfer bonus), then redeeming it on AA for short-medium haul flights. However the really good stuff doesn't kick in until you are redeeming MR points in the 6 figure range.