@Anonymous wrote:
@Ghoshida wrote:
I don't think you can transfer MR points to United directly anyway. An option is to get a Singapore Airlines account, book a United flight through them using points, and transfer required number of points from MR to Singapore Airlines.
Another point to note is that typically, points redemption makes better value in business class travel and higher, or international travel.
Others can chime in with more tips. You can also check on Flyer Talk, as they are geared towards travel specifically.
Thanks for the tip, but I do know that in order to use points on United I need to transfer it to Air Canada Aeroplan, ANA, or Singapore Airlines. But my point is that even cheapest flight (which is not good for me) is 25 000 round trip. I can buy the right flight for 21 919 MR points directly from AmEx web portal. So, looks like the transfer is worse than not transfer. I red huge amount of articles indicating that the transfer points is way better than other options. Looks like it is not true even if the travel is flexible (any day in two month!).
I agree with the rest of your comment.
I agree that this transfer doesn't work out well.
I've found that out in a good number of tickets. I fly out of Austin and unless the trip is a bit complicated (with at least one hop etc.) I have not found a good redemption value. I did find a good value for a AUS-OGG (Maui, Hawaii) trip on business class, and basically will be looking out for such trips.
But in general your point is valid; it's often cheaper to simply book a trip using cash than considering the point transfer.
However, I also think it's a limitation of the MR program. The UR program has Southwest, who typically has a 1.6 cpp redemption rate for booking domestic tickets in advance. That sets my benchmark for UR redemption, and it works better than the next alternative, 1.2 cpp through Chase's website.
In any case, I think you've got two options: (1) hold the points for a future travel opportunity where the dollar value is much higher or (2) choose the most optimal redemption policy here (which will be Amex travel in this case).
I think a lot of points travellers are willing to park their points for a more costly ticket at some other time and / or redeem for a higher class of travel. For e.g. if you're a tall person, you can look at booking a business class ticket between IAH and IAD using points; you'll get some added space without paying actual dollars. Now it depends on how much you value that space.
About the gift cards, it's a matter of chance. Sometimes the coding goes through as incidental purchase and you can get the redemption. It's not 100% guaranteed but in any case, you're not losing money.
