@Anonymous wrote:
@takeshi74 wrote:
We know it's not what you asked for but your posts seem to indicate that you don't understand what is meant by transfer to travel partners from the various rewards systems. That's why we're pointing it out to you. You need to consider the transfer partners for such rewards programs as transferring is generally the way to maximize point value.
What you're describing above sounds like booking through the rewards portal which is not transferring. Virgin is not an MR transfer partner. See:
http://catalogue.membershiprewards.ca/l2Category.mtw?categoryName=ca_frequent_traveller_participants
UR is the same. The UR portal travel redemption bonus is genrally not the best value in using UR points.
Make sure you understand the differences in how points can be redeemed and how to maximize point value. Yes, each program has a limited number of transfer parnters but that's why you need to consider them when looking at another rewards program. If you want to be able to use any airline then you should probably consider a different type of rewards program.
i DO understand what is meant by transfering. but i DO NOT want to transfer my amex points to partners like Delta for their stupid SkyPesos. i want to use points as cash. problem is that when i can't use amex points as cash to pay for flights because the points are harder to earn AND the spend bonuses suck on the personal Amex platinum. each MR point is worth like 4/5 of a penny. the only amex partner that i TRANSFERED to was jetblue. they were the only ones that seemed worth while. with the other partners it's only worth transfering points if i decided to fly first class.
here is a comparison for what i'm talking about. delta wants 90K of their skypesos for a round trip flight from NYC to Honolulu, this time of year it costs $870 in cash. for that, i would have to transfer 90K AmEx MR points and pay amex a considerable amount of money to transfer said points. however, the same exact flight costs only 45k points from united airlines and only requires 45k UR points from chase. plus you don't have to put money down to transfer said points. alternatively, if i use citi prestige to pay for my ticket with points, it only costs 55k citi TY points. same exact story for literally every flight i tried to take. UK, grenada, canada, SF, etc. amex partners just want too many points. plus both citi and chase points pile up a whole lot quicker.
to add insult to injury, Delta recently annouced that their point/skypesos requirements will be jacked up even more. as if they aren't worthless enough as is.
long story short, i gave up trying to use my amex points. a few months ago i sold my last 230K points to a local travel agent for 1.4 cents a point, closed amex and got a citi prestige. only paying $350 a year for better benefits. $250 airline credits, and not limited to just one airline a year. admiral's lounge instead of delta sky club. etc. also have the citi prefered for the quaterly 5x bonus, like the current gas bonus. i lost access to the "airspace lounge" at the JetBlue terminal at JFK, a place i used to frequently visit. but looks like i wont be flying JetBlue much anymore anyway, so i'm not worried. but more importantly i can now use my card anywhere i want... i solid 75% of the time i try to use my amex abroad, it isn't accepted.
Delta is the worst amex transfer partner and it is totally worthless to transfer MRs for skypesos. But you can get good value transferring to other airlines such as ANA, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways etc.
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