Hi,
only just recently got an Amex card - Platinum edge and I have ammased about 50,000 points, im keen to know what people do with them to maxamise the value. I was looking at booking a holiday over Christmas (im thinking Sri Lanks) and was trying to figure out if i could use them for a free hotel.
Also Keen to see what people use them for generally, and how do you maximise the value?
What's the points per dollar conversion and how much points do you need for a master card?
Me too. This seems to give the best conversion rate….to $
Webjet does have a better rate at 10000 amex pts=$100, while amex travel offers 13500 pts=$100. But Wejbet charges a Booking Price Guarantee of $12.95 and a Servicing Fee of $21.95 for each booking.
someone said they can be exchanged for Hotel points which can be exchanged at a much highter value - I'm keen to get peoples thought
50,000 points = One way business class SQ Sydney-Singapore + Taxes.
Believe me - Best value to use it for Business/First class flights. With amex you can choose SQ, Virgin, Cathay, and many more.
Would this be to transfer them to the relevant frequent flyer program and use?
Had a look at the Amex Travel website, thought one can just check for flights there, and redeem using points. And that method works out quite expensive. Appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
You must transfer points to FF program you wish.
Amex travel website are different things.
Best value is to convert the points to frequent flyer points on various airlines and then purchase flights with them.
For example, Melbourne - Singapore return is 110,000 miles on Singapore Airlines (1 amex point = 1 krisflyer mile) Approximate cost of flight = $4,000 less paying $600 for government charges and taxes = $3,400
Note the 110,000 can be less as Singapore airlines gives a 15% discount if you do your own booking on line for frequent flyer redemptions.
Compare that to 50,000 points = $500 via webjet and the value is much much less. Even 100,000 points for $1,000 will not get you onto business class.
Singapore airlines does have promotions from time to time. A few years ago I flew MEL-SIN-HKG-SIN-MEL with stopovers in SIN each way for a few days for about 300,000 points business class for the entire trip which worked out to be around a $9,000 flight. Singapore airlines at that time had 25% off their usual point requirements.
It depends on the value to the person buying it.
For example a return Jetstar flight Melbourne to Singapore is about $470 (that's not even on special). The person with the points might be prepared to pay, say, $200 more to fly business class on Singapore Air so to them it is worth $670. That makes the points worth 0.71c each.
A bottle of Penfolds Bin 170 costs about $1,500. If you could buy it for 50,000 points you could say it's worth 3c per point. But would it be worth that to you* ?
*Like flights, non-transferable of course. You'd have to drink it all yourself.
I should probably clarify this - never buy economy class airfares with frequent flyer points as these are often the most heavily discounted airfares and generally it's better to buy the fare and earn the frequent flyer points.
Business class and first are not as heavily discounted. In addition, the use of budget carriers often does not work so much for per dollar cost value, however on full service airlines the value is definitely there. Business class fares on a full service airline one way run about 2 to 3x the standard (non discounted) airfare on a full service airline. Singapore airlines definitely wouldn't charge only $200 more to upgrade to Business class - considering the seat for Business class is equivalent to an entire row seats (3 seats) in economy.
I don't know of any points provider giving Penfolds Bin 170 for 50,000 points. If you do let me know as it's a great investment! Normally the most you can receive for 50,000 points is around $400 or about 12,000 points per $100
So, to properly redefine my reply, on a dollar to point value basis, flights work out the best.
When making comparisons, you need to work with real life examples, not guestimates.
I hope that clarifies things.
I didn't say that Singapore would charge $200 for an upgrade to business class, but that's all it might be worth to the points holder.
I think most people would choose to have $400 rather than a bottle of wine that they could not resell, no matter how good it was.
For myself, if I had to choose between an upgrade to business class, a bottle of Penfolds Bin 170 or a $400 Woolies gift voucher I'd pick the gift voucher. It's worth more to me than either of the other options.
"Value" is a personal thing and what is the best value for one person isn't necessarily the best value for another.
Hi there
In your comment you advise that "The person with the points might be prepared to pay, say, $200 more to fly business class on Singapore Air so to them it is worth $670" however that would never be possible, and so you're giving the impression to some that an upgrade to business class would be $200 more. It's best not to mislead people.
On a dollar for dollar basis, which is what I am referring to, flights win hands down. I'm not referring to non monetary value. Non monetary value is totally different and not measurable between person to person and is not comparable between people. Monetary value is however comparable between people.
We can't "maximise" value based on personal preferences as that would differ greatly as we all have different beliefs and desires. However from a monetary standpoint, value is objectively comparable and measurable between different items.
Hope that clarifies things a bit more for you.
@ibuy: Saying that someone would only pay X amount for something doesn't imply that someone is offering to sell it for that price.
Yes you're comparing dollar-for-dollar based on advertised prices. I'm comparing perceived value.
I don't necessarily agree with your statement "never buy economy class airfares with frequent flyer points".
To look at a specific example:
55,200 Velocity points could buy 3 one-way trips between Sydney and Adelaide in economy class
or (slightly less at 54,200) two one-way trips in business class.
To some people, choosing three economy class legs might be the better option.
54,200 points could also get $300 in Woolies gift cards which might be the best value for someone not wanting to fly.
Yet another option is to sell them to someone else who values business class travel more highly, in which case you could get around $540 for them, though that carries risks.
There's a good article on valuing points here, which says:
Rather than seeing them as being ‘free’ and using them any time an opportunity comes up, knowing what you think they are worth allows you to make more informed decisions about the costs you are willing to incur to earn them in the first place.
@Dacs:
Hi there
The comments above refer to non objective criteria. It is personal preference whether you want to buy economy class or business. However I think that the 55,000 points SYD-ADL would exclude the surcharges and airport fees which means you'd probably be better off buying the flights outright because the cost of buying a flight may be say $150 one way and the airport fees etc may be $50 so the value of the 3 economy flights is $300 for 55,000 points. You would probably be better to earn the points on the flight by paying for it, and earning points on your credit card. Granted, this also depends on the time of year, because if you're buying the flights in a peak period, the points required would be more because the airlines often remove the discounted frequent flyer point airfares and leave the higher point airfares on their site - it's all about supply and demand. Last year to fly to Sydney I spent 30,000 points one way economy and paid $50 in fees because unfortunately a funeral I attended was held during grand final week in Sydney. The other option was a $450 airfare one way. (Note to self: If you're gonna die, make sure it's not Grand final week!). Really not much value there on a points basis. The issue is that points for economy flights was not really that good value.
It's the same for people who use the ff points to buy goods from Qantas' shop. If you really want to get better value when you're buying goods, you'd be better to swap the points for gift cards and then go to a store and buy them rather than use the points to buy the items from Qantas' store.
@ibuy: The 55,000 points includes airport charges and taxes.
For people who feel it's worth it to pay three times the cost of an economy flight to fly business class then using points for that is a good option. But for others it's not.
I agree that using the points to get a gift card is almost always much better value than buying goods from the points store.
Definitely flights, if you fly long haul you'd surely see the value in an upgrade vs spending money at your supermarket.
How long do Amex points last before they expire? Having a kid shortly, can't see many big flights for a while.
The brilliant thing about Amex is that if you keep the card going and don't close the account, the points stay there indefinitely! :D
With a little one on the way, save the points and buy the goods you need on the card. After a year or two with the amount of stuff you need to buy you'll have a nice bank of points to do a trip or two.
Here's a hint for you, link your amex to your paypal account. For sellers online that use paypal, but don't accept visa or mastercard, you make the payment through paypal and select your amex to pay for it. For example, medibank private doesn't accept amex, however accepts paypal.
If you have relatives overseas you'll probably be traveling in about 6-9 months because they'll be demanding you head over! (Trust me!)
Anyone has experience on transfer amex points to spg points and usd for holiday accommodation booking? Is it a good deal to do that?
Received 100,000 points from amex explorer offer a day ago. I looked it up on my online account and apparently I can redeem my points against the purchases I made in a rate of 1000 points = $7.41. Should I do this?
If you're not a high-flyer, that's a very sensible way to use your points. Be aware though that you can sometimes redeem the points at a higher rate, e.g. to reimburse Shop Small purchases, the rate is 1000 points = $9.63.
I assume this applies only to purchases made during the Shop Small season (just ended); maybe someone else can confirm. Even if it does, it might be worth waiting till the next time around.
Thank you so much. Barely missed it. Apparently I can still redeem shop small transactions with points now. Just redeemed 14747 pts against $142.61. Great info!!
I just get the prepaid master cards, use it to pay for xmas presents each year