The Case Against Amex Travel
There’s no denying the value and usefulness of American Express Membership Reward points. We frequently recommend Amex cards, and many TravelWealth have built up a healthy stockpile of points to use for future travels. Nothing we say in this article changes that. But while the Amex Membership Rewards department at American Express is fantastic, the Amex Travel department is a different story.
Prior to partnering with TravelWealth, many of our members were using the Amex Travel portal as the primary means of spending points. That’s understandable – after all, Amex makes it quite easy to make the bookings online (and everyone loves free flights or hotels). While the portal is occasionally a decent option for redemptions (more on that below), there are so many pitfalls and traps along the way. Amex Travel is not incentivized to provide outsized value for your points, and so they push below-market value redemptions in the hopes that uninformed consumers will take the path of least resistance without noticing that it’s a bad deal.
Enter TravelWealth: we are here to make sure you use your points for top value and avoid falling into any of these traps.
Poor Customer Service
We’ll discuss the poor value proposition of Amex Travel below. But more importantly, Amex Travel’s customer service is consistently awful. It is powered by Expedia, so you may get the same level of poor service that Expedia is notorious for providing:
Long hold times when you call
Inexperienced frontline customer service agents
A lack of communication/assistance when an airline makes changes or cancels flights
Account verification with Amex can also be problematic. They must speak with the cardholder, so TravelWealth usually cannot call on your behalf. If you are out of service, on a flight, or in a far-off time zone, this can create issues when a problem arises.
You also cannot call airlines directly to fix issues or make changes because Amex controls the ticket as the agent of record. You will either be flat-out denied service by the airline or asked to pay the airline an additional fee.
Simply put, Amex Travel can make things unnecessarily difficult. Flight changes that should take minutes can lead to hours of frustration on the phone.
Amex Membership Rewards Shine on Flight Redemptions
Amex points should only be used for flights. This is the best way to ensure that you are redeeming your points for good value.
The highest redemption value comes from converting points into airline miles for premium overseas flights. Amex partners with approximately 20 different airline programs, which allows for incredible flexibility and some very unique redemption opportunities. This is one of TravelWealth’s signature services, and we will navigate this process for you.
If you have points left over after covering your overseas travel, then having the American Express Business Platinum card becomes imperative since it provides a 35% rebate on all premium cabin redemption bookings through Amex Travel. Even better, the American Express Business Centurion card (the “Black Card”) is even more lucrative with a 50% redemption. When these rebates apply, it is nearly the only time that we recommend using the Amex Travel Portal.
If you have covered these flights but continue to earn Amex points at a faster pace than you are spending them, then we should likely diversify your points to another credit card program where you will have access to additional redemption options.
Amex Membership Rewards Points Fall Flat on Hotels
Using your Amex points for airfare will provide at least a 50% better return than using the points for hotels. Amex will only provide 1 cent per point on hotel bookings (and occasionally even less). It effectively turns the premium Amex Platinum card into a 1% cash-back card. This is extremely underwhelming value.
Plus, you are limited to booking the rates that Amex publishes. Oftentimes there are cheaper promo rates available, but Amex Travel can be very limited. Additionally, you will not earn credit card points on any hotels redeemed through Amex Travel as well.
Amex allows points to be transferred to Marriott and Hilton. However, both of these hotel programs provide extremely low redemption value, so moving points into them is typically discouraged.
We do not recommend cashing points out, but Amex has ways to get higher value for cash back than hotel bookings. This underscores how bad the hotel redemptions on Amex Travel can be.
You may wonder if you should book through Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts (“FH&R”). This is a program that provides added amenities to your hotel bookings with Amex’s select partner properties. However, we do not recommend this program because: 1) TravelWealth has partnerships with effectively all FH&R hotels that we can match, and oftentimes we have access to better promo rates, extra VIP amenities, and TravelWealth members will end up higher on the upgrade list.
Alternatives to Amex Travel for Hotel Bookings
If you want to use points on hotels, you are better off earning Capital One points. With Cap One, you will have a few important advantages over American Express:
TravelWealth can manage Capital One reservations, so we can leverage our partnerships to provide you with better experiences.
We are able to book any promo rate through any platform when you use Cap One points, so we can make sure you are getting the best value.
You will earn Cap One points on the purchase, and then you can redeem those points on the booking after the fact (it’s a double dip of value)
Leveraging Capital One points for Hotel Bookings
For increased flexibility and better value, we recommend building up a Capital One balance (their rewards are called "miles," but they work the same as Amex "points."). The primary reasons we prefer Capital One for hotels compared to Amex:
To use Capital One points on a hotel, you will pay the hotel directly using your Capital One credit card. This way, you earn 2x points on the purchase. After your stay, you have up to 6 months to redeem points to offset the cost of the booking. This effectively allows you to earn points even when you are redeeming points, which you cannot do with Amex.
When using Cap One points, TravelWealth can manage the booking and work directly with the hotel. This makes your experience more seamless and
Capital One points allow TravelWealth to manage the bookings (we can’t manage Amex Travel bookings). This gives you the ability to leverage points for better deals that may not be offered through the credit card portals. For example, we frequently are able to access: better promotions and rates, enhanced benefits, personalized amenities, more favorable booking policies.
We recently booked a member at Four Seasons Bora Bora on a 4th Night Free promo rate that Amex Travel did not offer. The member was able to leverage Capital One points on this booking, so they saved over 500,000 points compared to the price Amex Travel quoted.
To sum it up, Cap One will provide more flexibility and more value compared to Amex on hotel bookings.
Avoiding Amex Travel on Cash Bookings
That hopefully makes sense for points booking, but what about cash bookings? You may see Amex Travel advertise 5x points on flights and hotels booked through Amex Travel. Do not fall for this trap either.
Foremost, you can already receive 5x points booking directly with the airline by using an Amex Platinum (personal version) or Citibank Prestige card. Likewise, you can receive 5x points booking directly with hotels or via TravelWealth by using the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card. In these situations, you will earn the same number of points without experiencing Amex Travel’s drawback that have been outlined in the article.
Moreover, booking flights and hotels directly (or via TravelWealth, since our partnerships are direct with the airlines and hotels) using a card that earns 3x on Travel (e.g., Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Green) is better than earning 5x through Amex Travel. By booking directly, you will open up access to:
better fares and promotional rates (American Airlines is notorious for being more expensive on Amex Travel than directly on the AA website; hotels oftentimes have lower rates that Amex Travel cannot access)
enhanced access to amenities and upgrades
more flexibility (easier to change/cancel bookings, more favorable cancellation terms, etc.)
better customer service
TravelWealth in your corner (we can manage bookings made directly, but we have no abilityh to assist with cash bookings made through Amex Travel)
The long-term value of these benefits will outweigh any benefits offered by Amex Travel, especially if you are leveraging the right credit cards on your purchase.
TLDR
TravelWealth is a big proponent of American Express Membership Rewards. It is a very valuable points program that we can leverage in many creative ways. However, we caution against using Amex Travel in most situations. You have TravelWealth is in your corner to navigate these dynamics to make sure you get the best value and travel experiences.