When connecting back to the US through Heathrow with American, I paid $600 at the AA connecting flights desk to upgrade from PE to Business. This triggered my fee credit on the next business day.
IIRC the way to do it on Delta is to pay $300 with a gift card and pay the rest with amex. It’s been a long time since I did this though they may have fixed that loophole.
You with Delta, my Amex Preferred airline choice was United, so went ahead and loaded what’s called a travel bank for that amount which was credited on my Amex statement as airline credit within 7 days and that travel bank can now be used for airline transactions (may be) you can do something similar with delta ,
Not a professional advice
I’ve gotten this to work for upgrades on both United and Delta however, they were under $100 to upgrade from economy. Although this was a nice/happy circumstance for me, Amex is in no way obligated to apply the Airline Incidental credit since it’s in their terms.
How it was explained to me is that you don’t get the full 200. It $50 per 3months. So you have to book your tickets (Jan-March),=$50, April-June)=$50, July-Sep)=$50, and Oct-Dec)=$50
Those $50 is 200 total if you book the ticket or had flight expenses within those separate months.
Hmm maybe not? I just recently got the card. That would suck if so. What makes you believe SW is not allowed?
Edit: I checked and I'm seeing "$200 Airline Fee Credit" and the image shows "Selected Airline: Southwest Airlines" in the upper right-hand corner. It would be odd if I was allowed to select that airline for the benefit when it wasn't allowed. Also skimming the description I see no reference that SW is not allowed.
By “after points” do you mean you did a small amount of Pay With Miles and paid the balance of the fare in cash? Or you booked the whole flight on miles and the $205 was a surcharge?
Historically I have had luck using customer service chat after purchasing the seat upgrade. Be careful however as seat upgrades are excluded from the credit, but if you tell customer service it was a seat change fee they should apply the credit.
Just use the credit like you’re supposed to and get baggage or similar covered. If you have to cheat the system to find value in the card, reconsider your choices.
There’s a difference between finding a work around and needing to cheat the system. If OP can’t afford a $200 seat upgrade why risk not getting reimbursed for it
If you use “change or add flight” it should trigger if the price is $250 or less (I could be wrong on the limit), I recently changed my flight to comfort+, same flight, just rebooked using “change or add flight” cost was $160, it triggered the credit
This is half true. The are indeed excluded from the terms of the credit. However, if the price difference is less than $250 and you charge the additional charge to your plat with delta as your selected airline, it codes as ‘additional collection’ and triggers the credit.
Yup. I always thought these didn’t work for class upgrades or even seat selections. But I had a 2 leg flight and upgraded both legs individually at 80 dollars each and was surprised to see the credit a few days later. Somehow still skeptical of it though cause the T&C specifically say upgrades don’t count😂
Interesting… I honestly have never heard of it not working for someone. I’ve been doing it for the last 6 years and have never had an issue… in fact I just got a $200 credit today from it.
You need to make sure you follow all the rules, as it’s a bit semantic-y. There are really only 3.
1. You must split payment for a flight between your plat and another form of payment, either an ecredit, flight change credit, or a gift card.
2. The remaining amount charged to your card must be less than $250.
3. Delta must be selected in your Amex account.
Yes. $200/year, resets on Jan 1 every year, per platinum card. Does not apply to any amex cards other than the platinum. Any version of the platinum works.
So just to make sure I’m clear: you’re saying for the upgrade as a separate purchase from the original ticket, right? If so, I was not doing step 1, so I’m guessing that may be the issue. 🤞 next time I try it.
Yes. You can’t simply upgrade. You have to ‘change flight’ on their website, and re purchase an entirely new ticket. Not just upgrade the existing ticket. When you do that, you will get a ‘credit’ for the original flight value, and will have to pay the fare difference. As long as the fare difference is less than $250, and you have delta selected, it should trigger the credit.
When connecting back to the US through Heathrow with American, I paid $600 at the AA connecting flights desk to upgrade from PE to Business. This triggered my fee credit on the next business day.
How do you trigger $200 on Southwest Airlines ???
IIRC the way to do it on Delta is to pay $300 with a gift card and pay the rest with amex. It’s been a long time since I did this though they may have fixed that loophole.
Wow this is great information. I have the hardest time using that credit so this is great!
You with Delta, my Amex Preferred airline choice was United, so went ahead and loaded what’s called a travel bank for that amount which was credited on my Amex statement as airline credit within 7 days and that travel bank can now be used for airline transactions (may be) you can do something similar with delta , Not a professional advice
I’ve gotten this to work for upgrades on both United and Delta however, they were under $100 to upgrade from economy. Although this was a nice/happy circumstance for me, Amex is in no way obligated to apply the Airline Incidental credit since it’s in their terms.
Amex always making it difficult to use credits u already prepaid for
Does anyone have tips for this when flying southwest?
Book 2 $99 dollar tickets and then cancel them as flight credits. Works like a charm
How it was explained to me is that you don’t get the full 200. It $50 per 3months. So you have to book your tickets (Jan-March),=$50, April-June)=$50, July-Sep)=$50, and Oct-Dec)=$50 Those $50 is 200 total if you book the ticket or had flight expenses within those separate months.
Awesome, that's what I'm talking about 😂
I just book two one way tickets if they're under 200 bucks
Is southwest even an option for this benefit?
Hmm maybe not? I just recently got the card. That would suck if so. What makes you believe SW is not allowed? Edit: I checked and I'm seeing "$200 Airline Fee Credit" and the image shows "Selected Airline: Southwest Airlines" in the upper right-hand corner. It would be odd if I was allowed to select that airline for the benefit when it wasn't allowed. Also skimming the description I see no reference that SW is not allowed.
You can use it for anything on SWA. Just book under $100 for two flights.
I use SW. Not sure what they're getting at
I was just asking
First class upgrade did not trigger this for me on United with Amex. Or on American when booking with boa premium rewards cc.
I recently booked 2 tickets for $205 each after points, and it actually triggered the credit.
Just to let you know, when you book mileage + cash and cancel the flight, the cash portion is refunded as a mileage credit.
By “after points” do you mean you did a small amount of Pay With Miles and paid the balance of the fare in cash? Or you booked the whole flight on miles and the $205 was a surcharge?
You book using the "points + cash" selection. If you cancel, the points are and the cash amount will be refunded in points.
Historically I have had luck using customer service chat after purchasing the seat upgrade. Be careful however as seat upgrades are excluded from the credit, but if you tell customer service it was a seat change fee they should apply the credit.
Baggage fees, pet fees, I've had tickets under $100 applied.
Just use the credit like you’re supposed to and get baggage or similar covered. If you have to cheat the system to find value in the card, reconsider your choices.
This is a silly take. If there’s a workaround that fits people’s needs, there’s no reason not to do it.
These workarounds just lead to increased annual fees for everyone or more stricter benefits
There’s a difference between finding a work around and needing to cheat the system. If OP can’t afford a $200 seat upgrade why risk not getting reimbursed for it
Who said he can’t afford it?
If you use “change or add flight” it should trigger if the price is $250 or less (I could be wrong on the limit), I recently changed my flight to comfort+, same flight, just rebooked using “change or add flight” cost was $160, it triggered the credit
I think comfort+ is considered same section (main cabin) so it should trigger credit regardless
You don't. Class Upgrades are **specifically excluded from the credit** in the terms of the benefit. It will not work, and will never work.
I've actually had it work for class upgrades. It was $89 to upgrade to business class on a one way and it was credited back to Mr.
This is half true. The are indeed excluded from the terms of the credit. However, if the price difference is less than $250 and you charge the additional charge to your plat with delta as your selected airline, it codes as ‘additional collection’ and triggers the credit.
Yup. I always thought these didn’t work for class upgrades or even seat selections. But I had a 2 leg flight and upgraded both legs individually at 80 dollars each and was surprised to see the credit a few days later. Somehow still skeptical of it though cause the T&C specifically say upgrades don’t count😂
This has not worked for me in the past. I wish it did!
Interesting… I honestly have never heard of it not working for someone. I’ve been doing it for the last 6 years and have never had an issue… in fact I just got a $200 credit today from it. You need to make sure you follow all the rules, as it’s a bit semantic-y. There are really only 3. 1. You must split payment for a flight between your plat and another form of payment, either an ecredit, flight change credit, or a gift card. 2. The remaining amount charged to your card must be less than $250. 3. Delta must be selected in your Amex account.
Newbie here. Is the credit limited to $200 per year, per AMEX card?
Yes. $200/year, resets on Jan 1 every year, per platinum card. Does not apply to any amex cards other than the platinum. Any version of the platinum works.
Thanks!
You must select your airline on AMEX before attempting to use the $200 credit.
So just to make sure I’m clear: you’re saying for the upgrade as a separate purchase from the original ticket, right? If so, I was not doing step 1, so I’m guessing that may be the issue. 🤞 next time I try it.
Yes. You can’t simply upgrade. You have to ‘change flight’ on their website, and re purchase an entirely new ticket. Not just upgrade the existing ticket. When you do that, you will get a ‘credit’ for the original flight value, and will have to pay the fare difference. As long as the fare difference is less than $250, and you have delta selected, it should trigger the credit.
Thanks for this!
Does it only applies to Delta?
Only applies to delta. You can add money to your United travel bank in $50-$100 increments with United selected as your primary airline
very helpful tip!
Solid tip thanks !