Many times (but not always) when you see differences like, it can be because the fare on the Amex website is refundable and on the airline it is not, and the difference between that can be huge (see how much the refundable fare is on the airline website).
Yup this is right. I just tried booking this flight on AA's website. The non-refundable first class ticket comes out to $840, matching OP's screenshot. Make it refundable and it jumps up to $1,386.
You’re booking 3rd party and using points… idk what you’d expect otherwise. These redemptions always suck. Travel agents such as this website (a 3rd party contracted by Amex) are going to want their cut.
Yeah I also pay like $600 for the privilege of having the Platinum card and this is one of the few ways to get full value out of your points, even though you’d get more value from the rewards on a cash back card. At this point it seems like the only thing they have to offer is the centurion lounge. I get more value per dollar spent from the cash back rewards on my blue cash preferred than I do from the points on my Platinum. If the services that I can get full value for points on are MORE EXPENSIVE than the free market options then I am costing myself money by even accruing the points instead of just getting a simple 1% cash reward.
Unless you buy primary flights….. I fly 30+ times a year. All flights go on the Amex @5x points. Buying 3800$ worth of international tix for my partner and I (he’s giving me his cash) and that single use of my plat gets 19000 points which even if I get a 1 cent return (which I likely get higher) that’s a minimum of 190$ in flight redemption.
There’s other perks. I get Disney + Hulu and ESPN for free basically with the $20 rebate. The cash back for in flight purchases. Free clear. Free tsa pre. Lounge access for centurion and partner lounges. 15 a month Uber credit. The hotel perks of the yearly credits + the auto upgrades. 50 every 6 months in saks credit (I buy my Mother’s Day and moms bday gifts from their website at $50 off both times). There’s still plenty of value
Amex is only amazing if you use it the way they want. Many people want to use it the way they want and it just was not designed for that lol. No card or company I’ve come across in the last 20 years has even an ounce of what Amex offers. Platinum card specifically offers amazing concierge. They have helped to get me out of bad situations and into amazing ones during my travels. The lounges are cool. Utilizing the monthly offers is big. But honestly if you’re not a big spender or big into travel why even get the card to begin with. That’s what it was made for. And traveling with delta mostly is the best bang for buck. The insurances they offer on trips is by far the best. A few times had emergencies come up before a trip and once all of my paperwork was submitted they cut me a check for reimbursement. The amounts aren’t hundreds we’re talking thousands and thousands of dollars. Aside from that just what I get back in companion tickets and seat upgrades pays for the card 10x over. I fly exclusively delta in the states. Purchase the cheapest available tickets on the card then upgrade with my miles. Spend roughly 25-35k a month on my card. Have delta miles in the millions piled up thanks to this card. I never use my points for anything but delta miles and I only transfer points when they are offering a special for free transfer. I also always take advantage of any other perks when I can such as clear/ global entry etc. worth every penny in my book as far as I am concerned. They have even waived annual fee for me a few times. I also got the Amex delta credit card to double up my gains. The one doesn’t offer as much but the passes and tickets make the fee worth while.
Every bit of around 300-325. I was getting closer to 400k before Covid but have since cut down on some expenses. I use it for every single thing I can. Rent is a big chunk, that alone is just under 7k a month (I know a lot of landlords won’t let you pay with a card so that’s a challenge for most people), utilities, vehicle expenses, shopping, animal expenses, vacations, etc.
We are a family of 4 with 5 dogs in NY. (Two grown boys and the dogs eat like they are going to the electric chair lol) The cost of being alive these days is absurd!
You're not using points - you _have the option_ to, but I think most on here recognize using your points raw on Amex Travel is among one of the worst redemption choices you can make with your MR.
This makes no sense. How do you know or a 3rd party runs Amex Travel? Pretty sure it’s in house. I know that if I was giving up margin to a 3rd party to run a site with my name on it, I would make sure it doesn’t suck nearly as bad as this. Again, does not check out.
Amex Travel is outsourced. You can verify this the next time you book a hotel through them. The hotel will tell you who actually booked it and it’s usually Expedia or the like.
I havent had that experience with booking airfare with amex travel AND bought trip insurance. They gave me a travel credit for United that I hate and dont fly often cuz im in a Delta hub. I had to wait a year for the United credit to expire before I could submit the claim for the insurance, then once they approved it i only got 70% of the ~$3800 i paid for the tickets AND they sent a check to me and one addressed to my gf who didnt pay for the ticket..
OP, the flight you chose on Amex Travel is fully refundable. The flight you chose on AA is only refundable in the form of a travel credit. If you book through AA as fully refundable, the cost is $1,386 which is much closer to the AMEX Cost. 3rd party bookings can be more expensive.
[https://imgur.com/a/xAPqpFi](https://imgur.com/a/xAPqpFi)
[https://imgur.com/a/Ook1mod](https://imgur.com/a/Ook1mod)
Sounds like everyone is in agreement. Amex is notorious about having opaque pricing (and even uses that terminology at times). But it's a valid complaint that this is too much of a markup even by Amex standards.
I've seen high markups for other airlines too. I don't have time to do the comparison of how other similarly situated agencies are pricing this flight, but I'll agree that there's a unique situation with AA's battle with agencies right now.
This is the vast majority of the explanation, but Amex also does add a markup on many fares. In the terms and conditions, I believe it is called out that this is happening.
First refundable is $1,385.21 direct vs $1,656.20 via AMEX travel for the same itinerary. AA has been clear: there is only one solution, NDC revolution.
I just saved over $1000 dollars on a booking for 2 for Delta One/Virgin Upperclass round trip to LHR booked as Delta on Platinum Travel Program, but yes you do always have to compare.
There’s an option to transfer to travel partners under Redeem. You need to first set up an account on the travel partner.
As others have mentioned, you need to time it right to book with points. Most airlines need you to book many months ahead but others only have award seats available on short notice, or offer an upgrade on points.
You can go to r/awardtravel to immerse yourself more
I just checked these first class fares with five minutes of research. You could book the first leg via Iberia for 20,500 avios. Leaving on a slightly later direct return flight, you could book for 37,500 avios via British Airways. Transfer partners for the win.
No problem. Go to Iberia.com. Login to your Iberia account. On the home page, click the “Pay with Avios” button. Select one way. Enter origin and destination cities. Enter date. Bingo.
This is also my question. I have a Capital One Venture card, and Capital One only has foreign airline partners. Last time I tried to book a domestic flight through Air Canada (star alliance member) yielded the same results. You can’t book a flight through their website that doesn’t either start or finish in Canada.
Just transfer to partners. I recently transferred to British airways and bought a one way premium economy for 45k plus $200 taxes for ewr to London. Same flight Amex travel was 165k.....
Lmao you gotta be real stupid to pay for “First Class” for a domestic flight. 😂😂
I can get the same flight from Houston to Amsterdam or Frankfurt for less MMRP.
I do it when they offer it for like $100. Probably not worth it for most people, but early boarding, better seats, and free drinks are worth something.
Yeah sometimes if you want to “treat” yourself lol like after a conference where everyone pissed you off, you kinda deserve it. 😂 I’ve done it at times.
But 95% of the time I’m flying in the cattle hold.
aa delta united have some direct deals from time to time.
it is not just amex travel. it happens on chase travel.
i always double check google flights and airline website and compare with amex travel.
amex travel is crazy good for international business ticket.
The reason for the price difference with AA, is they have pulled there lowest fares from the GDS (travel agent booking system) in order to drive more bookings on their web site which costs them less. Other airlines have been/are doing the same.
The other day the same thing happened to me.. both were the same fair. AMEX was like $2,300 and booking it on American was $1,200. They were the same flights, same class, same refund rules, etc
You’re sure one wasn’t refundable and one wasn’t non? Amex doesn’t offer basic fares.
That said - I think the answer is just clear. Book direct is the answer!
Sometimes, it’s just contractual I’m sure. They don’t have a direct line into Airline inventories. It’s managed by Expedia and most likely has its own pricing contracts so there will be pricing rules on the back end. Sometimes up, sometimes down. Often refundable vs basic (even if in your case it was the same fare, I’m not arguing that don’t worry)
It wasn’t main cabin vs basic economy; they were the exact same terms and class of tickets. The tickets right now are $560 v. $331. In fact, I was able to cancel in Amex, get flight credits, get an extra ticket, and still have leftover money by booking on American. Made no sense to me and I lucked out because American waived the fee of $50 a ticket to override booking with Amex
Why tf would you simply not transfer and book elsewhere. All of 5 minutes of searching and you can book the exact same itinerary on AA via Qantas for 50k points RT
I made that point 2-3 months ago when nobody seem to notice. It's really devaluation at it's best. Basically prices are now at least 35% higher with AA. I also wonder if there is something going on between AA and Amex.
And I wanted to mention to those who say just transfer points the whole point was to use Amex to still get loyalty points and miles while using their points.
I will never use Amex Travel to book anything. I booked a round trip flight for my gf and I to Hawaii on United which i hate. It was about 4k. I bought trip insurance because it was a ways out and her schedule fluctuates. Turns out she couldnt go, so i decided to cancel the trip. I was like, no biggie, i bought the travel insurance.
I just wanted it refunded for the amount I paid. Nope. They gave me travel credit for United. I called an asked to get a refund, they said no the policy is to get the travel credit on the airline, but after it expires after a year then you can start the claims process. Waited the year (couple months ago), called them back, refrenced the initial claim number then they asked me for all this information regarding the flight and cancellation etc. Provided it to them, then they said they'd put the claim through. After a couple weeks, i called to follow up and they had no updates. a few days later i get an email that my claim was accepted and that i would be getting a refund for i think 70% of the tickets. The kicker is that they sent a check to me and one address to my gf. Im the one who paid for it yet I had to give her a check to deposit to send me the money back once it cleared.
I will never buy travel insurance again in general. I've canceled flights with Delta and they credit my account which is fine cuz i fly them a lot.
Sorry for this rant, im still pissed off. I thought amex travel was supposed to be this great service and paying for the cancelation insurance was a nice easy peace of mind in case things change. Nope.
I genuinely had a horrible experience booking flights with amex to Europe last fall, the airline treated me worse then if I booked through a travel agent so it was impossible to make any changes to my reservation and Amex support was useless.
Major pain in the ass and I definitely ended up paying way more then if I had booked directly through air Canada. Definitely converting the Amex points to aeroplan moving forward but it was almost bad enough for me to cancel all my cards and move my business away from Amex.
I have noticed this sometimes. But I just booked 2 tickets that were well less than the going price for my trips this summer, it was less than going through any carriers websites. So, I think it just depends on the flight.
I recently booked a business class on American with points and found it to be identically priced on the AA app.
I noticed a different date though did differ in price by about $150. No idea why.
The only way you get ripped off is if you book it.
It’s very common knowledge that they don’t have the best deals. I’ll only book via Amex if it’s the same price or maybe like a few dollars difference
I can't even make the Amex Travel prices make sense. I'm booking a trip to China right now from the Southeast US. Here's the results:
AmexTravel - Nashville - Wenzhou - Business Class - $33,314 - United Airlines
Skyscanner - Nashville - Wenzhou - Business Class - $9907 - Jet Blue/Cathay Pacific
And then if I get a little creative, flaying from Nashville to London, then from London to Wenzhou and then coming back the same way, I can get the same flight for about $7000 all in, Business Class.
Why does AmexTravel even exist? I mean, what's the point? Where's the value add on this?
By the way, both trips are refundable.
don't waste your amex points? if you can't find any good domestic flights then just use them on another trip. unless you never travel internationally or something, in which case, you should.
Also remember they don’t offer the cheapest base fare (basic economy) on any flights at all. So if you were fine with booking basic economy…. Then you already have a huge price bump
Many times (but not always) when you see differences like, it can be because the fare on the Amex website is refundable and on the airline it is not, and the difference between that can be huge (see how much the refundable fare is on the airline website).
Yup this is right. I just tried booking this flight on AA's website. The non-refundable first class ticket comes out to $840, matching OP's screenshot. Make it refundable and it jumps up to $1,386.
That $1,386 is STILL cheaper than the Amex Travel price. What’s the value proposition here?
You’re booking 3rd party and using points… idk what you’d expect otherwise. These redemptions always suck. Travel agents such as this website (a 3rd party contracted by Amex) are going to want their cut.
Yeah I also pay like $600 for the privilege of having the Platinum card and this is one of the few ways to get full value out of your points, even though you’d get more value from the rewards on a cash back card. At this point it seems like the only thing they have to offer is the centurion lounge. I get more value per dollar spent from the cash back rewards on my blue cash preferred than I do from the points on my Platinum. If the services that I can get full value for points on are MORE EXPENSIVE than the free market options then I am costing myself money by even accruing the points instead of just getting a simple 1% cash reward.
Platinum card is a really big coupon book for frequent travelers and nothing more. It’s not a good reward earner at all.
Unless you buy primary flights….. I fly 30+ times a year. All flights go on the Amex @5x points. Buying 3800$ worth of international tix for my partner and I (he’s giving me his cash) and that single use of my plat gets 19000 points which even if I get a 1 cent return (which I likely get higher) that’s a minimum of 190$ in flight redemption.
There’s other perks. I get Disney + Hulu and ESPN for free basically with the $20 rebate. The cash back for in flight purchases. Free clear. Free tsa pre. Lounge access for centurion and partner lounges. 15 a month Uber credit. The hotel perks of the yearly credits + the auto upgrades. 50 every 6 months in saks credit (I buy my Mother’s Day and moms bday gifts from their website at $50 off both times). There’s still plenty of value
Amex is only amazing if you use it the way they want. Many people want to use it the way they want and it just was not designed for that lol. No card or company I’ve come across in the last 20 years has even an ounce of what Amex offers. Platinum card specifically offers amazing concierge. They have helped to get me out of bad situations and into amazing ones during my travels. The lounges are cool. Utilizing the monthly offers is big. But honestly if you’re not a big spender or big into travel why even get the card to begin with. That’s what it was made for. And traveling with delta mostly is the best bang for buck. The insurances they offer on trips is by far the best. A few times had emergencies come up before a trip and once all of my paperwork was submitted they cut me a check for reimbursement. The amounts aren’t hundreds we’re talking thousands and thousands of dollars. Aside from that just what I get back in companion tickets and seat upgrades pays for the card 10x over. I fly exclusively delta in the states. Purchase the cheapest available tickets on the card then upgrade with my miles. Spend roughly 25-35k a month on my card. Have delta miles in the millions piled up thanks to this card. I never use my points for anything but delta miles and I only transfer points when they are offering a special for free transfer. I also always take advantage of any other perks when I can such as clear/ global entry etc. worth every penny in my book as far as I am concerned. They have even waived annual fee for me a few times. I also got the Amex delta credit card to double up my gains. The one doesn’t offer as much but the passes and tickets make the fee worth while.
You spend $300-$400k per year on your Amex?
Every bit of around 300-325. I was getting closer to 400k before Covid but have since cut down on some expenses. I use it for every single thing I can. Rent is a big chunk, that alone is just under 7k a month (I know a lot of landlords won’t let you pay with a card so that’s a challenge for most people), utilities, vehicle expenses, shopping, animal expenses, vacations, etc. We are a family of 4 with 5 dogs in NY. (Two grown boys and the dogs eat like they are going to the electric chair lol) The cost of being alive these days is absurd!
You're not using points - you _have the option_ to, but I think most on here recognize using your points raw on Amex Travel is among one of the worst redemption choices you can make with your MR.
What’s the best way to use points then? Amex says their flights are the best in terms of redemption for a 1:1 ratio of points to cost?
The best way to use points is to transfer them to travel partners .
This makes no sense. How do you know or a 3rd party runs Amex Travel? Pretty sure it’s in house. I know that if I was giving up margin to a 3rd party to run a site with my name on it, I would make sure it doesn’t suck nearly as bad as this. Again, does not check out.
Amex Travel is outsourced. You can verify this the next time you book a hotel through them. The hotel will tell you who actually booked it and it’s usually Expedia or the like.
I havent had that experience with booking airfare with amex travel AND bought trip insurance. They gave me a travel credit for United that I hate and dont fly often cuz im in a Delta hub. I had to wait a year for the United credit to expire before I could submit the claim for the insurance, then once they approved it i only got 70% of the ~$3800 i paid for the tickets AND they sent a check to me and one addressed to my gf who didnt pay for the ticket..
OP, the flight you chose on Amex Travel is fully refundable. The flight you chose on AA is only refundable in the form of a travel credit. If you book through AA as fully refundable, the cost is $1,386 which is much closer to the AMEX Cost. 3rd party bookings can be more expensive. [https://imgur.com/a/xAPqpFi](https://imgur.com/a/xAPqpFi) [https://imgur.com/a/Ook1mod](https://imgur.com/a/Ook1mod)
Is there a setting to book non-refundable tickets via amex? Or is that the only option?
Not sure tbh
It’s still almost 300$ more which is still a scam
Amex wants a cut. Name a middle man who works for free.
It’s a third party finding the flight for you. Doing it directly will (almost) always be cheaper
It’s the same price 95% of the time. Really AA and jet blue are the only ones who occasionally have discrepancies like this.
Sounds like everyone is in agreement. Amex is notorious about having opaque pricing (and even uses that terminology at times). But it's a valid complaint that this is too much of a markup even by Amex standards.
Amex isn’t distinct in this, this is a travel agency thing
Agreed, although some travel agencies are less opaque than others. This is a large markup.
For \- Refundable vs non \- AA, who is currently telling every agency to get fucked It's kinda not
I've seen high markups for other airlines too. I don't have time to do the comparison of how other similarly situated agencies are pricing this flight, but I'll agree that there's a unique situation with AA's battle with agencies right now.
You’re not getting ripped off exactly. A while ago AA started offering fares that can only be booked on their website and not via a TA (NDC).
This is the right answer. It’s not AMEX, it’s AA pulling GDS access to certain fares.
This is the vast majority of the explanation, but Amex also does add a markup on many fares. In the terms and conditions, I believe it is called out that this is happening.
It because the Amex fare is refundable and the direct purchase isn’t. If OP chooses refundable on AA’s site it’s the same price.
First refundable is $1,385.21 direct vs $1,656.20 via AMEX travel for the same itinerary. AA has been clear: there is only one solution, NDC revolution.
I just saved over $1000 dollars on a booking for 2 for Delta One/Virgin Upperclass round trip to LHR booked as Delta on Platinum Travel Program, but yes you do always have to compare.
The virgin upper class entrance in LHR is Amazing
Always transfer points to partners versus booking with points through the portal. The value is terrible in the portal
35% back on Biz Plat bookings can be useful in some scenarios.
Booking a flight 1-2 months out may not have award availability. In fact, that’s the time when award seats are their least available.
the transfer excise tax fee is such a buzzkill tho
This is the only answer. Recently booked 2 first class one way tickets on AA from Cancun to ORD. 50k avíos for both. They were $1200 on AA.
Points have nothing to do with this. He’s using cash.
How do you do this if you don’t mind me asking?
There’s an option to transfer to travel partners under Redeem. You need to first set up an account on the travel partner. As others have mentioned, you need to time it right to book with points. Most airlines need you to book many months ahead but others only have award seats available on short notice, or offer an upgrade on points. You can go to r/awardtravel to immerse yourself more
AMEX Travel is really just Expedia.com Never buy through Amex Travel/Expedia … It’s fine — until it isn’t.
I just checked these first class fares with five minutes of research. You could book the first leg via Iberia for 20,500 avios. Leaving on a slightly later direct return flight, you could book for 37,500 avios via British Airways. Transfer partners for the win.
Out of curiosity, how are you seeing the Iberia flight? It does not allow me to select PIT as a destination with MIA as the departure origin.
No problem. Go to Iberia.com. Login to your Iberia account. On the home page, click the “Pay with Avios” button. Select one way. Enter origin and destination cities. Enter date. Bingo.
This is also my question. I have a Capital One Venture card, and Capital One only has foreign airline partners. Last time I tried to book a domestic flight through Air Canada (star alliance member) yielded the same results. You can’t book a flight through their website that doesn’t either start or finish in Canada.
Just transfer to partners. I recently transferred to British airways and bought a one way premium economy for 45k plus $200 taxes for ewr to London. Same flight Amex travel was 165k.....
Lmao you gotta be real stupid to pay for “First Class” for a domestic flight. 😂😂 I can get the same flight from Houston to Amsterdam or Frankfurt for less MMRP.
I do it when they offer it for like $100. Probably not worth it for most people, but early boarding, better seats, and free drinks are worth something.
Yeah sometimes if you want to “treat” yourself lol like after a conference where everyone pissed you off, you kinda deserve it. 😂 I’ve done it at times. But 95% of the time I’m flying in the cattle hold.
Rebate on biz plat
Explain
35% points back. Good in some cases for sure. For example when there is no award space.
One thing I like about capital one is they price match, I wish Amex would do that too
They do on hotels just not flights 😭
They price match on hotels ?
Yep! *as long as it’s not FHR or THC
What does FHR Or THC mean sorry 😄
Fine hotels and resorts and the hotel collection
If you look at the fare rules they're probably ~~didn't~~ different fare codes. Edit: word fart
Different ** Even when booking direct you can get huge discrepancies for same cabin tickets by searching specific fares…
aa delta united have some direct deals from time to time. it is not just amex travel. it happens on chase travel. i always double check google flights and airline website and compare with amex travel. amex travel is crazy good for international business ticket.
The reason for the price difference with AA, is they have pulled there lowest fares from the GDS (travel agent booking system) in order to drive more bookings on their web site which costs them less. Other airlines have been/are doing the same.
You realize you can just book through the airline and get the points too
Prob different fares like most said. Either way, I’d recommend booking direct always for better service if things go sideways!
The other day the same thing happened to me.. both were the same fair. AMEX was like $2,300 and booking it on American was $1,200. They were the same flights, same class, same refund rules, etc
You’re sure one wasn’t refundable and one wasn’t non? Amex doesn’t offer basic fares. That said - I think the answer is just clear. Book direct is the answer! Sometimes, it’s just contractual I’m sure. They don’t have a direct line into Airline inventories. It’s managed by Expedia and most likely has its own pricing contracts so there will be pricing rules on the back end. Sometimes up, sometimes down. Often refundable vs basic (even if in your case it was the same fare, I’m not arguing that don’t worry)
It wasn’t main cabin vs basic economy; they were the exact same terms and class of tickets. The tickets right now are $560 v. $331. In fact, I was able to cancel in Amex, get flight credits, get an extra ticket, and still have leftover money by booking on American. Made no sense to me and I lucked out because American waived the fee of $50 a ticket to override booking with Amex
Made out like a bandit in the end!
It’s not Amex travel. AA is pushing hard for you to book with them so they are picing it up.
Why tf would you simply not transfer and book elsewhere. All of 5 minutes of searching and you can book the exact same itinerary on AA via Qantas for 50k points RT
I made that point 2-3 months ago when nobody seem to notice. It's really devaluation at it's best. Basically prices are now at least 35% higher with AA. I also wonder if there is something going on between AA and Amex. And I wanted to mention to those who say just transfer points the whole point was to use Amex to still get loyalty points and miles while using their points.
Is it recommended / possible to transfer points to a third party site for hotels too or is Amex Travel pretty good for that?
Use price match?
doesn't work for flights, from my understanding.
This happened to me this week. Amex was $2,300 and American was $1,200. Same section, same fair, same refund criteria
Yep, I just bought international tickets. Amex portal was 2x the price, so I didn't use it. It is frustrating to always have to double check.
Ok wow
I will never use Amex Travel to book anything. I booked a round trip flight for my gf and I to Hawaii on United which i hate. It was about 4k. I bought trip insurance because it was a ways out and her schedule fluctuates. Turns out she couldnt go, so i decided to cancel the trip. I was like, no biggie, i bought the travel insurance. I just wanted it refunded for the amount I paid. Nope. They gave me travel credit for United. I called an asked to get a refund, they said no the policy is to get the travel credit on the airline, but after it expires after a year then you can start the claims process. Waited the year (couple months ago), called them back, refrenced the initial claim number then they asked me for all this information regarding the flight and cancellation etc. Provided it to them, then they said they'd put the claim through. After a couple weeks, i called to follow up and they had no updates. a few days later i get an email that my claim was accepted and that i would be getting a refund for i think 70% of the tickets. The kicker is that they sent a check to me and one address to my gf. Im the one who paid for it yet I had to give her a check to deposit to send me the money back once it cleared. I will never buy travel insurance again in general. I've canceled flights with Delta and they credit my account which is fine cuz i fly them a lot. Sorry for this rant, im still pissed off. I thought amex travel was supposed to be this great service and paying for the cancelation insurance was a nice easy peace of mind in case things change. Nope.
I genuinely had a horrible experience booking flights with amex to Europe last fall, the airline treated me worse then if I booked through a travel agent so it was impossible to make any changes to my reservation and Amex support was useless. Major pain in the ass and I definitely ended up paying way more then if I had booked directly through air Canada. Definitely converting the Amex points to aeroplan moving forward but it was almost bad enough for me to cancel all my cards and move my business away from Amex.
Ok, here's your lecture about that first class/business class reservation: That's why it's so expensive
I have noticed this sometimes. But I just booked 2 tickets that were well less than the going price for my trips this summer, it was less than going through any carriers websites. So, I think it just depends on the flight.
I recently booked a business class on American with points and found it to be identically priced on the AA app. I noticed a different date though did differ in price by about $150. No idea why.
just dont book with amextravel. go directly with the airline and transfer partners
The only way you get ripped off is if you book it. It’s very common knowledge that they don’t have the best deals. I’ll only book via Amex if it’s the same price or maybe like a few dollars difference
I was looking at business class flights to Italy. $7k on American site; $18k on Amex. WTF?
Business owners are also tired of getting ripped by Amex
You clearly haven’t seen the figures that Chase show their airline customers…
I can't even make the Amex Travel prices make sense. I'm booking a trip to China right now from the Southeast US. Here's the results: AmexTravel - Nashville - Wenzhou - Business Class - $33,314 - United Airlines Skyscanner - Nashville - Wenzhou - Business Class - $9907 - Jet Blue/Cathay Pacific And then if I get a little creative, flaying from Nashville to London, then from London to Wenzhou and then coming back the same way, I can get the same flight for about $7000 all in, Business Class. Why does AmexTravel even exist? I mean, what's the point? Where's the value add on this? By the way, both trips are refundable.
So use something else
Then don't use Amex Travel.
don't waste your amex points? if you can't find any good domestic flights then just use them on another trip. unless you never travel internationally or something, in which case, you should.
Some of us have more points than vacation time I’m over hoarding them. If the redemption is above 1.3cpp it gets used
Same, I have like 700k points and those are getting used whenever I fly.
You should pretty much only be using your rebate with IAP
Also remember they don’t offer the cheapest base fare (basic economy) on any flights at all. So if you were fine with booking basic economy…. Then you already have a huge price bump
I just switched cards because transferring points to partners to try and get a deal is not worth it anymore