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American Express Membership Rewards (+First)
Platinum, Premier Rewards Gold, Gold, Green and some corporate and business versions
Membership Rewards Express (Blah version)
Blue Card
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Sapphire Preferred and Ink Bold With Ultimate Rewards The Main Credit Card Transferrable Point Programs<br>
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Earn 1 point per dollar spent (Premier Rewards is 3x on airfare and 2x on gas & groceries)
Points go into pending status for a month after statement close (can be expedited)
Cannot combine Membership Rewards points Membership Rewards Basics<br>
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Transfer to anyone!
Link (not enroll!) their account to your account membershiprewards.com -> Points Summary -> Bottom right
Advance points for free, just earn them back
Up to 60,000 for Platinum
15,000 for most other cards (not corporate)
Buy points at 2.5 cents each, up to 500,000 a year! Flexibility<br>
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Airline transfer partners (16): Star Alliance: Air Canada Aeroplan, Singapore, ANA Oneworld: British Airways, Iberia Skyteam: Delta, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Alitalia, Aeromexico Other: Airtran, Virgin Atlantic, El Al, Frontier, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Virgin America
* 6/10 cent excise fee on transfers to US airlines. Membership Rewards- Airline Transfers<br>
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Aeroplan- Positives: Instant transfers, flexible routing, only fuel surcharges on Air Canada flights Negatives: Recently inflated award chart, expensive one-ways Good awards- US to Western Europe 60/90/125
ANA- Positives: Distance-based awards, great award engine Negatives~48-hour transfers, no holds, hefty fuel surcharges Good awards- NY to London in business class for 63,000.
Singapore- -Positives: One-way awards Negatives: ~48-hour transfer period, high surcharges Good awards- 25/40/60 for intra-North America. 55/95/135 Europe Which Star Alliance Partner?<br>
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British Airways- Instant transfers, region-based awards. Unlimited en-route stopovers, but only one Oneworld carrier for cheapest awards
Iberia- Distance-based awards, ~48-hour transfers
After November 16, 2011 they will be one program, Avios. We still do not know the full details! Which Oneworld Partner?<br>
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None of them (Just kidding!)
Delta Positives: Instant transfers, flexible routing, only fuel surcharges on flights that start abroad Negatives: Broken website, inflated award tiers, no one-ways Good awards- US to Africa with a stopover in Europe for 120k in business, 150k in business to Australia on V Australia (plus $600)
Flying Blue Positives: 50% off promo awards, one-ways, instant transfers Negatives~ Huge fuel surcharges Good awards- Most promo awards, Israel (included as Europe). Nov-Dec promos from Chicago, Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Miami, Orlando, Seattle, DC and Detroit.
Alitalia Positives: Partners: Etihad, Jet, Malaysia, Qantas Negatives: No one ways, sometimes flaky phone reservation agents Good awards- 50/80 North America to Europe, 50/75 Deep South America, 50% off awards Nov 1-March 24, 2012. Which SkyTeam Partner?<br>
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Airtran: 1,500 points = 1 credit. No huge value, except if/when Airtran credits will convert to become Southwest companion pass qualifying points
Virgin Atlantic: Generally huge fuel surcharges. Upgrades might make sense
El Al: Huge amount of miles needed for awards
Frontier: Decent for expensive domestic awards like Aspen- no business/first
JetBlue: 1: .8 transfer ratio. Fixed value miles worth only about a cent a piece. Not worth it.
Hawaiian: Intra-island flights for as low as 7,500 miles. Partners with Delta, Virgin Atlantic, Continental (limited) and Korean.
Virgin America- Fixed value redemption- usually smarter to redeem Pay With Points instead so you earn points on the flights. Non-Alliance Partners<br>
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Recent bonus opportunities
Delta: 50% and 25,000 MQMs, 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%
British Airways: 50%, 40%
Virgin Atlantic: 15% El Al: 25% Air Tran: 25% Iberia: 20% Aeromexico: 25% Starwood: 50% Transfer Bonuses<br>
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Choice: 1:1 Starwood 3:1 Hilton 1: 1.5 Best Western 1:1 Priority Club 1:1 Jumeirah 23:1 Membership Rewards- Hotel Transfers<br>
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Mercedes Benz Platinum- 50,000. $495 annual fee
Platinum- 25,000. $450 annual fee
Premier Rewards Gold- 15,000. $175 annual fee waived first year
Gold- 10,000. $125 annual fee
Green- 0. $95 annual fee waived first year
Bumping bonuses debacle
Look out for targeted offers! Current Sign-up Offers<br>
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Easy, but fixed value: 1 cent (1.25 for Platinum/Centurion)
A $5,000 business class ticket would require 500,000 points!
Could be an okay decision for cheap domestic tickets
Earns elite status just like a purchased ticket Pay With Points<br>
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Bonuspointsmall.com
Extra points per dollar on popular merchants (4x points on Apple, 3x on Alaska Airlines)
Bonus travel opportunities: 1,000 bonus points when you stay at a Sheraton, Aloft or Element and pay with your Amex MR card
Link Like Love
Connect with Foursquare for bonuses and discounts
Amex gift cards Ways to Maximize Earning<br>
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1:1 transfer partners with Continental, United, British Airways, Korean, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club and Amtrak
You can combine points with anyone else
No fees when transferring to airlines!
You can transfer to anyone else
Points post right after statement closes
No transfer bonuses (yet) Chase Ultimate Rewards<br>
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Current offers:
Sapphire Preferred: 50,000 after $3,000 spend within 3 months. $95 annual fee waived the first year. No foreign transaction fees.
Ink Bold: 50,000 after $5,000 spend within 3 months. $95 annual fee waived the first year. Chase Ultimate Rewards<br>
