Roughly what $ to point is a good ratio?

[brad1549]

Hi all,

I am very new to American Express and redeemed the 100k points on the recent credit card promotions.

I now have approx 150k points.

I am hoping to fly from London to Dubai and Dubai to Sydney.

My questions:

1. Can I buy one ticket and choose my number of days staying in Dubai? i.e. buy a 'London to Sydney' ticket via Dubai, but change the Dubai to Sydney leg to be a bit later (i.e. not a mere stopover)?

2. What is a good $ to point ratio? Currently, the London to Dubai leg costs either $760 AUD or 102,000 Amex points on the Emirates flight.

3. Is it best to use my American Express points directly? Or is it best to choose a flight and airline, and then transfer my Amex points to that particular airline's programme? i.e. would it be beneficial to transfer my 102,000 Amex points to Emirates to buy that flight I'm after?

Thanks everyone!

 

[hossein_au]

Hi all,

I am very new to American Express and redeemed the 100k points on the recent credit card promotions.

I now have approx 150k points.

Congrats! That is a decent number of AMEX points.

1. Can I buy one ticket and choose my number of days staying in Dubai? i.e. buy a 'London to Sydney' ticket via Dubai, but change the Dubai to Sydney leg to be a bit later (i.e. not a mere stopover)?

It usually depends on the airline. Some do it for free, some charge a change fee, some just won't do it. Singapore airline, for example, is happy to change a rewards ticket exactly as you described, but they charge $100 for any 'stop over' in the itinerary. Since as you suggested your original itinerary does not have a stop over but you are hoping to add one, they charge you $100.

2. What is a good $ to point ratio? Currently, the London to Dubai leg costs either $760 AUD or 102,000 Amex points on the Emirates flight.

Economy tickets are never a buy as far as $ to point ratio is concerned (barring some exceptional, domestic, flights).

3. Is it best to use my American Express points directly? Or is it best to choose a flight and airline, and then transfer my Amex points to that particular airline's programme? i.e. would it be beneficial to transfer my 102,000 Amex points to Emirates to buy that flight I'm after?

Again, I have never come across a directly-redeemed AMEX travel that is good value for points. I always transfer to the target airline and book directly with them (sometimes using SPG as a stepping stone).

 

[brad1549]

Congrats! That is a decent number of AMEX points.



It usually depends on the airline. Some do it for free, some charge a change fee, some just won't do it. Singapore airline, for example, is happy to change a rewards ticket exactly as you described, but they charge $100 for any 'stop over' in the itinerary. Since as you suggested your original itinerary does not have a stop over but you are hoping to add one, they charge you $100.



Economy tickets are never a buy as far as $ to point ratio is concerned (barring some exceptional, domestic, flights).



Again, I have never come across a directly-redeemed AMEX travel that is good value for points. I always transfer to the target airline and book directly with them (sometimes using SPG as a stepping stone).

Thanks for your reply.

Just to reiterate on point 2 - are you saying the economy tickets cost an absurdly large amount of points? Or an absurdly large amount of dollars?

And, you would highly recommend me transferring my points to Emirates and not use Amex Membership points to book directly through Amex?

Thanks

 

[ozjuice]

You generally get much more value with Bus / First class fare redemptions than you do with economy.

 

[hossein_au]

Thanks for your reply.

Just to reiterate on point 2 - are you saying the economy tickets cost an absurdly large amount of points? Or an absurdly large amount of dollars?

And, you would highly recommend me transferring my points to Emirates and not use Amex Membership points to book directly through Amex?

Thanks

Az OzJuice has written, business and first class tickets are where values are. Economy tickets are generally cheap enough outright that the asking points makes them poor value (great value as a revenue purchase, poor value as a rewards redemption).

Before moving points to Emirates, check other options as well. Emirates charge a LOT of points, charge a LOT of carrier-imposed surcharges, and have a relatively poor value when transferring points from credit cards (usually 4:3 versus 1:1 for other airlines).

 

[SOPOOR]

Az OzJuice has written, business and first class tickets are where values are. Economy tickets are generally cheap enough outright that the asking points makes them poor value (great value as a revenue purchase, poor value as a rewards redemption).

Before moving points to Emirates, check other options as well. Emirates charge a LOT of points, charge a LOT of carrier-imposed surcharges, and have a relatively poor value when transferring points from credit cards (usually 4:3 versus 1:1 for other airlines).

What are the other options for Emirates though?
Qantas points is available for some programs but the taxes and points requirements are very similar

 

[hossein_au]

What are the other options for Emirates though?
Qantas points is available for some programs but the taxes and points requirements are very similar

I am not sure; I have only ever booked EK using QF and EK points. But there are other partner points you can use for EK flights; for example Alaska Airlines (points either purchased directly or transferred via SPG). I am not sure about "value" of these though; you'll have to try different scenarios and see which one you're comfortable with.