ive been with amex for a few years. these reward points have been piling up. im thinking about making a trip to vegas, and would like to cash in these reward points for plane tickets and/or a rental car. basically so i have more money to gamble and entertain myself with. anyone know how this stuff works? good idea? bad idea? things to look out for? im just looking for a consumer opinion before i call to get there sales pitch/scam. thanks!
No scam. I have used AMEX rewards points for extra frequent flier miles on Continental, for renting cars, and for hotel rooms. It's well worth it.
We recently received $100 worth of Benihana gift cards by redeeming AMEX reward points. Works great for us.
Lets say Im trying to make travel plans for Memorial Day Weekend. I would like to have everything done this week. Does that sound possible? I already got a great deal on a room. I just need plane tickets and rental car. What is the best way to handle this? Call them? Tell them the dates? Airlines? Etc? Thanks!
I am not enrolled in any frequent flyer program. most frequent flyer programs come with a credit card, therefore ive never signed up for them.
No they do not. You can enroll in them without getting a new credit card at any of the airlines' websites. What you need to do is this: 1. Choose which airline you want to fly and join their frequent flyer program. 2. Make a reservation for your flight with that airline but do not pay for it. Tell them you want to use frequent flyer miles. They will give you a confirmation number and the reservation will expire in 48 hours. 3. Call AMEX and have them turn your rewards points into miles for that frequent flyer program. 4. Call the frequent flyer program and pay for your reservation using the miles you have just accumulated.
american express reward points are generally best used for gift certificates... i think it's $2 per Continental mile - which isn't that great of an exchange rate. I would weigh each option to see what your best conversion rates are.
This program rocks, but it takes time to get your rewards...If you want to transfer the miles to lets say Continental, its easy, but timely... I've done the $100 credit, GC to restaurants, and have enjoyed them...
How much better are the reward points from a regular AMEX versus the AMEX Blue?? For me I don’t know if the regular AMEX is worth 150 a year..
How much do you have to spend to get your "rewards"? What's the ratio of reward points to dollars spent?
