My favorite uses of Amex Membership Rewards points

If you recently got in on the 75,000 or 50,000 point offer from Amex Business Gold, you may be wondering just what exactly you should do now with all the points you have at your disposal. I have a couple favorite ways to spend these points:

Transfer to British Airways

Amex often offers lucrative transfer bonuses to British Airways. The last one was 35%. Even without these bonuses, though, transferring to British Airways can be a great deal for short-haul travel on Oneworld partner American Airlines. British Airways’ Avios miles are distance-based, meaning the cost of your ticket is based on the distance you fly, specifically the distance you fly of each leg (i.e. you would have to pay for two flights on a trip with a layover). The fact that Avios are distance-based can make them a fantastic deal for short trips. I regularly fly from Washington, DC to Chicago for 4,500 Avios each way. Compare that to flying the same flight using American Airlines miles, which would cost me 12,500 each way. Plus, where American charges a $75 fee to book less than 21 days in advance, Avios don’t have that restriction, so I can buy the same flights for no fees.

Example: I want to fly ORD-DCA today. I search flights on the American site and find the following:

I search the British Airways website and find pretty much the exact same thing:

Let’s pick the 12:15 for both. Here’s the quote for American miles:

Here’s the quote for the same flight on Avios:

It’s not even close.

Any flight that a Oneworld partner flies can be booked using Avios, so it isn’t just American that these miles can be good for. If you’re doing a Eurotrip they can be a great value for getting between countries on partners such as Air Berlin and Finnair.

Transfer to Aeroplan

Aeroplan is Air Canada’s standalone mileage program. I believe its best use is on last-minute United and US Airways flights. If I purchased these flights with either United or US Airways miles, I would be hit with a $75 fee for booking less than 21 days in advance. But Aeroplan doesn’t have a late-ticketing rule, so I can save myself some money by booking flights with them instead of with the actual airline’s miles.  

Example: I want to fly SFO-IAD today and back tomorrow. Here is a list of the United flights with Saver availability (left column has a blue box):

And the return:

Here are the same lists on Aeroplan’s site:

And the return:

Here is the quote for United:

And the quote for Aeroplan:

Same exact flights, but no last-minute fees with Aeroplan.

Got questions about how to avoid last-minute fees, or how to use your Membership Rewards points? Head on over to WenneTravel at www.wennecorp.com and we’d be happy to answer your questions.