AMEX Platinum Business 50% back on business class flight even one-way

ucitravel

Level 2 Member
Here is a short story of mine as a DP for 50% back using Amex Platinum Business card.

Long story short, I ended up getting a 1-way business class flight from Cairo to Chicago for ~35K MR points, plus mileage credit for the "paid" flight which is a great deal.

After seeing an incredible cheap CAI-AMM-ORD one-way business class fare with Royal Jordanian for ~$730, I decided to apply for this card since I had over 230k Amex points.
The card arrived withing 3 days after approval and I called customer service to make sure that 1-way business class flights booked on the Amex Travel website would qualify for the 50% back.
Surprisingly, most Amex rep insisted that the promo would only be valid on the airline of your choice (AA, UA etc.), but not on other airlines like Royal Jordanian. After speaking with a supervisor, I got confirmation that indeed 1-way thickets on third party airlines would be eligible as long as it was booked on the amex travel website.

Very important : I had to call in to have my 50% points reinstated as the process was NOT automatic!

Hopefully this is helpful to some especially now that Qatar has these phenomenal business class fares to SE Asia.
 

btbane

Level 2 Member
It sounds like Amex might need to do more training on the new benefit. Not being able to use the 50% back on third party airlines only applies to economy class. Business class should always be eligible.

How long did you wait before calling in about getting the points rebated? I am curious, when it is automatic, what the typical time period is for points to get rebated.
 

ucitravel

Level 2 Member
I called 2 weeks after when my statement closed. Response: Wait 6-10 weeks after initially told not eligible
I called after my second statement closed same response but was told that they will "investigate"
I called again and this time escalated to supervisor again and after verification with Amex Travel to make sure it was a business class ticket they manually added the points. a couple of weeks ago.
So this is not automatic at all....even though they told me it will be automatic and be patient.
 

btbane

Level 2 Member
Wow that certainly makes the benefit a lot more of a pain and definitely need to keep a close eye on it. I just got the Business Platinum and have yet to use the benefit. I'm hoping your case with Royal Jordanian is an exception, but I'd love to hear some other experiences.
 

ucitravel

Level 2 Member
It is just 1 data point, so hopefully others will have it easier. I chatted with an agent online who said that he normally sees points posted after the next statement closes. I assume this is for your selected airline only...

I just thought about this today seeing sub $2000 business class fares to SE Asia and getting an rt ticket for under 100k and getting miles on the distance is a great deal.

Too bad I do not have enough MR points for 2 tickets.
 

btbane

Level 2 Member
Yeah I was really hoping this benefit would make a big difference for me. A lot of the trips I've been taking lately have been on other people's timeline and so I haven't always had the flexibility to find good award options and there have been a lot of good sales like this on business class lately.

I know, the fact that you have to have twice as many points as required to book definitely creates a challenge. Need to keep a decent bank of points.
 

cdancer20

Level 2 Member
It sounds like Amex might need to do more training on the new benefit. Not being able to use the 50% back on third party airlines only applies to economy class. Business class should always be eligible.

How long did you wait before calling in about getting the points rebated? I am curious, when it is automatic, what the typical time period is for points to get rebated.
I've used the benefit on my airline of choice economy tickets twice already. The day after the charge and refund posts to your credit card, the 50% back posts.

Example:
Jan 4
AMERICAN EXPRESS TRACHICAGO IL
$363.60
Jan 4
AMEX TRAVEL PURCHASE WITH MR POINTS CREDIT
-$363.60


01/05/2017 Earned 50% Bonus on Pay With Points
18,180
01/04/2017 Used Points for Amex Trvl -36,360
 

Someone

Level 2 Member
I got the biz plat at the end of November and bought a one way delta f ticket and a one way JetBlue biz (mint) in mid-December (separately) using MR points and the 50% refunds posted with the next day's date (I didn't check till a few days later so I don't know exactly when they showed up.)
 

dukerau

Level 2 Member
Don't sleep on the IAP program combined with the 50% dividend benefit. I'm looking at CLT-ATH round trip for fall. Cheapest J tickets for my dates are ~$2,800 per person (AA) on google flights. I called Amex and they found a Skyteam itinerary (extra stop for me) for ~$2,700 for the first person + ~$1,100 in taxes/fees for the second via IAP. Total price $3,787 for 2 RT on a combination of Delta, Air France, and KLM. With 50% rebate, that's ~190k points, or ~95k per person per RT. And it's a refundable fare! I've never used IAP before so I don't know if it's regularly this good of a deal, but certainly worth checking.
 

scdc

New Member
I know there are many data points on this now, but I can say also that it's taking a much much longer than normal time for the 50% rebate to post back to your account. Similarly, they've changed the way the 50% bonus for a larger than 5k purchase posts as well by only adding it each statement cycle rather than the 48 to 72 hour window it was previously.
 
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