Business Platinum Card from American Express
130,000 MR points
The Conundrum of Redeeming Points to Europe
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Business Platinum Card from American Express
- Earn 90,000 MR points upon spending $15,000 in the first three months
- Plus, earn 40,000 MR points upon making a purchase in months 14–17 as a cardholder
- And, earn 1.25x MR points on all purchases
- Also, receive a $200 annual travel credit
- Transfer MR points to Aeroplan and other frequent flyer programs for premium flights
- Unlimited airport lounge access for you and one guest at Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, Centurion, and other lounges
- Credits and rebates for business expenses throughout the year with Amex Offers
- Bonus MR points for referring family and friends
- Qualify for the card as a sole proprietor
- Annual fee: $799
13 Comments
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Is there a reason why the cost of the credit card is not included in the CPP calculation of (price of cash ticket – award taxes and fees) / points redeemed?
For example, AMEX business platinum is $499 and based on this infographic:
https://princeoftravel.com/blog/infographic-the-american-express-credit-card-flowchart
The cost of each point is: $499/83750 = $0.006
Because it’s not relevant when calculating the redemption value. Instead, the calculation you’ve done describes the value at which you earned the points. So as long as you’re redeeming the points > 0.6cpp, you know you’re coming out ahead (though obviously you can and should do much better than that).
Great post Ricky,
Love your blog, I am currently looking for a flight (one way) from Vancouver to Cairo on December 20/21, however I literally cannot find any business/first class flights on Aeroplan. I have even looked into flying to Toronto first on cash and then flying to Cairo but again nothing. Really frustrating, I am using American Express MR points, haven’t converted to aeroplan yet, do you have any other suggestions maybe i can convert my points to another program.
Thanks a lot!
Also if i recall correctly you will pay less in aeroplan miles if you add Istanbul to your itinerary. Since you are booking a 1 way remembering to have carry on luggage only and if you are comfortable dropping your last leg.
????
You’re looking to travel during a popular period and book tickets ~3 months out, so recognize that there’s a chance that all the desirable flights have been snapped up already.
Try looking for some of Egyptair’s flights to the East Coast USA. Alternatively, look into flying to Europe first via the East Coast USA before connecting onto Cairo. You’ll want to figure out which airlines fly which routes and then search for those routes on a segment-by-segment basis in order to locate availability.
Hey Ricky.
I’m in this exact boat. I’d like to book Business to ZRH from YVR in April. I found the LX flight a few weeks but it’s "no longer available". So should I be finding which cities it is still available from, then find another flight to that city and then call Aeroplan to book it as one whole trip?
Swiss flight seems to be blocked off across the board at this point in time, so you can either look for alternative no-YQ carriers (Brussels Airlines, Turkish Airlines, or United) with the method you mentioned, or wait for the issues to be resolved.
Great summary as usual, Ricky.
If anyone finds availability flying Turkish Airlines (either from Toronto/Montreal or connecting through the USA), I would highly recommend it. Although the product isn’t as luxurious as many of the Asian airlines, the catering by Do&Co is fantastic, the flagship Turkish Airlines departure lounge is worth a few hours at least, and they have layover programs for economy and business class passengers (with restrictions) with connecting flights.
And to boot, you can have breakfast in Asia, lunch in Europe, and dinner in North America on your way home!
Yep, I’ve got a flight booked on Turkish in January and I can’t wait! I just wish there was a better choice of seats for solo travellers, but the onboard catering should be excellent.
What may be a better idea for many people is to not overlook the benefits of avios points. I feel that they get a bad rap in the blogosphere.
If you confine yourself to aeroplan then you will confine yourself to their ways to europe.
While I am not really comfortable giving away a good deal to everyone, 50,000 avios gets you from yyz to dub in business on aer lingus one way.
This is a great deal as you can get anywhere in Europe for very few miles or dollars.
In the miles and points game, it is necessary to be flexible in both time and the type.
Great input, John.
Great article Ricky. I’ve had people message for help to Europe as well and it’s slim pickings out there right now.
One thing to add to your article, YYZ-WAW is usually a sub-$500 flight in fees. LOT charges fees but they’re usually under $500 IME.
Keep up the good work!
Great article Ricky. I’ve had people message for help to Europe as well and it’s slim pickings out there right now.
One thing to add to your article, YYZ-WAW is usually a sub-$500 flight in fees. LOT charges fees but they’re usually under $500 IME.
Keep up the good work!