konsulentti

I really liked starwood gold but after the merger I never got any recognition at Marriot brand premises. Any ideas what benefit would replace this? Hopefully plat benefits will not be limited to restaurant benefits only.

nordic

Amex transfers are now 17 points to 10 AY+ points or BA Avios or Iberia Avios. It would be silly transfer them now to AY+ leading to 6,7 AY Avios. It is better to open a BA or IB account if you want to transfer right now. Maybe the transfer rate will stay the same in the future.

nordic

Unless you need the AY points now for the rewards under the current rules.

FFlash

The point. Burn has been the word in the last 12 months and the next months word will be BURN.

WilcoRoger

Meanwhile in the UK it's 1 point (=£1=€1,15)/Avios vs €1,7/Avios here...

But yes, absolutely no point transferring points to AY+ now (pun intended)

intuition

In Sweden, all exchange rates have been severely slashed last year, I assume Amex does everything in USD.

BA, IB:
20 MR -> 1 Avios

QR:
27 MR -> 1 avios

AY:
20 MR -> 1 AY point

With Finnair 3:2 logic, the MR exchange rate could move to become 30 MR -> 1 AY Avios, but perhaps there is a reason QR is at the odd number 27. It is not hard to think that QR and AY are treated similarly in the avios family as they are not airlines integrated with BA.


Second note, with SEK/EUR currently being around 11,90 we see 1,68€/avios, but very likely the target for that rate was set to be similar to that 1,7 Finland has.

AndyA

Is the Amex online hotel booking a joke or is it just me? Please someone use a steel wire model and explain to me how do I search and book hotels as an Amex Plat member?

sakari1707

My understanding is that you cannot. You need to fill a form and send it to Amex Travel and they will then confirm it or give a quote.
Amex Travel doesn't do any other travel related bookings for us Finns and you cannot call them.
And yes, it is a complete joke.

McCarran

Yes, it’s a joke. They should either have a phone line like they used to - or a customer should be able to book straight online.

You can get things done with the current system, you just need to do most of the work yourself. Go to amextravel.com and search for prices for the city you’re visiting. After that you’ll know what’s available. The prices on the website do not include taxes and fees so you’ll know the final price after asking for a quote. If you want to know right away what you’ll actually pay, you need to do the math beforehand.

As an example, for Las Vegas I’ve just googled the resort fees for a particular hotel, and then I calculate the total incl. taxes (depends on the city and state, obviously). So when you ask for a quote through the Amex Experiences app, you already know what they will offer. Without a phone service available, this removes the need for excessive email ping pong. This service model is quite far from luxury.

AndyA

Thanks, I guess I'll try to do some "manual work" as you suggested. Terrible, terrible service.

kauppias

I have just called for reservations, works fine even if they suggest emails

joorinainen

What extra perks you get when making reservations through Amex travel in Finland?

sakari1707

Amex has several different hotel programs with different perks, for instance can be upgrades, late check-outs, hotel credits, breakfasts + at some hotels for instance massages or something other extra.
Everything needs to be paid with Amex. Platinum gets more than Gold.
All hotels are on the more expensive side.

McCarran

Wow, I didn’t know they still accept calls for reservations. They sure don’t advertise that for obvious reasons.

kauppias

they prefer emils but wont hang up on you if you call