Tag Archives: American Express

How To Find A Hotel Room For Half The Amex Membership Rewards Points!

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Photo courtesy of SPG Hotels and the Aloft Hotel Phoenix

Book a hotel for half the Amex Membership Rewards points! If you have an American Express card then you earn valuable Membership Reward points [MR]. These can help with purchasing from Amazon, Home Depot, as well as traveling. I am focused on travel!

When you use Amex points you have a few different ways to book your travel. The first is to use the Amex travel portal. The second is to transfer points between Amex and one of their travel partners [e.g., SPG,  Delta, etc…]. These are both good options depending on what your travel plans call for. Mine call for a hotel in Phoenix, AZ since my son will be competing in a soccer tournament there in February and we are staying an extra night to check out Phoenix!

Even though I am going to use American Express MR points to secure a hotel for us the cost in points is very different. The take home is that you need to compare options to maximize your valuable points. In this scenario I saved half my points for the same room.

My son loves the Aloft hotels. They happen to be an SPG property. I know I can book these through Amex. Time to do some research! Here is what I found:

Option 1: Use Travel Portal at Amex. Here I can purchase the night I need through the travel portal at a cost $159 [same as I could buy directly on the Aloft website] or 22,714 Amex Membership Rewards points. Aloft Room = 22,714 MR points

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Option 2: Transfer Amex Points To SPG. The SPG site says the number of points needed for a room at the Aloft for the night I need is 3,000. On the Amex site MR points transfer at a rate of 1,000 MRs to 333 SPG points. It turns out I need 10,000 MRs to get 3,333 SPG points for the room [Now I will have a few extra SPG points, but that’s just how it works]. Aloft Room = 10,000 MR points

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I am going for Option 2! I get the same room for less than half the MR points! For the same room I could pay 10,000 Membership Rewards points or 22,714 Membership Rewards points. My choice is clear! I will transfer points to my SPG account and only be out 10k MR points. I’m headed off to book my room now…

 

Got an Amex Business Card? Support Small Biz and Save $20 from Amex

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You can support small, local businesses AND save $20 when you spend $100 now through 11/28/15. If you have an American Express Business Card [or a few] you will need to register the card for this promotion, spend $100 in one purchase at a store Amex shows as local [Grand Rabbits, Satellite, B Town Wine and Spirits, and so many more!], then you will magically get a $20 statement credit. Free $20 – thank you, American Express!

Here is how to get your $20 statement credit:

  1. Register your businesses card [you need to sign in before using the link] – follow this link 
  2. Find a participating small business – here is the small business map
  3. Spend $100 in one purchase by 11/28/15
  4. Watch for your statement credit. In the past I have received a notification immediately that I had a qualified purchase and Amex was applying a $20 credit.
  5. I registered both of my Amex cards [both primary and secondary cards on one account], so don’t forget to register all of your cards.

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