Tag Archives for american express.
Answering this question starts with looking at the transfer partners each program has (they’re all different), which partners provide the most value, and also how flexible each currency is when you want to use your points directly against a paid ticket or hotel night rather than redeeming for a free flight or free hotel award night.
Before the pandemic the American Airlines co-brand portfolio had the largest charge volume, but American, United and Delta were all over $100 billion annually.
In June Delta Air Lines made big news claiming to have broken away from the pack reporting that “approaching 1% of U.S. GDP” in charge volume on their co-brand cards. They appeared to suggest over a quarter trillion dollars being spend on Delta American Express cards.
Lines to get into a Centurion lounge can be just as bad as at a Delta Sky Club. This is what things looked like at 1:45 p.m. on Monday in Las Vegas.
The whole point of an airport lounge is not to wait in the terminal. There’s nothing luxury about queueing.
Some of the variance is based on how much people spend on airports and save in the Centurion lounge. Others value it as an ideal, a real escape from the terminal and good food and drink and what that might retail for.
The problem is that, as I wrote five and a half years ago, Centurion lounges have gotten so busy nobody goes there anymore. The experience rarely measures up to the ideal where you experience peace, a nice meal, and even a spa treatment.
Hilton’s premium co-brand is interesting because it straight up comes with Honors Diamond status, though I view Hilton Diamond as worth less than similar status at Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG (no guaranteed late check-out from Hilton or IHG, even, but at least IHG offers confirmed suites).
The premium card is also the only one where Hilton spend is more rewarding that putting it on an alternative card.
There are folks who will come out ahead – those who already have unlimited Priority Pass and will get the full $200 per year value out of the statement credits – but overall judging the pure value of the card I don’t think this is a net improvement. It’s still a good value product but I don’t see this refresh as an improvement.
American Express is bringing back Member Week for October 9 through 13. There’s one offer that really stands out to me – all Amex personal, business and corporate cardmembers can register to receive a $25 statement credit on $75 spend at over 200 participating Resy restaurants by December 8, 2023, and this can be earned twice (for a total of $50 back).
Amex Platinum customers who don’t focus their travel on Delta actually seem to come out ahead, even as their unlimited benefit (which they weren’t making full use of) gets scaled back.
For Delta loyalists with an Amex Platinum, well, that’s another story entirely.
Delta is changing how elite status is earned, eliminating the use of three metrics (dollars, qualifying miles, and segments) to focus on only a single metric (dollars) while allowing some activities other than flying to count towards those dollars. And they’re restricting credit card access to their Sky Clubs – limiting the number of cardmember visits, and not allowing visits when traveling on a basic economy fare.
In the face of overcrowding of Delta’s Sky Club lounges, last year the airline limited lounge access to within 3 hours of departure. Then they made several more changes. But These measures haven’t been enough.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
