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How just 13000 Amex Points could put you 1st Class
The past week has been a big one for Amex and British Airways. In roughly 7 days we’ve seen the transfer ratio between the brands go from 5:4 to 1:1 to 5:7. THAT IS CRAZY and it creates some very interesting opportunities. Avios get a bad wrap, for a good reason most of the time, but there are some pretty awesome uses, and I thought I’d show you one way that you can get RIDICS value. This is how just 13000 Amex Points could put you in 1st class poppin’ bottles, wearing Pjs, and have you facing the difficult questions…should I be addressed as Mr. Miles the Monkey, or just Miles?
Let’s say you nabbed a great Biz fare or maybe you’re flying on the company dime…This is what you’d have.
It’s lie-flat, but leaves quite a bit to be desired when compared to the competition.
But THIS is what you WANT: Great Champagne, All Aisle Access, cool blue lighting. FIRST CLASS! You’re so close!!! Only 13k Amex Points and Miles will show you how.
You probably already know this, but British Airways award chart has Peak and Off-peak rates.
Let’s say your business class ticket is booked from Boston to London. That route has great First Class award and upgrade availability.
You can search for space on AA. On the left you have space in July ( Peak ) and on the right you have November ( Off Peak )
You can also search on Expertflyer – it’s Z space ( award and upgrade ). You can even set alerts to notify you when it becomes available.
MILES, OMG I SEE SPACE!!!! How much will it cost to upgrade?
Remember, it’s the difference between how many points your business class ticket would have cost, and how much the first class seat that you want would cost.
If your business class flight was in July ( Peak ) it’d be 60k Avios. If it was in November ( off-peak ) it’d cost 50k avios
The first class equivalent: 68k ( off peak ) and 80k ( peak )
So the difference is 18k and 20k, respectively.
Let’s say your flight was in November, and you needed 18k Avios to upgrade. With the current 40% transfer bonus, you’d need to transfer just 13k American Express Membership Rewards to make it happen. Mic Drop!
I’m hoping to use upgrade an upcoming biz flight from LAX to LHR to first class. Fingers crossed 🙂
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.