For most of us, flying business or first class is something we aspire to do, but it isn’t
something that we can afford to do on a regular basis.
While collecting points and miles can be a great way to make it happen, it can still
be a fairly expensive proposition.
Which is why it’s interesting to see American Express offering another way to get upgrades
through their Upgrade with Points feature.
Hey, how’s it going everyone?
It’s Ernest from Trip Astute.
In this video, we’ll review the Upgrade with Points feature on American Express and
explore if it’s worth spending your hard-earned points for a flight upgrade.
For those of you with American Express cards, you’re probably familiar with many of the
redemptions offered by the program.
But one redemption option that doesn’t get much attention is the Upgrade with Points
feature.
If you look under the Benefits tab on your American Express account, you’ll notice
it’s one of the features in the list.
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The Upgrade with Points option from American Express allows you to apply Membership Rewards
points to bid for an upgrade on 21 different airline partners.
You won’t any of the major US carriers on the list, but is still a fairly diverse group
of airlines covering flights to all parts of the world.
To use this feature, you’ll want to go to the Benefits tab in your American Express
account and select Upgrade with Points.
You’ll then select the airline and enter your last name and confirmation number.
Once your flight information is confirmed, you’ll be given the opportunity to bid for
an upgrade using your points.
The dashboard had some hints as to what would be a competitive bid for an upgrade.
It tells you how likely you are to get the upgrade based on your bid amount.
Keep in mind that it does have a minimum bid amount, so you can’t go in with a low-ball
offer.
Using this option, each Membership Rewards point is redeemed at a value of one cent per
point, which is definitely on the lower end of most valuations.
I know that The Points Guy values American Express points at two cents per point, so
keep that in mind.
Of course, everyone’s point valuation will be different, but just know that you’re
not usually getting a high redemption rate using this program.
You also have the option of adding dollars to your offer.
This doesn’t replace your points bid.
You would still need to submit the minimum bid required.
This just gives you the option of adding more to the offer using cash.
Once you submit your bid, you’ll hear back within five days of your flight.
It’s that simple!
If your upgrade is accepted, then it is non-refundable and cannot be changed.
If your itinerary contains multiple flights or stopovers, you can bid for each fight individually.
However, keep in mind that you can only bid one offer per flight.
Now the big question -- is it worth it?
For most people, probably not.
That’s mostly due to the low redemption rate of one cent per point.
For those of you that collect American Express points, you’ll likely be discouraged by
the low per point rate.
In fact, you could probably find business class flights for fewer points than using
the upgrade with points option.
On the other hand, there are two scenarios where I think this could be useful.
The feature doesn’t require the ticket to be your own, so you could upgrade a friend
or family member’s ticket if they qualify for an upgrade.
Again, you would be accepting a low redemption rate, but it might be worthwhile if you’re
looking to treat a family member or friend, especially someone who might have a long trip
ahead of them.
Also, if you happen to have a ticket booked for you from work, then this feature could
also be worthwhile if you want to fly business or first class, but your work doesn’t approve
it.
You would essentially be paying for your own upgrade, but it could be valuable especially
if you’re someone that struggles to sleep on a plane and are essentially flying on a
paid ticket through work.
If you decide to use the feature, here are a couple of things to keep in mind.
1.
Be aware of restrictions: The Upgrade with Points benefit only works with certain classes
of tickets.
If you’ve booked a low-cost economy ticket, then it’s unlikely that the booking will
qualify for an upgrade.
You’ll want to check with the airline’s website to see what classes of economy tickets
are eligible for upgrades.
2.
Consider upgrading directly with the carriers: Many airlines will allow you to upgrade directly
through their website.
Some have a similar bidding system as American Express, while others show an exact point
total for an upgrade.
Going directly through the carrier often means that you’re getting a better point value
rate than the suggested bids through American Express.
3.
Always search for business class tickets to compare the rate: As I mentioned earlier,
you can often get more value per point by booking a business class award ticket versus
using upgrading an economy ticket.
I suggest using tools like Awardhacker to see the approximate point requirements and
airlines that serve your flight plan.
This often gives me a lead on where to search.
Awardhacker even tells you which partner airlines to check for the flight, and which point currencies
are needed.
It’s not always 100% up-to-date, and award availability may be limited depending on the
time of your trip, but it’s a great starting point for your search.
Overall, while I don’t think that I’ll be using the Upgrade with Points option anytime
soon, I do think it’s a step in the right direction.
I’d love for American Express to make it a more compelling value proposition, and I’d
love to see their competitors, like Chase, offer similar redemption options for their
points.
What do you think of the Upgrade with Points feature?
Have you used it to upgrade your flights?
Please let me know in the comment section below.
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