Reply to Do I still need my Amex Platinum?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It was based on two one ways bc we actually flew into Geneva and out of Zurich. Was the only way it worked to get there… agree it was a lot of points considering it used to be 66k each way, even 60k at times (United). Now I’ve even seen up to 395k each way which is insane. The 155k one way we got was the lowest I saw for our dates, which were inflexible. The return was actually 70k pp in economy and I used plus points to upgrade to business, which you can do on award tickets with GS. Literally a miracle 4 upgrades cleared.

Another reason I prefer using Saph Reserve to transfer to United is that I can redeposit miles w/o penalty (to United, not Chase obv) With Amex points am not sure that would be possible, if we needed to cancel.[/quote]

Two one ways isn't the proper comparison, because international oneways are wildly inflated. If booking with cash you would have booked this as a multi-city or "open jaw" booking, IAD-GVA and ZRH -IAD. This would price out almost exactly the same as a basic roundtrip, and on the same dates in June that booking is still around $6k/person in business.

Yeah those mileage levels are anytime awards, which are usually the only option for business to Europe except spending a ton of time searching constantly, or being flexible with dates, or booking early and then making changes close-in as availability possibly opens up close to departure. In this situation you couldn't use Amex points to book those flights without saver award availability, because without that a transfer partner like Aeroplan or Singapore wouldn't be able to book the United flight as a partner. This is all part of the learning curve of maximizing points. It gets really complex at times.

But if you are going to Europe, Flying Blue is going to be your best availability, generally. BA is pretty good also, but their fees are ridiculous, and their planes/service are still a step below for business class.[/quote]

I booked it 10 days before having changed routes several times😬 Was actually thrilled to find that availability bc there was nothing without multiple connections (GVA wasn’t our final destination) and then the flight back through ZRH indicating good possibility for upgrades. Definitely was paying a premium in points for convenience, ability to cancel, and upgrade potential on return.

I just haven’t figured out yet the AMEX game but will look at Flying Blue again. I found the ANA site very un-user friendly,  tired both mobile and laptop and felt defeated 😭 Will continue to build points as I learn it[/quote]

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