New Amex redemption rates for SQ/EK; adding transfers to QR/HA

[spud60]

The way I see it is I currently have the equivalent of 929000 Kris flyer miles ( 744000 amex and 185000 St George ) when I divide my MR and Amplify by two. If I transfer them all to SIA I will have until July And October 2026 to redeem them. I can also extend them by 6 months or 12 months if my current Elite Silver is still in place, so I have up to 4 years to use them. I am heading to Europe in August (4 weeks) and Africa/Asia in March 2024 ( all business class) both booked almost 11months in advance and apart from 1 saver flight the others were all on Advantage for myself and my wife. If I leave my points in the respective accounts my 929000 will become 619000 after cutbacks. I can not see the point of not transferring them all as I will lose 310000 points. Any suggestions please.

 

[apflyer]

That's an unlike for sure. Got the same email. Hmmmm, there goes amex warehousing and a likely cancellation for me.

Hey, what other options are you considering?

 

[GrahamBRI]

The real question, then, is for those people who still rely on SQ or EK miles, what's the best credit card option now?

Citi Prestige I believe is still a good option for SQ.
I believe it is still a 2.5 conversion rate and when you add to earn rates of x3 (for travel etc) you can still achieve a 1:1 outcome.

 

[apflyer]

I have the HSBC *A credit card - interesting to see if anything happens there. Makes the poor redemption rates on that card look much better now.

If I were a cynic ......

Hi there! I had major issues with HSBC trying to get them to approve and subsequently send me a card. It took 3 months and they keep asking for random details. Did you have a smoother experience?

 

[albyd]

I'm sure YMMV but for me, paying $450 AF for decent earn only on the first $3,000 per month then at half the rate thereafter, doesn't make much sense. I know there are other reasons like an easy road to Gold status which may appeal to some. I already put through the vast majority of my spend on AMEX (I know that's not the case for everyone) so the last little bits are rats and mice.

Is anyone signing up for this card for the points "earn" or just the status?

 

[burmans]

It's mostly about the sign up bonuses for Amex USA.

In Australia, you can get one sign up bonus every 20 months (assuming 2 months to reach the min spend and 18 months waiting).

In the USA, you can get one sign up bonus every 1.5 months (alternating between NLL Biz Golds & Biz Plats).

But you misconstrue the everyday earn rates as well.

The Amex USA Green earns 3x on travel & restaurants.

$AUD 100 spend in these categories = $66USD = 198 MR = 198 Airline Miles

For the Amex Plat here:

$AUD 100 = 225 MR = 75 Airline Miles (for 3:1 partners)

I was lost at signup bonuses aside! Any dedicated points earner knows the way to earn significant points is the signup bonuses rather than everyday spend so why would anyone exclude the best way to earn points except perhaps just to be perverse!
PS, done have US cards myself but certainly understand the interest.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Any dedicated points earner knows the way to earn significant points is the signup bonuses rather than everyday spend

Equation kinda changes for those dedicated points earners who have a few mil $s to churn thru cards annually

 

[burmans]

Equation kinda changes for those dedicated points earners who have a few mil $s to churn thru cards annually

Well true but nothing stopping you getting both signup and spend bonuses and the diversification into the US can only help with this. You could have an Oz card for the spend and still play the churning game in the US.

 

[Poojou]

As one of the chunk of Aussies living in Singapore and using my AMEX MR to warehouse points for everything - I view this as a personal attack haha

Guess I'll just transfer a bunch out ... I need to have a long conversation with Customer Service I reckon....

 

[spud60]

It is very difficult to churn cards for anyone who is retired and receiving a SMSF pension as most lenders do not understand how they work.

 

[levelnine]

Equation kinda changes for those dedicated points earners who have a few mil $s to churn thru cards annually

As with all these changes, there are winners and losers.

Losers = points whales. Almost all points whales get there through huge CC spend. Banks have decided they're costing them too much money. Airlines must be squeezing the banks with higher charges for points.

Partial winners = regular customers aiming for aspirational redemptions. Fewer points whales soaking up all the redemptions means more J/F award seats for everyone else. Even if regular customers have to work a little harder for the points given reduced sign up bonuses, they're still coming out ahead as premium cabin award availability has been the biggest bottle neck in the system since COVID.

Biggest winners = Americans. Sign up bonuses keep going up and up in the US, and there's been no transfer partner devaluations. While that might change, the credit card landscape is a lot more competitive there so hard to move away from 1:1 — the default standard there. Expect to see even more Americans riding for free up the front of a plane near you sometime soon

Definitely an interesting shift in the landscape.

 

[am0985]

For those flying to Europe, those who prefer to speculatively plan a trip 11 months out clearly win out here.

Qatar has good availability in June 2024 and 40,500 points less than SQ for J along with just a 25 USD cancellation charge. Not even that expensive to make 3-4 dummy bookings and cancel all but one depending on plans. Availability much before this is poor though.

Singapore always had some decent availability much sooner than 11 months out (can see lots of Feb 2024 availability for MEL - LHR) but a lot more points needed and cancellation fee 3x as high.

 

[GrahamBRI]

As one of the chunk of Aussies living in Singapore and using my AMEX MR to warehouse points for everything

..... a key reason for SQ flyers (like me) to warehouse in Amex is the auto expiry of points in SQ. While I acknowledge the "devaluation" argument here, for me changes like these have just reset my game plan and focus on the next window of opportunity: Amex for warehousing QR, QF, VA, CX. Citi now for warehousing SQ (I was using it for QR).
The biggest improvement I would like to see here is the removal of SQ's auto expiry of points (that is a pain)...... Amex's change here (for me at least) has more good than bad, with a good Avios earn rate.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I was lost at signup bonuses aside! Any dedicated points earner knows the way to earn significant points is the signup bonuses rather than everyday spend so why would anyone exclude the best way to earn points except perhaps just to be perverse!
PS, done have US cards myself but certainly understand the interest.

Everyday spend on travel can really make a big difference though depending on the card. For instance, US AmEx Platinums earn 5x points on flights and 5x points on hotels. Now I cannot comment on the average AFF reader here, but I would be surprised if many don't spend $10,000 USD/year or more between flights and hotels which translates into 50,000 AmEx membership rewards points if using a US issued card. Certainly for people racking up $100,000 or more per year on travel could easily earn a ton of points just putting it on the card.

In terms of the Australia situation, well look it's 2.25x points per AUD spent in general. Suppose you put every expense conceivable on the card ($30,000 easily for most Aussies I reckon) that works out to 67,500 membership rewards points. Which is roughly half of the sign up bonus. Not bad! Of course the issue with AmEx here is it's not accepted at many places. Whereas I can use my AmEx Platinum card at a Dollarama in Canada (discount store that sells items for $1) I'd be hard pressed to find many retailers that take the card (or at least take the card without passing on a fee to me).

-RooFlyer88

 

[JohnK]

I just saw my email today. What an awful devaluation.

Luckily I don't have that many points and I've already stopped using Amex for most purchases anyway. Since covid this game has got way too difficult to try and redeem simple awards.

 

[Human]

Of course the issue with AmEx here is it's not accepted at many places. Whereas I can use my AmEx Platinum card at a Dollarama in Canada (discount store that sells items for $1) I'd be hard pressed to find many retailers that take the card (or at least take the card without passing on a fee to me)

That's not my experience. I use Amex for groceries, petrol, travel, entertainment, health insurance, telephone, internet, dining, fast food ... and I don't pay a fee/surcharge for any of the above. Businesses I regularly use Amex for include Coles, Woolies, BP, 7Eleven, Ampol, Coles Petrol, Woolies Petrol, Village and Hoyts Cinemas, Qantas, Virgin, Amazon, Netflix, AirBnB, Anytime Fitness, Kmart, Big W, every hotel I've stayed at over the past 5 years (including the big chains Accor, Hilton etc), EB Games, Optus, NIB, AAMI, Uber, Menulog, Didi, PayPal, Chemist Warehouse, JB Hi Fi, The Good Guys, Red Energy, Telstra, BCF, The Apple Store, Kathmandu, McDonalds (please don't judge me!) etc, etc... Not to mention the numerous small businesses I use including local restaurants, our local pharmac_ etc. In fact, of all the major retailers in my area, Aldi is the only one that does not accept Amex.

I reckon that I can put at least 75% of my household spending on Amex, without paying a cent in extra surcharges. I use a Platinum Charge card for all of those expenses except groceries and petrol, which I put on my Platinum Edge for even more points.

I even see that you're an AFF Supporter -- I pay my AFF Supporter annual fee with Amex, and AFF doesn't charge a surcharge!

 

[mt4789]

Qatar transfers are a big win for me. It not only opens up Iberia and BA, but also some of their non-Oneworld partners such as Aer Lingus and Avianca which aren't accessible via Qantas.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Qatar transfers are a big win for me. It not only opens up Iberia and BA, but also some of their non-Oneworld partners such as Aer Lingus and Avianca which aren't accessible via Qantas.

For those curious on the non-Oneworld partners bookable with Avios (British Airways, Iberia, Qatar, and Aer Lingus) this article from TPG outlines it:

• British Airways Avios: Aer Lingus, airBaltic, Bangkok Airways, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Fiji Airways, Kenya Airways, Loganair, Vistara, Vueling, Comair (a British Airways franchise partner in South Africa currently suspending operations) and Sun-Air, a British Airways franchise partner in Scandinavia.
• Iberia Avios: Avianca, Level, LATAM, Interjet, Binter and Vueling.
• Aer Lingus Avios: British Airways and Iberia.
• Qatar Avios: Bangkok Airways, JetBlue, LATAM, Middle East Airlines, Oman Air, RwandAir, S7 and, coming in July, Virgin Australia

 

[am0985]

I'm pretty happy with the ability to book Qatar J to Europe for 90k pts one way, but which of these other Avios opportunities are truly beneficial for those of us in Australia?

oneworld is already bookable through QFF and Asia Miles and J award availability on most routes to/from Australia is terrible, even for CX/MH/BA. QR seem to require an extortionate amount of miles in LATAM J...154,000 one way to SCL!

 

[Poojou]

..... a key reason for SQ flyers (like me) to warehouse in Amex is the auto expiry of points in SQ. While I acknowledge the "devaluation" argument here, for me changes like these have just reset my game plan and focus on the next window of opportunity: Amex for warehousing QR, QF, VA, CX. Citi now for warehousing SQ (I was using it for QR).
The biggest improvement I would like to see here is the removal of SQ's auto expiry of points (that is a pain)...... Amex's change here (for me at least) has more good than bad, with a good Avios earn rate.

Yeah really good point. I definitely can still warehouse for those other airlines, it's just that well, it's way more painful to deal with yet another set of accounts to get flights (haha I stick to QF and SQ, given my locations generally are EUROPE or AUS... and everything else around here is not worht spending points on)

SQ will never remove the auto expiry of points, it's the easiest way to sweep the ledger clean of all the rif raf every so often - and SQ are well known to hate points earners AND status earners..

I'll throw some points to KF before the cutoff I think to fund another EU trip next year - I've got a Citi card that has excellent transfer partners and rates (I'm only coughty at Amex because they're my 'points bank' haha)