Only Premium & Super Premium Cards Discussion

[ChurningNoob]

135k MR points against 70k+ fees is already good but what are the other ways in which we can maximise and squeeze out Amex within the first year? Obviously will close the card before renewal.

Now that the offer has been extended till 31st March.

 

[Deleted member 11974]

transfer to marriot and then transfer to united

 

[anirban.choudhuryanirban.choudhury is verified member.]

135k MR points against 70k+ fees is already good but what are the other ways in which we can maximise and squeeze out Amex within the first year? Obviously will close the card before renewal.

Now that the offer has been extended till 31st March.

Leverage the offers that are going around currently

25% off on Taj stays even on standard room category
Upto 20x MR on rewards xcelator
3rd night free with Oberoi
Truefitt & Hill 2500 off ( applicable even on Gold Charge and all add-ons )
Dining Discounts and free drink in Indian Accent

If you can leverage these offers , you can easily recover the annual charges.

 

[ChurningNoob]

transfer to marriot and then transfer to united

Not maximizing on points but how to maximize on earning those points.

 

[Zacobite]

Not maximizing on points but how to maximize on earning those points.

Reward Multiplier and xcelator is the only way to maximise earning points.. 25k Amz vouchers will be 3175 points - 37k annual points

 

[Avatar Aang]

Reward Multiplier and xcelator is the only way to maximise earning points.. 25k Amz vouchers will be 3175 points - 37k annual points

Why only 25K? You can use different Mobile number to buy another 25K voucher.

 

[Zacobite]

Why only 25K? You can use different Mobile number to buy another 25K voucher.

yes sure..not sure if amex has any chks

 

[anirban.choudhuryanirban.choudhury is verified member.]

yes sure..not sure if amex has any chks

No checks +3

 

[kej]

How much is 135k MR points worth conservatively?

 

[Aditya12]

How much is 135k MR points worth conservatively?

Depends what you use it for. If you stay at hotels often, you can get it converted to marriott bonvoy points. Their lowest costing hotels (Fairfield, courtyard) are like 6k to 15k a night depending on dates and location. Good ones (JW Marriott etc) are like 20-30k a night. You can do the math and see how many stays it can get you. Generally at year end they give you 30% bonus points when you convert.
If you want to redeem flipkart or amazon like vouchers then you get around 30% value.
There are ways you can get points converted to take flights that give you decent value.

 

[drsel]

How much is 135k MR points worth conservatively?

30 to 33 paisa each.
Convert to points of Virgin Atlantic or Cathay Pacific Airways, depending on whether you want to fly West or East

 

[anirban.choudhuryanirban.choudhury is verified member.]

How much is 135k MR points worth conservatively?

Enough to fund a return trip to US with stays.
Enough to fund a return trip to Hong kong in business class
Or 2 nights at Post Card Gir and 1 night at Brij property
Indulge in motorsports racing experience ( + 6600 MR )

 

[mojo_jojo123]

Enough to fund a return trip to US with stays.
Enough to fund a return trip to Hong kong in business class
Or 2 nights at Post Card Gir and 1 night at Brij property
Indulge in motorsports racing experience ( + 6600 MR )

Enough to fund a return trip to US with stays. -> How ?

 

[anirban.choudhuryanirban.choudhury is verified member.]

Enough to fund a return trip to US with stays. -> How ?

Flights with VS
Can use 30-40% promo fares you can get Del/BOM to JFK at around 15k VS miles
So 60k Amex MR for that
Remaining you can transfer to Marriot at bonus offer and book 5 nights stay at NY with Marriot.

VS passes on taxes to customer so you can end up paying high taxes , kindly check for dates where you can get maximum value of your MR.

Another option would be via CX or transfer to Marriot at bonus and then transfer to United again at Bonus to get the best value.

 

[Dr. Drake]

Enough to fund a return trip to Hong kong in business class

Elaborate pls for 2

 

[ChurningNoob]

Flights with VS
Can use 30-40% promo fares you can get Del/BOM to JFK at around 15k VS miles
So 60k Amex MR for that
Remaining you can transfer to Marriot at bonus offer and book 5 nights stay at NY with Marriot.

VS passes on taxes to customer so you can end up paying high taxes , kindly check for dates where you can get maximum value of your MR.

Another option would be via CX or transfer to Marriot at bonus and then transfer to United again at Bonus to get the best value.

I plan to get this card purely for 135k MR only but apart from gyftr vocuhers there doesn't seem to a use case for this card.

 

[drsel]

Elaborate pls for 2

Anirban has given us such excellent ideas, he's a genius at this game of points to Miles transfer

 

[drsel]

Flights with VS
Can use 30-40% promo fares you can get Del/BOM to JFK at around 15k VS miles
So 60k Amex MR for that
Remaining you can transfer to Marriot at bonus offer and book 5 nights stay at NY with Marriot.

VS passes on taxes to customer so you can end up paying high taxes , kindly check for dates where you can get maximum value of your MR.

Another option would be via CX or transfer to Marriot at bonus and then transfer to United again at Bonus to get the best value.

Virgin flight Mumbai to New York return is 40000 points + £ 524.
Approx 71000 if you consider points at 40 paisa.
How does this compare with 24% return using Magnus Burgundy on Traveledge?

 

[anirban.choudhuryanirban.choudhury is verified member.]

Virgin flight Mumbai to New York return is 40000 points + £ 524.
Approx 71000 if you consider points at 40 paisa.
How does this compare with 24% return using Magnus Burgundy on Traveledge?

I don't have MB, so I can't comment on that.

The above was just an example of how to use the 135k MR that one is receiving as an offer with a Platinum charge card.

I agree that 525 GBP is a considerable amount in taxes for a return fare to the US. Generally, the same flight is available for around 80-100k most of the time, so you need to find some good transfer bonuses or promotional fares to use it for a US return.

My best bet on 135k MR would still be 2 nights at the Post Card Arabian Sea and one night at Brij Pola. Or, even better, motorsport racing at 141k, which seems like an excellent deal in terms of experience.

Now, coming back to the US trip with 135k MR:

Generally, a return trip to the US with stays costs between 1.1-1.5L for a 5-day trip.

You can get the same for 71k in Platinum charge fees + 53k in taxes with VS; that's 1.24L.

(For that 53k you would get 5300 miles if you are using Atlas to pay for the taxes )

You get return flights + a 5-night stay.

So, it kind of comes out to approximately 1:1, and you technically get the Platinum charge card for free for the first year, which would be an excellent deal. The main point is you don't travel to the US because you have 135k MR; you take 135k MR because you have a US trip planned or a similar experience in mind.

 

[drsel]

I don't have MB, so I can't comment on that.

The above was just an example of how to use the 135k MR that one is receiving as an offer with a Platinum charge card.

I agree that 525 GBP is a considerable amount in taxes for a return fare to the US. Generally, the same flight is available for around 80-100k most of the time, so you need to find some good transfer bonuses or promotional fares to use it for a US return.

My best bet on 135k MR would still be 2 nights at the Post Card Arabian Sea and one night at Brij Pola. Or, even better, motorsport racing at 141k, which seems like an excellent deal in terms of experience.

Now, coming back to the US trip with 135k MR:

Generally, a return trip to the US with stays costs between 1.1-1.5L for a 5-day trip.

You can get the same for 71k in Platinum charge fees + 53k in taxes with VS; that's 1.24L.

(For that 53k you would get 5300 miles if you are using Atlas to pay for the taxes )

You get return flights + a 5-night stay.

So, it kind of comes out to approximately 1:1, and you technically get the Platinum charge card for free for the first year, which would be an excellent deal. The main point is you don't travel to the US because you have 135k MR; you take 135k MR because you have a US trip planned or a similar experience in mind.

I think 24% return on Traveledge is a better deal, because revenue flights are only 70000 on Air India and 77000 on Virgin.
And you will get 24% of that back as reward points.