The epidemic complicates travel planning since new surges raise fears and lower case counts encourage travellers to catch up.
In 2020, numerous airlines and hotels developed more flexible ticket change and cancellation policies, making it easier to organise excursions.
Anyone interested in using Amex Travel can do so for a small cost. However, if you have an American Express credit card, the costs are removed, plus you get a few more travel bonuses.
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What is Amex Travel?
Amex Travel is an OTA, or Online Travel Agency, similar to the original Expedia or Orbitz. It is a service that can assist you in planning and booking various types of travel, including flights, hotels and resorts, rental cars, cruises, flight and hotel packages, and even a whole vacation package. As previously stated, it is available to anyone, albeit Amex members can obtain substantially greater value from it.
How Does Amex Travel Work?
Amex Travel login is like any other travel site, but you can use your American Express Membership Rewards points to pay for hotels and flights. This is easier than transferring points to airlines and hotels and redeeming them for flights and stays (though not always as rewarding).
Amex Travel Charges
The service fee is already built into the price of your ticket when you buy it online or over the phone. Please note that if you would like to speak with a representative in order to book your holiday, there will be a $39 fee in addition to the regular deposit.
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The fees are understandable for some people because an experienced American Express agent is there whenever they need it, day or night.
Using Amex Travel for flights
Searching for flights with Amex Travel is like using any other online travel service. You can search for one-way, round-trip, or multi-city flights. Personally, if I need to connect, I attempt to find a connection that has an Amex Centurion Lounge. These lounges are among the best, and Platinum and Centurion members get entrance for free.
How to Access the Amex Travel Portal
Log into your American Express account. If you have numerous points-earning credit cards, Amex will group your points across all accounts. That varies from a major competing issuer of travel rewards cards, Chase, which provides points balances for each individual card.
At the top of the screen, click “Rewards” and then “Book or Upgrade Travel.” This will bring you to the Amex Travel portal.
Using Amex Travel for airfare and hotel packages
Next, flight-hotel bundles. Amex Travel offers flight-hotel packages like other online travel providers. Besides outstanding service, you can often get exclusive incentives, discounts, and promotions.
The results field shows a total per person, including taxes and fees, with the cheapest flight first. Choose a flight after choosing a hotel, and the price will adjust.
Booking flights and hotels separately can save a few hundred dollars, but it takes patience and time to research prices and options. Before booking a package deal, read the fine print and consider the restrictions.
Amex Travel fees to book flight and hotel packages
The charge structure is the same as booking a flight reservation, which means $6.99 per domestic ticket or $10.99 per international ticket (bundled into the cost of the flight) (bundled into the cost of the flight). Fees for Platinum and Centurion cardholders are waived.
Should I Use Cash or Points to Book?
Deciding when to utilize cash or points for travel can be a tough decision, largely depending on your financial situation and ambitions.
You’ll normally get more bang for your money by transferring your points to flights or hotels, but it adds a step to the travel booking process; using the gateway lets you do it all in one location.
Since your Membership Rewards points have value — which you can calculate on the American Express site — we recommend calculating the value in points before you book any trip or hotel. All else being equal, choose whatever dollar value is lower, whether points or cash.
For example, in the above screenshot of the Waldorf Astoria, you can pay either $164 or 16,445 points each night. Those 16,445 points would be worth around $329, so it’s obviously a better value to pay for the accommodation outright in cash. In other circumstances, you’ll discover the Membership Rewards points required are equivalent to or less than the cash price.
Using Amex Travel for hotels
Now let’s get into what I tend to utilize Amex Travel for the most – hotel searches.
Standard booking
To start your search, insert the city, dates, number of rooms, and the number of guests. The search results will be based on price, reviews, and location and will create a list of “recommended” at the top of the results.
Amex Travel costs to book hotels
Amex Travel doesn’t display all fees and taxes on the results page, making rates complicated (you have to select and click through to see them). The rate is comparable to other online travel providers and usually greater than booking directly with the hotel.
You may find this to be a suitable option if, for example, you are not enrolled in the hotel’s loyalty programme and prefer to book a hotel independently. I’m a big fan of another service provided by Amex Travel called Fine Hotels & Resorts, which I’ll discuss shortly.
The Hotel Collection
Using Amex Travel to access The Hotel Collection assures the lowest rates when you book a prepaid rate, plus a few premium extras.
- The benefits include:
- Room upgrades during check-in (depending on availability) (based on availability)
- $100 hotel credit (useful for items like eating or the spa) (good for things like dining or the spa)
- Amex Gold Card users earn 2X Membership Rewards points on prepaid bookings
- Amex Platinum Card members earn 5X Membership Rewards points on prepaid bookings
- Easily redeem your points to reserve prepaid bookings
- Fine Hotels & Resorts programmer
By far my favorites element of Amex Travel is the Fine Hotels & Resorts programme. While there’s some overlap between this programme and The Hotel Collection, the Fine Hotels & Resorts programme is aimed primarily at the leisure travel population who seek higher-end properties and other luxury features.
Is Amex travel more expensive?
It’s impossible to give a yes or no answer to this question, as rates and deals vary from day to day and from one travel booking website to the next. It’s usually smart to first browse around to find the range of rates for your vacation plans, and then make selections about what to book.
For American Express cards, the corporation gives a guarantee for the lowest price on prepaid hotel reservations. To acquire this, you have to file a claim with information indicating a lower price for the identical dates and other parameters. If accepted, you’ll obtain credit for the difference between what you paid and the lower price.
Is Amex Travel worth it?
Amex Travel is worth it in many cases, especially for Amex cardholders. I’ve searched every online booking site for various holidays.
If you don’t have an Amex card, check alternative booking sites before using Amex Travel. While the amenities and service are great, it may not offer the best value or cost, therefore you may pay less by arranging your vacation elsewhere. This service may be good for booking a holiday with premium support.
Bottom Line
Using the Amex Travel gateway to use your points for future journeys is easy. The site can also be used to bid for upgrades on major international airlines.
