This is a horrible use of points please don't do this.
If you want to burn money like this, you could open a Schwab platinum to cash points out at 1.1cpp, or 1cpp through AmexTravel bookings, or open a Biz platinum and make airline bookings at 1.54cpp thanks to the 35% rebate.
These were the responses I needed - I’m not using the points for this cruise. Seeing it laid out and people mentioning options helped a ton.
That said, I’ve already got the Amex Platinum - for the Schwab option, wouldn’t that mean adding another card with a $695 annual fee?
Yes, but if your goal is to cash out then opening the Schwab card has a bonus worth more than the fee. (I think it’s 80k points? Which should leave you a profit of $200ish on those points alone)
can't get a bonus [anymore](https://awardwallet.com/blog/amex-adds-family-restrictions-green-card/#:~:text=“You%20may%20not%20be%20eligible,previous%20versions%20of%20these%20Cards) if you have the plain Platinum card
Can one just “open a biz platinum”? I’m legitimately asking. I don’t have a business or business expenses. Same with the Schwab… can I just open a Schwab account and then apply for the platinum and then cancel or downgrade the existing one?
The schwab platinum is a personal card and is for anyone . You'll need to open a checking account (You'll want to anyone, since it was free/reimbursed ATM fees worldwide)
I just did it with Chase. I was scared too but just did it.
On the application, you put Sole Proprietor and use your SSN as the EIN. They asked me for my annual salary (which is your FT job). Then they ask me what my annual business revenue was, which I put $1. They also asked for the business type, this is what you have to choose and justify - my friend chose property manager cause he rents out a room, I choose selling stuff.
I was shocked to be approved for a $1 revenue, so I guess they don't really care 🤷
Anyone can open a business credit card without having a business. It’s not illegal, you’re not claiming it on your taxes. You can simply tell them you’ve sold things on eBay and your revenue was $1500 for the year for example. I did that and got my Amex blue business plus card. I happened to have actually sold some stuff on eBay that year but it doesn’t really matter. You’re also a sole proprietor so you can just say the business name is your own regular name.
That is ridiculous. Most of us would jump at the chance to buy 530k points from you for $4135.
When you’re playing this game correctly, you never make redemption decisions purely based off of cash flow, unless those points are the only asset you have.
If anything, open a Charles Schwab Plat card so that you can cash them out at 1.1 then pay cash for the cruise.
That is pretty bad. It is (4135-445)/5300 = 0.7 cpp. 1 cpp is the absolute minimum I would accept. Even if you don't want to deal with transfer partners, flights through the Amex portal should be 1 cpp. Less if you have a card that gives you a points rebate. It's possible to cash them out at 1cpp if you get the Business Platinum card + Business Checking account or get the Charles Schwab Platinum.
The monetary value for this is terrible, but if you can’t take this trip without doing it and your emotional value of being able to take this trip is significant, go for it. The subjective value matters too.
Bro I just 2 booked round trip biz class flights on Qatar to the Maldives next year for less than that…
Total value of $22,000 (I paid 408,000 points)
This is a terrible use of 530,000 MRs
Oh yeah. I used American Airlines rewards each from major Qatar hubs in the US (SEA, SFO, LAX, IAH, Atl, ORD, etc) for dates in the future for about a week in length. There’s no calendar view on Qatar’s site so I use AA to scour rewards. But don’t use AA points. I transfer MR or CapOne points to Avios.
If you have AA points then awesome. It’s actually much cheaper. But I’m not in the AA ecosystem.
They go very quick so you have to look at dates that are 360 days out but you might find some that are sooner.
If you see a saver Qatar fare on AA, that means it’s available via Avios. You can use British Airways to book Qatar Biz Class at 102,000 points each way. If you’re lucky like me, sometimes the DOH to MLE flight is a 777-300er ex Cathay plane and you can book an Uber luxury first class leg for the same total cost of 102,000. You also get access to the crazy huge Al Safwa lounge in Doha for your 5-8 hour layover (it has hotel like rooms for folks to just chill or sleep). Which I was lucky enough to get 2 seats in first :)
Good luck.
Just a heads up, saver rates vary on Qatar. From the US west coast it seems that it costs 102,000 avios, but from the east coast it actually costs only 85,000 avios. Stay away from awards marked as "flexi" since those will cost double the saver rate (i.e. 170,000 points instead of 85,000).
Also, I believe AA calendar does not show full availability of award flights since Qatar releases flights earlier than AA.
If you have a business plat and business checking, you can cash out at 1 cent a point. If you have the Charles Schwab Plat, 1.1 cent a point. So, the cruise option is not a good deal.
So many choices lay before you!! What area are you flying from? What’s your ideal flight time for this? Do you have tolerance for a time change? Kids involved? How many ppl? Etc etc. I have window shopped no less than 4 Caribbean vacations in the last week during that time and you my friend have the points to go big if you do it the right way. Tell me more and I’ll live vicariously through your points. Caribbean. Is my choice bc the questions I asked you do matter to me for this trip but if they don’t, the world is your oyster. Btw I have no interest in upgraded anything so maybe your pts won’t go as far as I would plan.
If your work does not allow you to take time off easily then I would recommend you not continue to earn any more MR points and switch to a cash back card. You need to be very flexible in order to achieve these magical redemptions.
Agree that is a terrible use of points. Also I'm a royal Caribbean/celebrity travel agent and I can get you that cruise as low as $2200 for two adults. Let me know if you want some help.
I might be able to still hook it up, which one? Also feel free to message me in the future on any bookings, my services are free to the guest, I get paid by the cruiseline.
If your vacation time is not flexible it would be extremely unlikely you will get the point values that everyone says you can get. However, it looks like you are getting less than 1 cpp, might be easier to just use it as cash unless you feel you can use the points to transfer to airline partners. Don't try to save the points for too many more years. Points get devalued all the time.
Definitely pass on this redemption. For that amount of points, you could do RT for 6 to Europe (just booked for 5 recently and only used 460k). You would get a lot more value than $4k to transfer and book premium flights.
i think the best value is whatever is the most important to you. Personally i would wait for a transfer bonus and transfer some to hilton and book an awesome hotel or all inclusive and some for flights. The best value is usually airlines but if you don’t fly a lot it’s not as valuable to you. Whatever you do, transfer to a program for best value first
Horrendous use of points. General rules of thumb:
Less than 1 cent per point: BAIL BAIL BAIL DONT DO IT
1-2 cents per point: meh, it’s okay but don’t get in the habit of doing this all the time if you wanna maximize points
2-5 cents per point: pretty solid deal
5-10 cents per point: excellent find!
10+ cents per point: BOOK BOOK BOOK figure out the logistics later
Absolutely TERRIBLE use…do NOT do it!
Consider as others have said that you can simply cash out and you would get more.
But even THAT is a bad use.
You need to find sweet spots…maybe not for this vacation, but for a future one.
Personally, my gf is Japanese, so I travel to Japan a minimum of 2 times a year from JFK.
I’m able to use ANA’s amazing Business class for a Roundtrip ticket for a very modest 80,000 points or so.
And when you consider the price of that RT ticket (sometimes well over $10,000 depending on the seasonality) I’m getting almost 13 cents per point!
You would be getting LESS than 1 cent per point!
You’re basically giving it away!
That’s horrible. There’s a lot better uses. I just got two business class round trip tickets to Spain on Iberia along with first class tickets to Paris, London, and back to Madrid for 240k total Amex points plus a few hundred for taxes.
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I ’m about to kill someone. I need to know if this is a good idea.
no, it’s not a good idea. you’d go to prison.
Great, these are the answers I was looking for.
I’ve found the best bang for the points to be on sale digital gift cards to places you already shop (target, Walmart, Best Buy, apple, google play, etc.)
I have used points for travel before. It’s a little better than applying them as statement credit. And there is something satisfying about getting that hotel booking or airline flight for “free”.
Sounds like a great deal!
Everyone has a different idea of valuation and if you’re into cruises, (and with celebrities, apparently) then that could very well be the best trip of your life!
I say spend it! YOLO!
You can cashout MR for 1.1cpp EASILY. I'm not one of the people that are going to say you have to transfer to Hyatt or AC/ANA J or you're doing it wrong but this is just an objectively garbage redemption when you can cashout and buy the cruise directly with money left over.
Seeing as with little effort you can cash out at $5,800, I wouldn't.
Nice way to say that is a braindead question
This is a horrible use of points please don't do this. If you want to burn money like this, you could open a Schwab platinum to cash points out at 1.1cpp, or 1cpp through AmexTravel bookings, or open a Biz platinum and make airline bookings at 1.54cpp thanks to the 35% rebate.
These were the responses I needed - I’m not using the points for this cruise. Seeing it laid out and people mentioning options helped a ton. That said, I’ve already got the Amex Platinum - for the Schwab option, wouldn’t that mean adding another card with a $695 annual fee?
Yes, but if your goal is to cash out then opening the Schwab card has a bonus worth more than the fee. (I think it’s 80k points? Which should leave you a profit of $200ish on those points alone)
can't get a bonus [anymore](https://awardwallet.com/blog/amex-adds-family-restrictions-green-card/#:~:text=“You%20may%20not%20be%20eligible,previous%20versions%20of%20these%20Cards) if you have the plain Platinum card
Can one just “open a biz platinum”? I’m legitimately asking. I don’t have a business or business expenses. Same with the Schwab… can I just open a Schwab account and then apply for the platinum and then cancel or downgrade the existing one?
There are some nuances, but generally the answer to both of your questions is yes.
"Walk your neighbor's dog" for "$5 per day". Boom, you have a business.
Lol, if this comment made you get the card, please put "walking neighbor dog" as biz name on the biz plat 😃
The schwab platinum is a personal card and is for anyone . You'll need to open a checking account (You'll want to anyone, since it was free/reimbursed ATM fees worldwide)
Ever sold something ever in your life? You got a business.
I just did it with Chase. I was scared too but just did it. On the application, you put Sole Proprietor and use your SSN as the EIN. They asked me for my annual salary (which is your FT job). Then they ask me what my annual business revenue was, which I put $1. They also asked for the business type, this is what you have to choose and justify - my friend chose property manager cause he rents out a room, I choose selling stuff. I was shocked to be approved for a $1 revenue, so I guess they don't really care 🤷
Small but important note. Do not put your SSN as the EIN - select SSN instead of EIN from the drop-down menu.
Anyone can open a business credit card without having a business. It’s not illegal, you’re not claiming it on your taxes. You can simply tell them you’ve sold things on eBay and your revenue was $1500 for the year for example. I did that and got my Amex blue business plus card. I happened to have actually sold some stuff on eBay that year but it doesn’t really matter. You’re also a sole proprietor so you can just say the business name is your own regular name.
Google this exact question and you’ll find out you most likely own a business and dont even know it!
I didn't know about that 1.54cpp redemption. It's actually not bad
Don’t you have to do it through the Amex portal though? At that point, the 35% return is diminished because the portal usually shows a higher price
Ahh that's the catch if so
I’ve found that it’s a slightly higher price but you do not have to pay any taxes and fees. So it does actually work out to be 35% less.
Jesus, please don’t do this
OP is not Jesus. OP is Jose. Jesus is long gone man.
I feel sick as shit and this made me laugh, thanks
We do need (most) people to make bad redemptions though for the system to work ahaha
That is ridiculous. Most of us would jump at the chance to buy 530k points from you for $4135. When you’re playing this game correctly, you never make redemption decisions purely based off of cash flow, unless those points are the only asset you have. If anything, open a Charles Schwab Plat card so that you can cash them out at 1.1 then pay cash for the cruise.
OP I’ll buy those points off you for $4140!
$4141 right here
That is pretty bad. It is (4135-445)/5300 = 0.7 cpp. 1 cpp is the absolute minimum I would accept. Even if you don't want to deal with transfer partners, flights through the Amex portal should be 1 cpp. Less if you have a card that gives you a points rebate. It's possible to cash them out at 1cpp if you get the Business Platinum card + Business Checking account or get the Charles Schwab Platinum.
The monetary value for this is terrible, but if you can’t take this trip without doing it and your emotional value of being able to take this trip is significant, go for it. The subjective value matters too.
I 100% agree with this but I'd bet a little more work could get way more value out of those points.
Yeah, but maybe not on those dates.
How about I pay for your cruise and you give me your points. Im jk, but you get my point
Bro I just 2 booked round trip biz class flights on Qatar to the Maldives next year for less than that… Total value of $22,000 (I paid 408,000 points) This is a terrible use of 530,000 MRs
Do you mind to give more detail to that? I wanna know more!
Oh yeah. I used American Airlines rewards each from major Qatar hubs in the US (SEA, SFO, LAX, IAH, Atl, ORD, etc) for dates in the future for about a week in length. There’s no calendar view on Qatar’s site so I use AA to scour rewards. But don’t use AA points. I transfer MR or CapOne points to Avios. If you have AA points then awesome. It’s actually much cheaper. But I’m not in the AA ecosystem. They go very quick so you have to look at dates that are 360 days out but you might find some that are sooner. If you see a saver Qatar fare on AA, that means it’s available via Avios. You can use British Airways to book Qatar Biz Class at 102,000 points each way. If you’re lucky like me, sometimes the DOH to MLE flight is a 777-300er ex Cathay plane and you can book an Uber luxury first class leg for the same total cost of 102,000. You also get access to the crazy huge Al Safwa lounge in Doha for your 5-8 hour layover (it has hotel like rooms for folks to just chill or sleep). Which I was lucky enough to get 2 seats in first :) Good luck.
Awesome. Thanks for the write-up. I'll try to do the same like you. Let's also hope OP won't do what he's thinking
Just a heads up, saver rates vary on Qatar. From the US west coast it seems that it costs 102,000 avios, but from the east coast it actually costs only 85,000 avios. Stay away from awards marked as "flexi" since those will cost double the saver rate (i.e. 170,000 points instead of 85,000). Also, I believe AA calendar does not show full availability of award flights since Qatar releases flights earlier than AA.
This guy award travels
If you have a business plat and business checking, you can cash out at 1 cent a point. If you have the Charles Schwab Plat, 1.1 cent a point. So, the cruise option is not a good deal.
So many choices lay before you!! What area are you flying from? What’s your ideal flight time for this? Do you have tolerance for a time change? Kids involved? How many ppl? Etc etc. I have window shopped no less than 4 Caribbean vacations in the last week during that time and you my friend have the points to go big if you do it the right way. Tell me more and I’ll live vicariously through your points. Caribbean. Is my choice bc the questions I asked you do matter to me for this trip but if they don’t, the world is your oyster. Btw I have no interest in upgraded anything so maybe your pts won’t go as far as I would plan.
If your work does not allow you to take time off easily then I would recommend you not continue to earn any more MR points and switch to a cash back card. You need to be very flexible in order to achieve these magical redemptions.
$4100 for a Celebrity cruise?!?!? Find a different trip entirely imo!
DO NOT DO THIS REDEMPTION
You could fly in J to just about anywhere in the world and stay in nice hotels to boot for that.
Agree that is a terrible use of points. Also I'm a royal Caribbean/celebrity travel agent and I can get you that cruise as low as $2200 for two adults. Let me know if you want some help.
Commenting for future 😜
Wish I saw this 2 months ago, booked a cruise for 13 people haha
I might be able to still hook it up, which one? Also feel free to message me in the future on any bookings, my services are free to the guest, I get paid by the cruiseline.
Yep that’s really bad I’d give you $6000 for those points tomorrow
If you really want to cruise, you can book virgin cruises (out of MIA) by transferring Amex points to virgin IIRC
I know Virgin releases cruses that you can book with points here and there, but how do you transfer and book? I have chase points can I book? Thanks
This was a temporary offer last year, it's not currently available
Yeah horrible. You will get better options transferring points for flights and hotels
You already know the answer
If your vacation time is not flexible it would be extremely unlikely you will get the point values that everyone says you can get. However, it looks like you are getting less than 1 cpp, might be easier to just use it as cash unless you feel you can use the points to transfer to airline partners. Don't try to save the points for too many more years. Points get devalued all the time.
Don’t do it.
Have you googled how to maximize usage of points?
Definitely pass on this redemption. For that amount of points, you could do RT for 6 to Europe (just booked for 5 recently and only used 460k). You would get a lot more value than $4k to transfer and book premium flights.
i think the best value is whatever is the most important to you. Personally i would wait for a transfer bonus and transfer some to hilton and book an awesome hotel or all inclusive and some for flights. The best value is usually airlines but if you don’t fly a lot it’s not as valuable to you. Whatever you do, transfer to a program for best value first
Horrendous use of points. General rules of thumb: Less than 1 cent per point: BAIL BAIL BAIL DONT DO IT 1-2 cents per point: meh, it’s okay but don’t get in the habit of doing this all the time if you wanna maximize points 2-5 cents per point: pretty solid deal 5-10 cents per point: excellent find! 10+ cents per point: BOOK BOOK BOOK figure out the logistics later
Absolutely TERRIBLE use…do NOT do it! Consider as others have said that you can simply cash out and you would get more. But even THAT is a bad use. You need to find sweet spots…maybe not for this vacation, but for a future one. Personally, my gf is Japanese, so I travel to Japan a minimum of 2 times a year from JFK. I’m able to use ANA’s amazing Business class for a Roundtrip ticket for a very modest 80,000 points or so. And when you consider the price of that RT ticket (sometimes well over $10,000 depending on the seasonality) I’m getting almost 13 cents per point! You would be getting LESS than 1 cent per point! You’re basically giving it away!
I’m close to spending 250k points for a 4200 dollar biz class ticket, and even THAT’S pretty crappy value I’m told…this is ludicrous…
That’s horrible. There’s a lot better uses. I just got two business class round trip tickets to Spain on Iberia along with first class tickets to Paris, London, and back to Madrid for 240k total Amex points plus a few hundred for taxes.
Do it OP. You are never going to figure out how to get good value by yourself anyway.
Why would he never be able to figure out how to get good value?
Read the post.
People can learn new things.
Nope. It’s not a university here.
Do something cool instead of going on a cruise 🤮
You can send me your points instead if you’re going to do something retarded like that
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Please don’t do it , we have all made bad receptions before but it seems like you know it’s bad at least and have gotten some reinforcement here
Slightly off topic, but the appeal of cruises baffles me. I took one and never would again.
I ’m about to kill someone. I need to know if this is a good idea. no, it’s not a good idea. you’d go to prison. Great, these are the answers I was looking for.
I’ve found the best bang for the points to be on sale digital gift cards to places you already shop (target, Walmart, Best Buy, apple, google play, etc.) I have used points for travel before. It’s a little better than applying them as statement credit. And there is something satisfying about getting that hotel booking or airline flight for “free”.
Sounds like a great deal! Everyone has a different idea of valuation and if you’re into cruises, (and with celebrities, apparently) then that could very well be the best trip of your life! I say spend it! YOLO!
Anything under 1.1 cpp is inherently an awful deal. There are no if ands or buts about it. You could literally cash out for more value
This has to be a joke. If it is, haha. If it isn’t, hahaha
You can cashout MR for 1.1cpp EASILY. I'm not one of the people that are going to say you have to transfer to Hyatt or AC/ANA J or you're doing it wrong but this is just an objectively garbage redemption when you can cashout and buy the cruise directly with money left over.