No-Fee Transfers from Amex Points to Domestic Airlines
American Express has good news for its Membership Rewards cardholders. If you have American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards points, you will not pay an excise tax when transferring those points to any U.S. airlines miles through the end of the year.
This is a temporary offer, due to the CARES Act that was passed earlier this year as the COVID-19 pandemic halted the economy and travel. American Express is waiving the excise tax fee for domestic airlines through December 31, 2020.
American Express, unlike other banks, charges an “Excise Tax Offset Fee” of 60¢ for every 1,000 points that you transfer to domestic airlines. Fees are limited to $99 per transfer. It’s not an outrageous fee, but it adds up for people who travel often, using Membership Rewards points.
Not only will fees be waived through the end of the year, but American Express is also crediting these fees retroactively, probably since the beginning of 2020.
HT: DansDeals
I have 160,000 points is it a better value to transfer all of the points now using the 0% fee over to Delta 1:1 or Hilton 1:2? Compared to using the points later in 2022 with fees to book Delta flights directly with the points? I think 1 advantage using points to book over transfer is using points direct also earns flight miles where transferring and using points does not earn miles.
But I’m confused on overall best use value transfer or book direct?
The downside is that once you transfer then you are stuck with those points. That’s fine if you will use delta miles for sure. But if you’re not sure about your travel plans, it’s best to keep points in a flexible currency like membership rewards.
And Hilton transfer on the other hand doesn’t get you much value for the points.