Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in o...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
& Kellie Jez
Kellie’s professional experience has led her to a deep passion for compliance, data reporting, and process improvement. Kellie’s learned the ins and outs of the points and miles world and leads UP’s c...
15 comments
Gary Bonkowski
May 07, 2019
The booking fee hits travel planners automatically through Concur, and it’s a pain in the a%&. I too have done searches through third-party providers and found cheaper flights with no booking fees… so what is it we are actually paying for? What is the service? I’m not bashing, I just want to understand what service is being provided for the $7, that my company is paying. You can do the 5th-grade math and quickly realize that they are turning a nice little profit here for no value added proposition.
Christine Krzyszton
May 10, 2019
Hi Gary. We are not experts on Concur and how Amex fees may be passed down through that system but of course many large companies use a third party or software system to manage their travels for tracking purposes, to enforce travel policies, and to receive preferred pricing. It can be frustrating when you find a lower fare for your trip but have to use your company’s travel planner. Sorry we are unable to help with that, or explain any value your company derives from those fees. We appreciate you reading, though.
Vanessa Cayford
July 21, 2019
When booking a flight using American Express Travel Services, and paying with the AMEX card, is there any insurance, flight/lost luggage protection, etc.?
Stephen Au
July 22, 2019
Hey Vanessa,
It depends on what card you have with them. Each of the cards offer different protections, so we advise you to contact American Express regarding the suite of benefits offered for your exact card.
Katy E.
August 05, 2019
I just got off the phone with AMEX travel after trying to have them honor their “lowest rate guarantee” for a Hotel Collection booking. If I am to believe what the first Amex rep and their supervisor told me is correct, then much like the Fine Collection, the Hotel Collection also does not benefit from the low price guarantee as your site states as they would not honor a 10% lower prepaid rate I found on virtually all other travel sites (including the hotel directly). They referred me to the following bullet point “The “Lowest Rate Guaranteed” policy does not apply to rates booked through the Fine Hotels & Resorts® and The Hotel Collection programs.” at the following link: https://help.amextravel.com/service/#/myTrips/22868 and specifically the following bullet point
Did I miss something or is this perhaps a policy change?
Jarrod West
August 07, 2019
Hi Katy!
Thank you for sharing this with us. You’re correct, it does seem the policy has changed per the terms and conditions you’ve shared. We have updated our post to reflect this policy change.
Thanks for reading!
Kathi Peisner
February 05, 2020
If paying for First Class or Business Class flights with Membership Reward Points (MRP), when you want to receive the 5x points (with Platinum) or the 25% points rebate (with Amex Business Gold), you must book the flight through AMEXtravel. My question is this: Will Amextravel give me the STAR ALLIANCE PARTNERS best points exchange (like 1st Class ANA)? I’ve been transferring MRP points to the Star Alliance partner airline and booking directly with the airline (getting great deals), BUT LOSING OUT on the 5x points benefit, and/or the 25% points rebate because I didn’t book the REWARD TRAVEL through Amextravel. I think that booking reward travel NEVER generates points, but the Amex Gold Business card gives a point rebate of 25% even if you are booking a reward flight, so long as you book through Amextravel. PLEASE HELP ME DECIDE WHAT TO DO. Thank you very much.
Christine Krzyszton
February 09, 2020
Hi Kathi. When you book a flight via Amex Travel using Membership Rewards points, you are not booking an award ticket. You are simply using your points as currency, like cash, to purchase the (premium) flight. You will earn the appropriate amount of miles with the airline when flying the itinerary. You will also receive the 25% point rebate (Amex Business Gold) or 5x points (Platinum) for booking (paying for) the flight. It is possible to receive excellent value by transferring points to the airline and booking an award ticket which it sounds like what you have been doing, with good results. You could price out your intended itinerary comparing the options of transferring points or using MR points to purchase the flight, to see which offers the best deal for you.
Kim C
February 06, 2020
I strongly advise against using AmEx Travel to book flights, and instead booking directly with the airline. I booked one of their insider fares through their portal and AmEx failed to ticket it, telling me 15 DAYS LATER there was a schedule change so not their fault. In actuality, the EXACT SAME flights were still available, but at 3x the cost. And the customer service AmEx cards are known for does NOT exist at AmEx Travel with long holds to call centers, waiting to get transferred to “Service Excellence” and never being able to actually speak to anyone who can do anything other than add notes to your booking.
I thought the fare savings and extra points were worth it, but now I’m paying WAY more (in money and wasted time) than if I had originally booked directly with Delta instead of AmEx Travel. What’s it worth to you?
Doug
February 09, 2020
It seems I can get the same rate with WestJet through the AMEX Travel site. But will I earn extra Marriott Bonvoy points if I use my Bonvoy Amex card to pay for the flight?
Jarrod West
February 10, 2020
Hi Doug,
Yes, you will earn Marriott Bonvoy points if you pay for your flight with your card.
Thanks for reading!
Karen Beckers
February 10, 2021
Although I’ve almost always done my own booking for flights, when changes were necessary, I’ve had a lot of frustration trying to set things right on my own. AMEX has always proven to be professional and helpful to set things right re: my billings for any charge issues. I find AMEX a wonderful safety net!
JohnA
June 10, 2021
Amex Travel is an unmitigated disaster. Check out the reviews of them. They are not a premium service and their customer service are useless and incompetent.
perryv
November 08, 2021
Jarrod
I’m a little surprised by your review of American Express Travel Service offered to Platinum Members.
I’ve attempted to use AMEX Travel on two occasions on International Business Class Tickets and on both occasions, it was evident that the representative wasn’t a licensed or even experienced travel agent. I did a Google Flights search before searching for JAL tickets to BKK on the Amex Travel Website and JAL flights weren’t even listed even though they are partners in their International Airline Program. I called AMEX Travel for more information and they told me that JAL hadn’t allocated them space on their flights. Further, it was very clear that I wasn’t speaking to a “Travel Expert”, but a travel lackey who had no clue what they were doing. I wouldn’t trust AMEX Travel to book travel for my worst enemy.
Amex Travel is very clearly not an expert travel service, but an outsourced hack job like Justfly or Expedia.
Deb
February 22, 2022
Do not book flights through American Express Travel Services, book directly with the airline. I made this mistake and spent hours trying to resolve a scheduling issue that arose after the airline made a schedule change. The customer service reps are incompetent and not even remotely helpful. Truly the worst customer service I have ever experienced.
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