AmEx, Point.me mashup simplifies flight booking – NerdWallet

Using credit card transfer partners to book flights on points just got a lot easier — at least if you hold certain American Express credit cards.

American Express announced a partnership with award travel search engine Point.me. Point.me’s software allows members to search across various airlines to see how many miles or points it would require to book an award flight, so they can transfer their credit card points to the airline loyalty program with the best deal.

Point.me’s standard membership subscription typically costs $12 monthly or $129 annually. Under the collaboration eligible U.S. AmEx cardholders can access a free version of Point.me’s search tool that searches for award flights across AmEx’s airline transfer partners.

But that’s often easier said than done. Some transfers take multiple days to process (which means your desired flight might already have been sold out by the time your transfer goes through). And some AmEx transfer partners charge so many miles for an award flight that you would get a better cent-per-point value if you just book through AmEx Travel.

Previously, you would have had to run individual award searches on each transfer partner’s website to see how many miles a flight would cost and decide whether it was worth it to transfer. But the new partnership with Point.me solves some of those pain points.

Free award search: AmEx cardholders can now search for award flights across 18 transfer partner airlines in real time, all within the Point.me platform. This eliminates the need to run individual airline searches on your own – or pay Point.me’s $12 monthly subscription fee.

Simplified comparisons: Rather than searching individual airlines for award availability, Point.me makes it easier to compare award options across airlines, seat classes and dates. Plus, additional taxes and fees are displayed upfront.

Point.me also makes comparing the value of redemptions crystal clear. One example of an award flight between San Francisco and Tokyo on Japan Airlines costs 76,000 Membership Rewards points to book through the Air France Flying Blue loyalty program. Meanwhile, it costs just 25,750 points to book through the British Airways Executive Club program. Both programs also incur $334 in taxes and fees.

Step-by-step guidance: Point.me also offers instructions for creating loyalty program accounts, transferring points and making redemptions. This can be particularly helpful for beginners.

While the new Point.me partnership simplifies award bookings, it still doesn’t solve all the problems some customers face when transferring AmEx points to airline mileage programs.

You still transfer and book separately: For starters, you can’t book flights directly through Point.me. Thus, you’ll still need to book through the respective airline’s website, which means executing the transfer on your own (and potentially waiting a non-trivial amount of time for the transfer to go through).

Features are limited: Additionally, Point.me’s free search functionality is limited to Membership Rewards airline transfer partners, of which there are currently 18. For full Point.me functionality, you’ll need to buy your own subscription.

Search is slow and cumbersome: Before you use this tool, channel the same headspace you had when using dial-up internet. The process for browsing flights can be slow.

According to Point.me, flights can take up to 90 seconds to load — and I certainly found that to be the case when using of the tool. Don’t expect to find and compare flights quickly. In fact, it’s not uncommon to run a search and twiddle your thumbs for 90 seconds — only to get a fruitless search result.

To speed up the browsing process, consider first searching on a faster-loading flight aggregator website like Google Flights to determine your best flight options are. Once you’ve found the specific airport and day, re-run the search on Point.me.

Overall, the partnership between AmEx and Point.me empowers cardholders to be more strategic with their Membership Rewards points. By simplifying the award search process, consumers can potentially maximize the value of their points and find flights they might have missed before (or overpaid for by booking through the wrong airline).

Despite its limitations, it’s tough to argue with free. With complimentary access to a limited version of Point.me’s tool, AmEx cardholders will now more easily be able to transfer their points for award travel.