Episode 44 – What Would You Book With 100,000 Membership Rewards?
In episode 44 of Miles Ahead: The Canadian Points Podcast, Daniel, Jeff, and Josh from FrugalFlyer.ca discuss what they would do with 100,000 American Express Canada Membership Rewards points across the available frequent flyer and hotel loyalty program transfer partners (minus Delta).
With Jeff based in Vancouver, Josh in Edmonton, and Daniel in New York City, they share the best redemption options they found in their home region for each transferable frequent flyer program, including total points cost, taxes and fees, and how they found availability.
The episode wraps up with the hosts discussing some of the value that transferring to Marriott Bonvoy can offer, and why you should always avoid transferring your Membership Rewards points to Hilton Honors.
(01:59) American Express Canada Membership Rewards: Transfer Partners Overview
The hosts review all of the transfer partners for American Express Canada that they will be exploring this episode, including Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Avios, Air Canada Aeroplan, Marriott Bonvoy, and Hilton Honors.
(03:19) Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Redemptions with 100,000 Membership Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards in Canada transfer to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles at a ratio of 1:0.75, which is lower than every other program mentioned this episode, which means the hosts only actually have 75,000 Asia Miles to make their redemption (but not everyone can follow the rules…).
(13:09) Flying Blue Miles Redemptions with 100,000 Membership Rewards
The Air France/KLM Flying Blue frequent flyer program opens up SkyTeam alliance availability, and you might be surprised how far 100,000 Flying Blue Miles can go, paired with the number of seats on certain routes that the hosts were able to find.
(22:57) British Airways Avios Redemptions with 100,000 Membership Rewards
The British Airways Avios, or British Airways Club program, opens up a plethora of amazing oneworld alliance partner availability, and there is no shortage of great redemptions that the hosts have in mind after transferring Membership Rewards.
Plus, Daniel has a unique hotel redemption that results in outsized value when redeeming Avios.
(34:20) Air Canada Aeroplan Redemptions with 100,000 Membership Rewards
The Air Canada Aeroplan program opens up the last major airline alliance, Star Alliance, and with it comes a few more solid redemptions that the hosts have found availability for, including some routes with up to 6+ seats in business class.
Plus, some amazing last-minute availability to Japan has been showing up in what might just be the best value per point redemption on Aeroplan currently.
(43:30) Marriott Bonvoy Redemptions with 100,000 Membership Rewards
Transferring Membership Rewards to Marriott Bonvoy doesn’t offer as great value or as flashy redemptions as transferring to frequent flyer programs does, but the hosts have found a bit of value and interesting redemptions that can help you push your points further than ever before.
(50:45) Why Hilton Honors Is Never Worth Transferring Membership Rewards To
The last Membership Rewards transfer partner, Hilton Honors, is never worth transferring to in Canada. Daniel explains his justification as to why you should avoid transferring to Hilton Honors, as you can get much more cash value from your Membership Rewards points with a little bit of work.
(57:46) Conclusion
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