I am a big fan of Amex Offers and have saved a lot of money with them. Not by buying things I didn’t plan on buying in the first place because now there is a deal, but at places that we had used often or on things to resell for some profit/points. But, there continues to be one sticking point in the terms of Amex Offers (which is a reflection of how they award bonuses on spending as well) that is really a drag when it comes to getting even more value from Amex Offers.
One Thing That Would Make Amex Offers for Travel Better
Amex Offers on travel have been a huge help for many. There have been numerous cruise offers, general airline offers, specific airline offers (like Qantas, Emirates, Delta, and Alitalia), and hotel offers (many great ones in the last year!).
But, the strength of many of these offers are limited by a little wording that is present on all these Amex Offers – “in the US” or similar wording.
It is so annoying to have a great travel offer that can be matched with great travel deals worldwide, except the offer excludes anything outside of the US or its territories.
Take, for example, the Emirates offer that has come out before. Using that offer on premium travel from the US (which is where the flights have to originate for the offer) puts a minor dent into the overall price of such travel. It can be a great deal on the economy fares that come out to Milan every so often but not really a great deal for business class. But, if you could use it on any fare bought on Emirates.com, that would be a great deal. Even departing out of Europe to the US, there are prices that are much better than departing from the US. But, no, we can’t use it on those!
The Waldorf, Hilton, and Hyatt ones are also offers that frustrate me. In each situation, I had stays that I could have made and used those Amex Offers. But, each of those stays were outside of the US so they didn’t count. Instead, I ended up at other properties and did not give either Amex or the Waldorf (in one instance) the business. A minor drop in the bucket to them, but still, I would have liked to use it!
Amex does the same thing with their bonus categories for spending as well (limiting them to the US) and I don’t imagine they will change it anytime soon. Since they have dropped the foreign transaction fees on many cards, it should be something they consider doing because Amex cards are not ones that I pull out of my wallet when abroad. I can still get my 2X UR points from Chase when using a Chase Ink for gas or the Chase Sapphire Reserve for travel/dining so why should I use an Amex card?
Is it just me or do these words limit others in using the offers?
+1. Have an upcoming trip to London and would gladly use their hotel offers (Hilton, Conrad, Waldorf, Marriott) if they were applicable outside the US. Instead will stay at a different property and probably pay with a Chase Visa. If the purpose of the Amex Offers is to drum up business for Amex and their partners, then this restriction is counter-productive.
At least for the airline Amex offers, I think it has something to do with the currency it is billed in. AFAIK, Amex offers are only valid for transactions in US dollars. Some airlines allow you to transact in USD even if you’re flying out of a non-US airport. I did that for my parent’s flight on ANA out of Singapore changi. Which by the way, is world’s #1 🙂
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