Key takeaway
Is booking directly with airlines a safety net or just a missed opportunity for more points?
Highlights
- American Express Platinum offers 5x points for direct airline bookings.
- Many airlines provide 3x to 5x points for co-branded card use.
- Direct bookings offer more flexibility for rebooking in case of cancellations.
- The podcast answers listener questions weekly, airing every Sunday at 5 pm.
- Access transcripts via the podcast’s video description on YouTube.
Book airfare through credit card portal or direct? Frequent Miler reader Mike wrote in with this question:
American Express Platinum cards give you 5x points for direct bookings to airline flights. However, most airlines give you 3x to 5x for using their own co-branded cards for those same flights. Direct bookings give you more options if things go sideways (e.g., flight cancelations that require a rebooking). Or would prefer 8x Chase Sapphire Ultimate Rewards multiplier? If you use Amex or Chase, you have to deal with an online travel agency to re-book replacement flights. Do you prefer Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, over direct bookings versus that airline’s own co-branded card, and why?
Watch the full episode below, or listen on your favorite podcast platform. You can click the timestamps below to navigate directly to a specific part of the episode within YouTube. For a transcript of this episode, click “Watch on Youtube” on the video below, then click the “…more” link in the video description. This will expand full video details. Scrolling down past the timestamps and chapters, you’ll see a “Show Transcript” button. If you’re an Apple Podcast listener, you can touch and hold a podcast episode to reveal an option to view a transcript.
Watch here:
We’ve been answering a reader or listener question at the end of each Frequent Miler on the Air podcast episode. Now, we’ve turned the question of the week into its own weekly episode. Tune in every Sunday at 5pm for our Question of the Week podcast. And if you have your own question you’d like to submit, you can send it to mailbag@frequentmiler.com.