Amex Fixed Points Travel Program (Canada)

Not best use. Best use is to buy a ticket in full Y for just under the allowance.
Then call the airline and change it to the itinerary you want using the value of the ticket.

I have used it a couple times this year for trips to the west coast when airfares were expense, so used close to the full $700 limit with 40,000 points. Because 100% of my MR points come from 2x spending categories, it worked out to close to a 3.5% return, which is pretty good. I wish non-round trips were an option; then I'd be able to use it more.

I find their search engine very limiting, not showing all possible options (and in particular not the specific flights I want). I tried calling and the person told me that for the fixed points option it has to be booked online with the itineraries presented. You can limit the search to a particular airline, which can be helpful, but you can't filter on multiple airlines (it's either one airline or all airlines), so for example it is annoying when trying to book a combined AC-UA itinerary because there is less chance it will show up in the limited search results when all other airlines are included too.

One interesting thing that you didn't mention is that the airfare gets charged to the AmEx as if you are buying the ticket normally, then they credit back the redemption amount separately, so you actually earn additional MR points on the entire ticket value.

Might be worth putting the notes about the maximum value in a separate column. I can't make out any of the letters even after magnifying the page 200%.

Best use is to Hawaii. 50,000 pts to basically buy a ticket for a date and time you want. Aeroplan is 40,000 and you have to find availability and then take the milk run to get there (especially with a family).

wonderful... dragging a 5 and 7 year old around, i bet they are having fun...

Asking for a Canadian:

Earning via the Cobalt, are these points separate from the MR points the card earns?

You mentioned the MR points are different than the standard points earned by the Canadian AMEX Platinum. Would appreciate an explanation of the differences.

Thanks for this post. Super useful. Based on @Bob’s comment I’m curious if it might be good to buy full Y to somewhere with low YQ and then change it into the ticket that you want.

Cobalt earns MR-S / MR-Select points which you cannot transfer to airline partners, however, you can transfer to Hilton (1:1) and Marriott Bonvoy (1:1.2).

Never mind... As far as I can tell you don’t have the option of searching for / modifying the fare class.

I've used this profitably a few times. I'm in YYC, ladyfriend is out in YVR for the next little while. For visits/weekends I know about long in advance, it's easy to find some inexpensive trips that I pay for in cash, but for trips taken with much shorter notice, the 15K MR Select fixed points redemption from my Cobalt really shines. It's easy to get full value ($300) airfare out of that, and it takes the nice bite out of higher fares close-in to travel dates. I've also used the 40K MR redemption to fly to a wedding in YUL on a weekend where, for whatever reason, prices had spiked to much higher than normal fares, meaning I extracted the maximum value ($800) rather easily. If you're strategic about your Cobalt card use, it doesn't take long to accumulate 15K or even 40K Select MR points. All told the Fixed Points program has been a great option for me to keep on the backburner when other mileage redemptions, hacks, and even just paying the fare outright aren't favourable.

That said, one annoying part about booking AC flights especially through Amex is that it's not obvious which "fare family" you're booking into. There's often a mismatch between the initial Amex Travel reservation, which has often showed me booked into Flex on AC's site, and whatever happens when the ticket is actually processed/issued, at which point I'm downgraded to Standard (I can't be the only one who detests that "Standard G" is now a thing). It still bites a bit (even if you learn to expect it) that you initially think you've booked Flex and only later realized you've gotten Standard in the end (or, even worse, Standard to Basic). My *G status mitigates many of the worst effects of that, but others without that benefit could be in for an unpleasant surprise. Amex has told me that they are trying to redesign their website so that such fare options are clearer and can be actually be selected just like on AC's website, but they don't seem to be in a hurry to put it out.

One positive thing I can say is that Amex Travel customer service has been very good when I've needed to deal with them regarding my reservations (airline schedule changes, fare basis codes, etc.). Those guys know their stuff and are on the ball.

So overall booking via Amex Travel is a mixed bag, but it still leans quite favourably towards using MR Select points for the Fixed Points Program.

Just to echo what was mentioned by @CP@YOW above and missed in this post...

I find it interesting that Amex claims (and the author repeats) “No blackout dates, no seat restrictions, and no surprises. You have the freedom to book and travel when and where you want”. Not entirely true.

Fixed points redemptions are through Amex Canada Travel. They do not have access to all flights that are available from the airlines. For example, while they show some options for WestJet, Air Canada and Alaska Air when searching - but not all options/possible combinations from the airlines are presented or available.

It’s been my experience that most times what is presented are for less desirable flights, red eyes etc. A quick search for any flights from Hawaii to Canada shows this. A call with an Amex Canada Travel Rep confirms it. They say that the airline “only lets them sell certain flights”.

So fellow Canadian Cobalt card fans... You have been warned... don’t expect that you can book just anything. This limitation means this might not the “easy to redeem” “solid” option it is portrayed to be. Please keep this in mind if this is going to form part of your strategy.

Kate, so glad to see you here with content for Canadians but please consider revising your post with this important information as you continue to build your credibility here.

Amex, if you are reading this (which I assume you probably are)... please fix this!

I assume one still collects Aeroplan miles and AQM/AQS/AQD for Air Canada flight purchased through this program? Can anyone confirm?

I assume one still collects Aeroplan miles and AQM/AQS/AQD for Air Canada flight purchased through this program?

Can anyone confirm?

@ Louis -- Yep, they're different. Kate wrote about this in her review of the Cobalt card: https://onemileatatime.com/amex-cobalt-review/

@ Sam -- Yep!