Amex International Airline Program (IAP) Guide

Prior to flying exclusively on points, the pricing had always been hit or miss and I lost interest in the platform. Others might have better luck.

The IAP is only available for tickets that start ex-USA, is that correct?

Never mind.

"The Amex IAP offers discounts for flights originating in the United States, or select Canadian gateways" - Thanks Ben!

I do love this program, but I've had some issues in the past (specifically with Air France LP actually!):
-In some cases, I have to click through to the final selection screen to see an IAP fare/reduction. When selecting the individual flights, they will not show as qualifying for IAP, but in the end when I go to pay they do.
-It's really hard on the platform to correctly filter. If I search for JFK-CDG in First Class, the Air France options will show, but any ticket with a domestic connection in First will also show (so you could see JFK-IAD in Delta First, but then IAD-CDG in Air France Business as an option). You really have to sift through the results to find what you're looking for sometimes. I've even had scenarios where I don't even see AF options appear! There used to be a way to select preferred airlines as part of your search, but that feature appears to have gone away and now you can only filter by airline among what is present in the search results. If Air France is not in your search results, then you cannot filter by Air France.
-I've also found the platform difficult to use when trying to by mixed fare class tickets (ie, JFK-CDG in Business, but then CDG-JFK in First). I almost always have to call or chat to get those.
-Not all fares that show on Google Flights or even the airlines' websites will show in your Amex search results. Again, if you don't see what you want, you have to call or chat.
-The biggest mistake I ever made and will never do again was booking a Delta codeshare on an AF flight in LP. When there was a schedule change, I almost lost my LP seat and only P fare classes were available on the other options, and spent hours on the phone with Amex, who had to call Delta, who had to call AF to get the issue resolved.
So, is all of this worth a savings of hundreds or even thousands of dollars? For me, yes. But just be warned you sometimes have to really work hard to take advantage of these fares, especially when you live in a place like Raleigh where most international flights require a connection.

no, the IAP is also available from Europe, but it seems the list of airlines is more limited. On amex.at (Austria) it says the airlines are SINGAPORE AIRLINES | QATAR | AUSTRIAN AIRLINES, LUFTHANSA, SWISS | EMIRATES ETIHAD AIRWAYS

One wonders if one has to be a resident of Austria and book on the Austrian site (e.g., amex.at), AND if fares are only available ex-Austria as well. Same with other countries.

The AMEX IAP and Insider Fares is really hit and miss, but after 4 years of having the Platinum card FINALLY got a great deal from the IAP.

Scored two business class tickets on JAL (JFK-HND-HKG) for $2,300 each , when the ticket was going for $3043 before the discount.

Ben, can you do a post about which markets offer good premium priced tickets from? I remember Cairo and Colombo used to have cheap tickets in the past. Thanks

Even without the IAP discount that is an amazing fare!!

WE used the Amex Program to go to Japan. We connected via LAX and while waiting on our flight a Typhoon went thru Taiwan our stop before Japan.. All flights were cancelled. I called Amex to see what they could do==== Nothing. We were told to buy new tickets at twice the price to get there. We were on our own..???customer No Service.

When I sought two R/T business class tickets Bangkok to Rome last June, I looked hard at the Amex program and discovered that I could book only the lowest business fares that way. Instead, I went directly to Qatar and reserved two seats in comfort class, which was important to me because of its benefits.

I couldn't believe the fare when I stumbled across it!! Definitely one of those cases where it made sense to pay cash than the points redemption route. The alternative for me at the time was either transfer 110k points to EVA (JFK-TPE-HKG) in biz , or 75k points to Cathay Pacific (JFK-HKG) in premium economy.

Why is AA mentioned in the mileage earnings? It’s not an IAP airline.

I just booked KUL-SIN-SFO in Business Class (yes, the non-stop flight from SIN-SFO) on Singapore airlines for $1800 O/W using Amerx Int'l Airline Program discount for flight on June 10,2024. I bought down the cash price by applying 30,000 points.
Interestingly this was cheaper than Aeroplan points redemption (75K on SQ/Air India). Also, the fare was double if originating from SIN. I wasn't aware but looks like KUL (Malaysia) has "bargain" fares as it is from CMB (Sri Lanka) due to the currency devaluations in both countries.

So, even though I will be in Singapore, I bought a $75 O/W SIN-KUL (flight time is 1 hr) and the will turnaround and do the "cheapo" KUL-SIN-SFO trip.

Is the fares really cheaper? When redeeming points for example it often gives you the full fare not a discounted fare, so perhaps it is not really cheaper. If paying cash, I can often find cheaper fares direct, through other credit card travel centers, or other sources. If paying with points, there may be a better use of points.

In the body of your text, you refer to: For example, American Airlines has a special mileage earning chart for “special fares,” which often includes third party bookings.

Yet you do not list AS as being in the participants list.

Which is right?

I got rid of the Platinum card and intentionally got it back because IAP program practically pays for the fee of the card. Last time I used it, I save over $1K on Japan Airlines R/T Boston to Tokyo.