Is Amex Pay With Points For Flights Worth It? Yes, No, Maybe So...

Being very new to the points game, compounded by residing on the ‘right side of the pond’ …. this jury is definitely still out.
Due to limited options here, I am persevering with AMEX, unconvinced.
Perhaps there is some mileage in requesting the help of those who ‘might know’ share their experience?

Two problems - at least for me - with trying to use the Biz Plat 35% points discount:

1) Amex Travel doesn't always show every available flight option, so you often end up paying more for a ticket than you would directly with the airline in order to get 35% back.
2) If you have to cancel, the resultant travel credit also has to be booked through Amex Travel, which again leads to often paying more for your reissued ticket than you would through the airline. (if your ticket is on United, that airline will allow you to transfer an Amex credit back to them for a $50 fee). And as nice as the Amex Travel folks are over the phone, their reissue process often has to be done with a way-too-long phone call rather than online

Because the airline sees the booking as a cash ticket, you will earn airline points. Depending on the airline and your tier status, Amex Business Platinum pay-with-points can have an effective yield of 1.7 to 2 cents per point. Then, factor in Insider Fares.

Then, you need to ask what the value of your points would be if you transferred them to an airline. If transferring is better, you might want to just pay cash for the ticket.

@Ben,
You should also consider the value of the earned airline points you get when booking this way. That makes the math a little more favorable toward MR points redemptions.

Also worth noting the Centurion offers 50% MR points back up to 3 million per year (i think its 3?).

Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 1.5 cents with portal bookings as well for those that don’t want to get the business card. I have the Biz Platinum but its just another set of credits I have to deal with.

True, but if you were to instead buy the ticket outright on your platinum card you'd get 5 Amex points per dollar so that comes into the equation depending on who I'm flying and what my alternatives are. Like if I'm flying United I'm going to get 9 United points per dollar as a Platinum member, but miss out on 5 Amex points.

The business version only. That being said, any points-conscious person who truly understands how either Centurion card works would never want it. A friend had both. I walked her through the value proposition and economics. She cancelled both.

I tend to only use points in combination with my annual travel credit to purchase flight tickets.

It makes no sense to ever pay with points; just pay as normal, then use statement credit. That way you still get the points on whatever you paid, right? Am I missing something?

The problem I have had with the paying with points through the Amex travel center is the dollar cost of the ticket is much more than I can get through the airline direct or through Chase's travel center so it is not usually the best use of points. I often wait until there is a bonus for Amex partners that I will use soon in order to transfer at the best value.

I’ve used it with the Business Platinum when the points cost was sky high and I would rather spend the Amex points than money.
By all means check whether Amex travel offers the same price as booking direct. In one case it was cheaper.
Personally I’d never use it at one cent per point. But I would if I were in the situation where the choice was get a penny a point or miss out on an experience I really wanted.

Maybe I don’t fully understand this, but my biggest issue with this has been that the base rate of these fares is non refundable. In order to purchase the refundable option, it is almost universally more expensive than booking with the airline directly (even with the 35%) discount. I’ve done it in a pinch, but it feels like a bad value. Question- if I book with points, are the points refundable regardless of whether I book the more expensive “refundable” option? Are only the cash fares nonrefundable?

Small business owner here, Centurion business card expense is tax-deductible. The 50% MR points were exceptional value for my upcoming international business class excursion. Used concierge to track down whether transferring AMEX to airlines would be better value. That was not the case, for my dates and destinations. For 3 business class international tickets, this summer, I def saved >$5k, or the annual card cost. Maybe I could get nearly there with the platinum and its travel service, but IMO, the Centurion service desk is willing to spend more time helping, and overall is more competent. The concierge service is sometimes amazing, sometimes meh. The airport AMEX club access is worth a good bit to me, no waiting to get in, special room, special service in the room. Was on the road thru ATL and H-tine during the TSA 'no pay' mess. The pre-check status turned a 2-3 hour ordeal into a 8-20 minute easy process. The line to get into the Centurion lounges for platinum cardmembers was 1-2 hours during that period. Not for Centurion cardholders. I like real champagne, Centurion card accesses it in those Centurion lounges. PS, I expect, will be something special, which is what I pay for,in addition to smoothing travel experiences. It isnt a life-changing experience, and I could live without it, but it does dramatically enhance our quality of life on travel days, which ended up being AMAZING during the adverse conditions where TSA wasnt getting paid.