I have an Amex Platinum card and received the notification about the points transfer adjustment to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer from October.
I am planning to travel to Europe and Asia over the next few years using my points to fly Business Class.
Has any research been done to work out the best option for using platinum card membership rewards points for airline transfers? I assumed I would transfer my existing miles to SQ prior to the October devaluation (understanding I have 3 years to use them from my SQ account), but I’m not sure if keeping my points and transferring them to another program like Qatar or Etihad would be a better use of the points in the future.
I’m disappointed the SQ option is being diluted and hope there’s a good alternative for flights from Australia.
“Has any research been done to work out the best option for using platinum card membership rewards points for airline transfers?”. Plenty, and the answer is that you should transfer your points into whatever FF programme has availability on the flights you want. Over the years I’ve transferred my AmEx points into Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Cathay Asia Miles, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and Velocity. If you see availability on a flight you want, with one of the FF programmes that AmEx transfers to, go for it. It really can be possible to overthink these things!
However, with the KrisFlyer devaluation coming up, your current question is a little different: Should you transfer your AmEx points into KrisFlyer speculatively, to avoid the devaluation?
My tentative answer would be “yes”, based on what you write about your travel plans. You want to travel within the next three years to Europe and Asia. If you were only interested in Europe, then Singapore may or may not be the best option. But for travel to, and within, both Europe and Asia, I would suggest that Singapore is the best all-rounder at the moment.
So be aware of what you’d be giving up once you do the transfer: you’re giving up flexibility and locking yourself into Singapore and its partners, and you’ll only have 3 years to make a booking. But if you’re willing to pay that price, maybe, given the devaluation coming up, it’s worth making the transfer.
Another thing to consider is that KrisFlyer the program itself could be devalued at anytime, so that is another risk you are running if you transfer speculatively.