If I Had 2 Million American Express Membership Reward Points

Author: Matthew April 10, 2024

I recently talked to someone who had over 2 million American Express Membership Reward (MR) points saved up over the course of years of spending and travel. With all those points saved, they can be used for so many different trips around the world, but for the sake of this scenario, I'll try to blow all the MR in one massive trip.

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High Level

With 1 million points, I'd want to hit up as many of the best business products in the world while also staying at the highest level of resorts I can with points. While solo-travelling would be fun, having a travely buddy can help maximize some of the benefits, so we'll plan a trip with two people.

General Planning (flights)

Total points for flights: 1,095,500 MR

IAD -> LHR (Virgin Atlantic Upper Class)

160,000 MR points transferred to Air France to book Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class product. These include lie-flat seats and a bar on the plane for a comfortable ride across the Atlantic. Normally the cash would be over $4,000 to book two people for this one way.

LHR -> DOH -> AUH (Qatar Qsuites)

90,000 MR points transferred to Qatar Airways to book Qatar. There are certainly faster and more direct ways to get to Abu Dhabi, but you can't plan a round the world trip without riding on one of the best business class products in the world. Plus, you can also add a stopover in Doha to explore that city as well. Normally the cash would be over $5,000 to book two people for this route.

AUH -> SYD (Etihad Residence... maybe?)

240,000 MR points transferred to Etihad to book Etihad. The reason I have "maybe" is because the points here are for the business class seat, which is still an incredible lie-flat, luxurious experience. There are some ways to book one off the ultimate experiences in the sky, a whole bed, sitting area and "apartment" for you on Etihad's first class experience. But even I'm a little novice in this rarity. Business itself would be over $10,000 for two.

SYD -> SIN -> FRA -> JFK (Singapore Suites)

605,500 MR points transferred to Singapore to book this long leg journey. Yes, again, there are more direct routes to go from Sydney back to the US, but Singapore suites is another superb airline product that would be hard to pass up if using MR. Using over half a million MR points is pretty steep for a $16,000 flight, and there may be cheaper ways to get to it, but for the convenience and luxury, it would make for a fun trip.

General Planning (hotels)

Total points for hotels: ~ 700,000 MR (depending on length of stay)

London

Hilton offers 5th night free on award stays, so I would utilize this feature to stay five nights in London by getting the Hilton Aspire card that grants Diamond status. Hotels vary around 80,000 points per night, so a total would be 320,000 Hilton points, and only 160,000 MR since MR transfers 1:2 to Hilton when there are no bonuses. The redemption value is pretty mediocre as is for Hilton points, saving around $2,000 for the stay.

Abu Dhabi

The St. Regis in Abu Dhabi has its own beachfront and is a luxurious hotel with a spa and dining facilities. It runs around 66,000 points a night, so for a 5 night stay I'd used 267,000 MR since the transfer is 1:1 and Marriott offers the 5th night free promotion as well. Not the greatest value, but saves on the over $3,000 cost of the hotel.

Sydney

With another ~224,000 MR I'd stay at the W Sydney with the rooftop pool overlooking the entire city. Using the 5th night free promotion will also help recoup some value from the ~$2,000+ stay.

The Nitty Gritty (flights)

IAD -> LHR (Virgin Atlantic Upper Class)

You might be wondering why would we transfer our MR to Air France instead of Virgin Atlantic directly since it is also a transfer partner. As you can see in the two pictures on the right, for the same flight, on Air France (top), you're only paying $205.80 in taxes and fees and 80,000 miles per person, while Virgin Atlantic you're not even really saving any points or money at 47,500 miles and $997.80.

Plus, with the ever so common Air France transfer bonus, it might even cost fewer points when transferring MR.

LHR -> DOH -> AUH (Qatar Qsuites)

The total price would be 90,000 MR and $965.18 for a pretty sweet combo for Qatar Qsuites AND Qatar First Class on the short DOH -> AUH leg. While the taxes are high, the experience is well worth this day trip in a comfortable setting.

Since Qsuites is such a popular product, these seats sell out so quickly. You can see that in a year's time how people have already purchased the occupied seats on the right.

AUH -> SYD (Etihad Business Class)

This booking is pretty simple, just like the Qatar one. You transfer your MR directly to Etihad and make this booking. The total would be 240,000 points and ~$1,300 in taxes and fees to get across the continent.

SYD -> SIN -> FRA -> JFK (Singapore Suites)

This booking again is similar. You transfer your MR directly to Singapore Airlines and make this booking. The total would be 605,000 points and ~$250 in taxes and fees to get across the world.

The Nitty Gritty (hotels)

Transferring to Hilton/Marriott

To convert my American Express points to Hilton or Marriott points, I have to go to the American Express site and transfer my points to the respective hotel. I would do it during one of the common transfer bonus periods like below, where I can get even more value on my points.

Finally, with the remaining 300,000 MR, which is still a whole lot, I can use those for a couple short-haul flights in the regions to explore more of the areas. Hope this helps inspire some fun trips!

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