I broke a factors rule and nonetheless received an excellent award deal to Europe

I am all for getting an excellent deal once I redeem my hard-earned factors and miles. As soon as it is lastly time to burn my rewards, I am conscious of TPG’s valuations and redemption recommendation to make sure I am getting the most effective worth.

However I can not all the time observe each rule. After I booked a visit to Europe that required reserving flights on set dates to particular airports, I needed to neglect a prime rule: Be versatile.

Regardless that my redemptions weren’t going to all the time web a price increased than TPG’s valuations, evaluation paralysis wasn’t going to get the most effective of me. Factors and miles are usually a nasty long-term funding attributable to frequent program devaluations; subsequently, I needed to redeem my rewards for this journey.

By transferring American Specific Membership Rewards factors to Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership, my associate and I traveled throughout the Atlantic Ocean and again, in economic system, for simply 47,000 Amex factors and about $700 in taxes and charges — all inside our set journey schedule.

That is an occasion the place discovering a worthwhile redemption is nonetheless potential, even in case you break a cardinal factors and miles rule.

My journey plans weren’t versatile

Right here at TPG, we usually suggest reserving award flights with flexibility to maximise your rewards. For those who can broaden your search throughout a number of dates or airports, you possibly can probably unlock extra worth on your factors and miles, however that wasn’t going to work for my European journey.

We began planning in January. My associate and I had been locked in on a household journey that started in London and led to Milan. The dates had been set in stone for the top of my sister’s Maymester in Florence, Italy, and we needed to cowl our journey to and from the U.S. (All of our journey inside Europe was already deliberate.) We needed to go away Could 19 and return Could 29.

Decided to redeem factors for my flights, I used Seats.aero to seek for award house from New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) for the primary leg. Then, I looked for a return journey from both Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) or Milan Linate Airport (LIN) to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport (ATL).

I had a considerable amount of factors in my American Specific Membership Rewards account, so I looked for award availability with Amex’s airline switch companions.

Regardless of my inflexible dates, I discovered availability by means of certainly one of my favourite packages, Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership.

The worth for 2 one-way economic system seats totaled:

• 6,000 Virgin factors plus $109 in taxes and charges (per particular person) to fly from JFK to LHR through Virgin Atlantic
• 17,500 Virgin factors plus $229 in taxes and charges (per particular person) to fly from LIN to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) on ITA Airways, then CDG to ATL on Air France

All of this provides as much as 47,000 factors and $682 in taxes and charges.

Since Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership operates utilizing dynamic award pricing, what you discover once you search could fluctuate. I paid 17,500 Virgin factors plus $229 in taxes and charges (per particular person) to go from LIN to ATL through CDG, nevertheless it’s potential to safe a fair higher deal than the one I booked.

Associated: Is Virgin Atlantic Economic system Delight value it on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner?

Did I get an excellent deal?

Regardless that my plan wasn’t versatile, I nonetheless ended up with an excellent deal. Since I can not return in time and see precisely how a lot these flights would’ve price me if I had paid in money, I in contrast the costs for comparable flights in Could 2026.

We flew two folks in Virgin Atlantic economic system from JFK to LHR for 12,000 Virgin factors plus $218 in taxes and charges. Priced in money, each tickets price $876.

Let’s use the TPG awards versus money calculator to find out if this can be a strong redemption.

TPG values Virgin factors at 1.3 cents every (per our August 2025 valuations), so 12,000 Virgin factors are value $156. After calculating the out-of-pocket price of the taxes and charges ($218), reserving with factors nonetheless saves greater than $500.

Once we booked with ITA Airways and Air France, we spent 35,000 factors and $458 in taxes and charges. Two economic system tickets from Milan to Paris on ITA Airways price $234, whereas two economic system tickets from Paris to Atlanta on Air France price $3,514.

Per TPG’s calculator, we saved greater than $2,800 on two tickets by reserving with factors.

Associated: How (and why) to calculate award redemption values

Why I really like Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership

I’ve used Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership to ebook flights to and from Europe on the airline and its companions. It is certainly one of my favourite packages as a result of I discover it straightforward to search out constant award availability at good costs. It is worthwhile for thrifty factors vacationers who need to spend a number of factors right here and there, as an alternative of draining their stability all of sudden.

Plus, Flying Membership is a switch associate of most main bank card issuers. You possibly can switch bank card factors to Flying Membership at a 1:1 ratio with the next packages:

Flying Membership is a good program for me as a result of I can switch my Amex factors, Bilt Factors and Chase factors.

Nonetheless, this loyalty program is not excellent, and its transfer to dynamic award pricing can set you again a whole lot of hundreds of factors, particularly for premium cabin fares. Moreover, Flying Membership has continued to enhance surcharges by itself flights and people operated by companions. Subsequently, in case your journey dates are restricted, you could possibly find yourself spending extra factors and money than you supposed to.

Associated: How (and why) you must earn transferable bank card factors

How you can earn Amex Membership Rewards factors

I earned Amex factors with certainly one of my pockets’s hardest-working playing cards: the American Specific® Gold Card. Amongst its stellar advantages for foodies, I really like incomes 4 factors per greenback spent at U.S. supermarkets (on as much as $25,000 in purchases per calendar 12 months, then 1 level per greenback).

A number of playing cards earn Membership Rewards factors, and plenty of of them have strong welcome gives, in which you’ll earn a piece of factors. Listed below are a few of our favorites:

• American Specific® Enterprise Gold Card: Earn 100,000 bonus factors after spending $15,000 on purchases within the first three months of card membership.
• American Specific Gold Card: Discover out your provide and see if you’re eligible for as excessive as 100,000 factors after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases inside the first six months of account opening. Welcome gives fluctuate, and also you is probably not eligible for a proposal.
• American Specific® Inexperienced Card: Earn 40,000 factors after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership.
• The Blue Enterprise® Plus Credit score Card from American Specific: Earn 15,000 bonus factors after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases on the cardboard inside the first three months of card membership.
• The Enterprise Platinum Card® from American Specific: Earn 150,000 factors after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases inside the first three months of card membership.
• The Platinum Card® from American Specific: Discover out your provide and see if you’re eligible for as excessive as 175,000 factors after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases inside the first six months of account opening. Welcome gives fluctuate, and also you is probably not eligible for a proposal.

The knowledge for the American Specific Inexperienced Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

Associated: Greatest methods to make use of Amex Membership Rewards factors, from business-class flights to Europe to budget-friendly resort stays

Backside line

Whereas these weren’t business-class redemptions or premium first-class cabins, I saved money and traveled the place I needed to go along with my factors. Not each redemption needs to be large, and factors and miles can generally match into much less versatile journey plans.

Total, it is good follow to make use of your factors. You do not need them to be topic to devaluation or expire, so do not let inflexible journey plans preserve you from trying to find award house, transferring your factors and taking the journey.