American Express Travel

mcmaze

hi everyone,
Can anyone tell me what is the point of American Express Travel ?
On my amex login page it always shows that it's card members' exclusive agency which led me to think they offer special deals for amex customers, however on every flight I checked with them, they offer a higher fare than booking with the airline directly, I understand I will get one more membership point for booking with them, but in most cases the points' value won't cover the extra fare cost !

thank you

Westin

The very vast majority of airline pay NO commission to travel agents - 0%, so basically there is nothing to give you back if you are buying just a flight.

That said, on occasion they may be able to offer a discount off the normal web/public rates on certain airlines fares when they pass on some of the rewards of their bulk buying power. Some large agencies will have marketing agreements and overrides which reward and pay out the agency if certain targets are hit. No all airlines will offer this and the volumes will need to be large. These targets might be be measured quarterly which results in discounts to draw in bookings at certain times of the year so the agency can hit a payout level.

If you look at a package or other components like hotels, that's where American Express Travel might offer better rates as they may be funding this from their commission payments.

American Express Travel will also be of benefit on some harder to book direct air travel routes, such as domestic air travel in China and parts of Africa.