Exchange Frequent Flyer Points Global Points Exchange: Frequent
Flyer Miles are perhaps one of the most tightly controlled commodities on this planet;
airlines have always kept a strangle hold on both the sale and or exchange of
points, limiting who you can transfer to at no charge (normally only family or charity).
A little while ago airlines figured out they could make a
lot of money from the purchase and sale of frequent flyer miles, and we saw the
emergence of points.com, which allows its members to manage points from
airlines, hotels, credit card & shopping partners in one location, along
with the buying, sharing and swapping (with friends/family). The swap and share feature at points.com has allowed
members to swap points between partner programs, and share points with family
and friends.
The latest service from Points.com is the Global Points Exchange GPX, the world
first points exchange allowing members to trade points between each other.
The following example illustrates how the program operates. A member requires 10,000 points in AAdvantage,
if the member has at least this number of points/miles available in another
program such as Aeroplan the member could exchange their Aeroplan points with
someone who requires Aeroplan points and has an excess of AAdvantage points
they don’t require. So it’s a win/win situation for all? Maybe not when the
costs are considered
So what are the costs involved?
There are two charges, the first being the Points.com
trading fee of US $6.95 (currently waived for a limited time)the second charge
is from the airline, for AAdvantage trading fees are as follows:
|
Miles
|
Cost US $
|
|
1,000
– 5,000
|
$80
|
|
6,000
– 10,000
|
$130
|
|
11,000
- 15,000
|
$180
|
Reward programs participating in Points.com Global Points
Exchange GPX
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- Aeroplan
- Alaska Airlines
- EarlyReturns
- Icelandair
All in all the costs are too costly for general use but if
you needed a few extra miles for an for an expensive long haul business or
first class flight or upgrade, Points.com’s Global Points Exchange may be worth
the expense.
Note it is free to post a trade on the Points.com website,
so if you require a few points in a program for that long haul flight or
upgrade and have spare miles in another program why not check out the signup
and post a trade on the points.com website via the link below
