Membership Rewards Point Transfers Are Not As Irreversible As You Might Think

The best part of the transferable point currencies, such as American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Points, is that they can be transferred to an array of travel partners, including airline and hotel programs. The bad part is that these transfers are irreversible…usually. Recently I was successful reversing my Membership Rewards point transfer, and I’d like to share with you how I did it.

 

The Backstory

If nothing else, the series of unfortunate events that made me miss my Royal Air Maroc flight to Portugal only to find out at the airport that a canceled itinerary was not canceled after all provided me with a ton of blogging material.

As you know, before I learned that my RAM ticket was still valid, in the process of sorting out my return flight, I had transferred a number of Membership Rewards points to Iberia Plus and had booked an award flight from Casablanca to John F. Kennedy International Airport. It cost me 25 euros, but I was able to cancel my Iberia flight. The Avios were re-deposited into my Iberia Plus account, and that’s where they remained for the time being.

However, an urgent need for MR points presented itself recently, and, not without encouragement from a fellow point-and-miles blogger, I decided to give American Express a call.

 

Phone Call to Amex

On a Friday, I called the number on the back of my Platinum Card and spoke to a customer service representative. I asked whether it’s possible to request a reversal of a point transfer, to which she quickly responded with a hard no. I expected this response and said that I had an unusual circumstance for making such an unusual request. I explained that I transferred the points without knowing my original flight remained intact and that I had been left with two flights booked for the same day. She put me on hold and then told me she’d open a case and that a higher-up rep would call me for more details. It was a good start, but I wasn’t holding my breath.

The following Monday, I got a call from a 1-800 number. Normally, I do not answer calls from strange numbers, but I was expecting a call from Amex, and boy am I glad that I answered. A rep who said her name was Lynn said she was calling in response to my opened case. Again, I explained my situation to her and provided all the details of why I made a point transfer in the first place and why I canceled the second reservation. Lynn was understanding and happy to help. She did warn me, “I can’t promise anything,” but she said she’d request a point transfer reversal from Iberia on my behalf. She said she’d call back by the end of the week.

 

Membership Rewards Are Reversible

Well, lo and behold, the points-and-miles Gods had smiled upon me, and two days later, I heard back from Lynn. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and she called bearing great news. She told me that she’d heard back from Iberia and that the airline had approved the transfer reversal and that points were back in my MR account! It was a Thanksgiving miracle!

Now, before you start calling your bank with brazen requests, keep in mind that this particular case is the exception rather than the rule and that not every point transfer is reversible. In fact, the chances of this happening are pretty slim. However, if you have a legitimate reason to request a point reversal, you might be in luck. My advice is, ask for Lynn.

 

Have you ever tried to reverse a point transfer? Were you successful?