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American Express Legal Disputes Settled Following Agreements on Airline Rewards Programs
Information on Membership Rewards Travel Certificates
American Express Legal Disputes Settled Following Agreements on Airline Rewards Programs
Markham (Ontario) (Tuesday, October 3, 2000) --- American Express said today that it has settled its class action suits with Cardmembers after reaching an agreement with Air Canada’s wholly owned subsidiary Canadian Airlines to replace the Companion Ticket Certificate benefit for Platinum Cardmembers. In a related development, Amex also announced a points discount offer for travel rewards in settlement of the disputes over its Membership Rewards Program.
New Companion Ticket Certificates will be issued to Platinum Cardmembers who received the original certificate and were Cardmembers at the time the original benefit was withdrawn. The new Certificate can be used to get a free companion ticket with either Canadian Airlines or Air Canada for travel on flights to any destination between October 15th 2000 and May 31st 2001.
American Express believes that the new Companion Travel Certificate is an improvement on the original offer. Platinum Cardmembers have access to more flights and more destinations than before by including both airlines in the agreement, subject to limited black outs and restrictions.
In addition, American Express says that it has settled the class action suits related to its Membership Rewards Program with a special discount offer on points used towards travel purchases at any of its retail travel offices.
Cardmembers will get a 20% discount when they redeem their points for Membership Rewards Travel Certificates between January 15th and July 15th 2001. For the six-month promotional period, a $100 travel certificate will cost 8,000 points instead of the current 10,000 points. Certificates can be used for up to 50% of a range of travel related purchase, including air tickets on any airline for any destination and any class of travel, including sell offs and last minute deals and with no black out periods.
Following these developments, courts in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have approved the settlement of all class action suits brought on behalf of Cardmembers with respect to both the Companion Ticket Certificate and Membership Rewards Program.
Notes:
Information on Membership Rewards Travel Certificates
Membership Rewards enrollees will be able to redeem their points for travel certificates that can be used at Amex Canada Inc. retail travel offices for up to 50% of the value of their purchases. Enrollees will receive a $100 travel certificate for every 10,000 point redemption, which can be used towards the purchase of airline tickets, train tickets, tour packages, cruises, hotels, car rentals and travel insurance packages.
The addition of this new reward option makes the program even broader and more flexible than other card or frequent flyer programs. American Express Cardmembers will be able to:
Book travel without the restrictions of blackout periods Use certificates for a much wider range of travel options Use certificates for discounted travel offers Use certificates for friends or family, or give as a gift
Along with these improvements, Membership Rewards enrollees will continue to have the option of transferring their points into the frequent flyer programs of Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Cardmembers will also earn a 10% points loyalty bonus at the end of the year.
In all, the Membership Rewards program offers over 150 reward choices for travel, leisure, dining and entertainment. It also continues to be one of the fastest points earnings programs available, with one point for virtually every dollar spent and an optional program on selected cards to accelerate the rate of points earning.