Just wanted to remind you of this highly underrated transfer option in Amex Membership Rewards program. As you may or may not know, through 12/31/2016 you’ll get a 50% bonus on transfers to Plenti. Chuck at Doctorofcredit has put together a post on some decent options, like Macy’s and Exxon Mobil You can transfer a minimum of 500 MR points, and in exchange you’ll get 750 Plenti points. Note: On December 31st of each year, any Points that are at least two years old will expire.
So, back to Chili’s. I like the restaurant OK, and my husband loves it. When I saw that this chain became a Plenti partner, I wanted to investigate it further. Is the juice worth the squeeze? Well, it appears that if you play your cards right, you’ll get $7.50 out of 500 MR points, as long as you make your transfer before the end of the year. So, each Plenti point would be worth a cent.
There is a minimum of 200 Plenti points per each Chili’s order, but there is no maximum. So, basically, you can cover your entire check if you want to. Update: My reader Joel has mentioned that you can’t use Plenti points to cover tip or alcohol.
Here are the terms from Chili’s website:
You can join Chili’s+Plenti rewards program and add your Plenti account number online. This will allow you to use Plenti points towards To-Go orders. Easy peasy.
Here I transferred 4,000 MR points to Plenti account, which resulted in 6,000 points. I can use them towards $60 worth of Chili’s food.
You’ll have to go to this Amex page in order to perform the transfer, scroll all the way to the bottom:
There you will have a link to join Plenti program if you are not yet a member.
Is this a good deal?
It really depends on whether you like Chili’s. Let’s compare this option to buying discounted gift cards on Gfitcardgranny. You can get those at 13% off. So, yes, this transfer option will yield a better discount. It also depends on your plans for MR points. Will you be better off saving them for flights?
And of course, Plenti has other partners like Exxon Mobil, At & T, and Macy’s. Either way, I strongly recommend you at least investigate this option due to current 50% transfer bonus. I think I made a good “sale” when it comes to my MR stash. Chili’s, here we come!
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
If I’m not mistaken, you can’t use Plenti points at Chili’s for alcohol or your tip, so you can’t really cover your entire check. Still a good deal though.
@Joel I believe you are correct! Thanks for chiming in. I guess I should have said: you can cover your entire check if you don’t drink alcohol and like to stiff your server! LOL
Did this recently occur? Last time I checked you were only able to earn Plenti points (not redeem them) at Chili’s. I hope they add many more partners so I can use up my rather large Plenti balance.
@Eric It appears that the ability to redeem Plenti points at Chili’s is a somewhat recent development. That’s what made me intrigued because we like to eat out. Plus, it allows you to combine coupons etc.
If you have a lot of Plenti points, I recommend you investigate Exxon/Mobil option. We don’t have any in our town, otherwise, this is where I would burn my Plenti points. Macy’s could be decent as well. I’ve read that someone was able to buy an Apple product with Plenty points. Pretty cool, especially when combined with this 50% bonus on MR transfers. It’s an underrated option, and in many ways, the best use of MR program for regular Joe.
Yes, I have been using the Mobil option for the past few months. It’s not the greatest option as sometimes it doesn’t work correctly at the pump and they only allow $25 per transaction.
Do you think there’s a good chance the 50% bonus will come back next year (or be extended)?
Hmm, really tough to say. I would hate to tell you Yes because I honestly have no idea. I imagine that Amex rolled out 50% bonus in order to draw more attention to Plenti program. After all, they are the ones running it. Plenti scheme is fairly new, so it’s an easy way to get publicity. Whether they feel like it gained enough traction to keep transfer ratio 1:1 is anyone’s guess. I *think* the transfer bonus will come back or get extended, but it’s just a guess.
That’s what I think will happen too. They probably save money by people transferring to Plenti rather than airline partners. I hate having an expiration date to use the points even though 2 years is a fairly long time.
Are you going to have an update on your Platinum issue anytime soon?
@Eric That sounds reasonable. I don’t like having expiration date either. In my case, I only transferred about 10K MR points between our two accounts, which will hopefully pay for few dinners at Chili’s.
As to this whole Platinum fiasco, I’m still working on it. Up until now, I’ve just been trying to establish contact with Amex, so we could proceed with mediation. No dice, they have been ignoring my requests. So, I’m currently looking into pursuing more aggressive methods, but they require money investment. I’m not planning on letting it go, so expect an update (or two) in 2017. Like I said, there hasn’t been much to report, so I didn’t think another post was warranted.