Miles back and companion tickets, a detailed guide to American Express Alitalia card benefits
We receive many questions regarding the operation in detail of two benefits that individually are able to repay the [...]
Alitalia
SkyTeam
We receive many questions regarding the operation in detail of two benefits that individually can pay back the annual fee (for several years) of the cards and if combined can yield almost twenty times the fee.
What are the american express Alitalia?
In this article:
As a reminder, you must be enrolled in the Millemiglia program (if you are not enrolled you can do it from here for free and immediately receive a welcome bonus of 4,000 MM) 
Alitalia Green Amex
It is the basic card (cost 95 €/year). Offers the lower welcome bonus (4000 MM) and at first glance the least benefits, but in reality Is a must-have card in an Alitalia frequent flyer's portfolio. Green Amex, in fact, is the only card to offer the miles back, or the mileage cashback: holders of this particular credit card can get 20% of the miles used to book award tickets.
For example, if I book a magnificent class ticket to New York, I will pay 80k MM and immediately 16k MM will be credited back to my account.
Amex Gold Alitalia
The best bonuses
The current offerings include. A rich welcome bonus and free fee for the first year which would otherwise cost €190 per year. The most important benefit of this card is to guarantee access to the Ulysses club the first year and to maintain it by halving the qualifying miles each year.
This card is suitable for those who want to take advantage of the status benefits: priority boarding and extra baggage, not only on Alitalia but also on all Sky Team airlines.
Amex Platinum Alitalia
This paper Is a must for those who often fly AZ and in general with Sky Team companies. Thanks to the "Facilitated Winged Arrow" status, it allows priority gateways: lounge access, mileage bonuses and many other benefits that for a "commuter of the skies" pay back the monthly fee of 58.50 € in no time.
What is it and how does the companion ticket work?
The companion ticket (or companion ticket) is a benefit offered by airlines by which, when purchasing a particular ticket, it is possible to buy a second one of the same category, on the same route and on the same date as the ticket purchased.
Without distinction of color (green/golden/platinum) or type (personal or corporate), all holders who reach a card transaction of 15 thousand euros receive a voucher valid for the purchase of a second ticket.
When you decide to redeem the award ticket, for any of the Alitalia destinations you will be able to claim a second ticket of the same category and on the same flight completely free of charge.
What you need to know about the companion ticket
- Except for special campaigns, the validity is 6 months from the date of issue
- Each card generates a maximum of 1 companion each year, if you hold 3 cards you can generate a companion for each card
- Applies only to flights operated by Alitalia, not to partners or codeshare flights
- To use it, you have to book it through call center
- In case of flight cancellation, you will be reissued a code from Amex with the value of another six months
What miles back is and how it works
This benefit is present only and exclusively on the personal AZ Green card. Like cashback re-credits 20% of the miles used to pay for an award ticket at the exact moment it is purchased.
This allows, for example, to buy two tickets to the United States in Magnifica class even though we have only 144k miles points. One will buy the first ticket at 80k points, our credit will then drop to 64kMM but immediately we will receive the milesback of the purchased ticket of 16k MM points and we can then detach the second ticket. Again we will receive the milesback of 20%.
It is important to know that you do not need to pay the award ticket fees with the Alitalia green card, for example, if you are a Gold or Platinum card holder who has a better multiplier in case of spending with Alitalia you can use that and you will still get the mileage bonus.