I just got this rather disturbing e-mail from my company. It looks like we'll be switching to American Express as our Corporate Travel Agency. What does this mean for me? Well, I don't really know... I'm asking you! Does anyone else work for a company that forces you to use this? I wonder if this is as small of a change as just booking all the flights / hotels I want through a direct-bill service and not getting credit card points. Or is this more complicated? Am I no longer going to be able to pick my flight of choice? Does anyone else have something similar in place with their company? Regardless of how sweeping the change is, I can't imagine there being any actual benefit to me. It's humorous that a bolded benefit is "offline / online booking tools." Like... WOW! You mean.... I can book travel online!?!? Or by calling someone!??! What a huge benefit!

Receive a statement credit of up to $20 when you make a purchase with an eligible American Express Card at one or more of these participating merchants at the airports listed below. The offer is valid through 12/31/2010 (and started on 11/24 for those who might have already made purchases at the following locations with their AMEX card).

Brookstone @ JFK, EWR, LGA, and IAH Dunkin' Donuts @ JFK, EWR, and LGA Gogo Inflight Internet @ 10,000 ft and above Hudson News @ ...

Last Saturday evening I sat down to a late dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Newport Beach with a nagging thought in the back of mind that I was forgetting something. Moments later, I received a text message from my brother asking me if I had taken advantage of the American Express "Small Business Saturday" promotion I had blogged about a few weeks ago.

Now I remembered what I had forgotten...

It was 10:45p and the food had already been ordered--too late to go to a ...

From Lucky:

American Express is offering the first 100,000 people who register here a $25 statement credit if they spend at least $25 at a small business the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 27th.

Here's how AMEX defines a small business:

Eligible merchants include any independently owned small businesses that accept the American Express Card. Purchases made online, at large, national chains, at franchised business locations and at government ...

We continue our discussion of Star Alliance Awards this week looking at Aeroplan, Asiana, ANA and using your American Express Membership Rewards miles for redemption. In addition we discuss:

• ANA's website and using their Star Alliance award search as a "tool" for your award booking
• Aeroplan's award chart and using American Express miles for awards
• Asiana's award chart to Europe
• Continental's connection to Amex
• and our own Matt's recent wedding and award to Asia - congrats Matt!

Please feel free to leave a comment or question below.