Update: I had to call off my trip to Israel, but I received all my points back - Dinogo

Back in February of this year, I stumbled upon an incredible chance to visit Israel. With insights from several colleagues, I managed to secure a round-trip business class ticket on Delta Air Lines, using only 144,000 miles from Air France and KLM's joint Flying Blue loyalty program to fly from New York-JFK to Tel Aviv (TLV).

I had a pile of American Express Membership Rewards points itching to be used, which I could transfer to Flying Blue, so I thought, why not take the plunge?

Surely, I believed, by December 2021, the pandemic would be a thing of the past, right? You know that saying, "We plan, God laughs?" It feels like that's been the narrative of my international travel experiences over the last few years, and this trip was no different.

Just before my scheduled departure to Israel, the Israeli government closed the borders to all international travelers.

Here’s how I booked it, cancelled it, and the details on how I retrieved my points back.

Transferring Amex points to Flying Blue

This was a significant step for me. Although I consider myself fairly skilled in the points and miles arena, I had never actually utilized my long-standing Flying Blue account to book an award. It felt daunting to transfer a substantial amount of my hard-earned Amex points to a program I hadn't used before.

However, I was eager to give it a shot, especially since Delta can demand up to 415,000 SkyMiles for this route. I viewed this as a fantastic opportunity. While it may not have been the absolute best redemption, it was an enjoyable experience, and I knew I could gain some new insights in the process.

I simply navigated to my American Express Membership Rewards transfer page and transferred 144,000 Membership Rewards points to Flying Blue in a 1:1 ratio.

To my surprise, the transfer occurred almost instantly, with the points appearing as miles in my Flying Blue account immediately.

Booking through Flying Blue

However, I couldn't complete the booking online. I kept encountering an error message. After multiple attempts, I gave up on the website and decided to call the Flying Blue toll-free number instead.

It didn't take long for the friendly agent (located in South America) to locate the available flights and finalize my reservation. I received a confirmation number shortly thereafter. I ended up using 72,000 Flying Blue miles for each leg of the journey—not a bad deal compared to Delta's pricing for the same ticket.

Booking the same flights with Delta SkyMiles would have cost me 210,000 miles plus $50.42. If I were purchasing these tickets outright, they would have set me back at least $3,693.

Then I started to have some reservations.

Israel is currently closed to most Americans

Throughout much of the pandemic, Israel remained closed to most Americans. It gradually started to reopen for a few tourists. As my trip neared in early November, Israel welcomed back American travelers.

But then the omicron variant emerged. As of Nov. 28, Israel imposed restrictions on tourists from all nations due to the rapid spread of the variant.

Even prior to that, I was reconsidering my trip. Israel implemented additional restrictions in response to the delta variant of COVID-19.

Israel started requiring booster shots for those wishing to use its Green Pass, which permits access to indoor venues like coffee shops, restaurants, retail stores, gyms, concerts, and more.

Israel was the first country globally to mandate booster shots for its digital passport, a new requirement for international tourists as well.

Even when it reopens to tourists on Dec. 22, to enter Israel, you must have received your vaccination within the last six months or have a booster shot. Thus, I would have needed a booster since I was vaccinated back in March.

Given all the uncertainty, I chose to cancel my trip. It turned out to be a wise decision, as the country closed its borders at the end of November.

What happened to my miles?

I genuinely thought by now that foreign travel would be easier, but it remains quite challenging in many respects.

The silver lining is that getting a refund for my Flying Blue miles was fairly simple.

Luckily for me, the program eased its refund policies for flights booked for travel on Dec. 31 or earlier. A quick phone call to Flying Blue was all it took to have my miles refunded instantly and without penalties. I was apprehensive about making the call, but it took less than five minutes (thanks to the call center in Chile). I also received a refund for the taxes I had paid.

Now, my biggest hurdle is figuring out how to spend 144,000 Flying Blue miles. Unfortunately, I can't just transfer those miles back to American Express. In Amex's own words: "Please note that once your points have been transferred, they cannot be transferred back. Redeemed rewards are not refundable, exchangeable, replaceable, or transferable for cash or credit."

My other option, of course, is to hope that a helpful phone agent can locate the same trip inventory for sometime in 2022. I still want to visit Israel, so perhaps finding a new set of dates would be the easiest solution. So far, I've struggled to replicate the trip.

In conclusion, take heed of my (potential) mistake: Only transfer Amex points—or any transferable points, for that matter—when you're absolutely certain you'll use them soon, as you can't revert them back to your credit card account. If there's a chance you might need to cancel or modify your plans, ensure you transfer your points to a program that allows changes without imposing hefty fees.